Managing self for maximum results(3)

“Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside them was superior to circumstances." - Bruce Barton

I am sure you have heard of the law of karma. It simply says you reap what you sow. In a way, it’s also biblical. At the worst extreme, it says that the soul that sins shall die, but at its foundation, it says whatever a man sows, he reaps. More and more former public officials in the immediate past governments are being pulled in to answer to charges of corruption. That is commendable and I have no sympathy for these people. The only problem though is that there are not a few Nigerians who believe that the process is rather slow and who also wonder why some ‘super thieves’ of yesterday are still freely walking all over the place. But I don’t feel any disappointment because the law will catch up with them anyway - either the law of the land or the law of karma.

There is another side to this issue and that is, how much value do people place on themselves? Is it not demeaning enough that one will climb down from official Olympian heights only to be dragged from one EFCC detention cell to another? Is this something to smile at and wave to people about? Now, even if these people have no regard for themselves, have they not considered the word heritage? Don’t they get bothered about what legacy they are leaving behind for their children? They really must believe that things will never change in this country.

They keep believing they can always use our money to rent ‘fake’ crowds to demonstrate either around court premises on their behalf or issue you will not deploy your creative self negatively. Those who perpetuate 419 acts or steal public funds surely lack a sense of originality and purpose. The way to know if purpose is good and genuine is to gauge how much the things you do matter and what difference it brings to people. To do this, you must be able to identify the highest qualities within you, because this is the basis for doing what is right, good, and true for you and others. This pedestal of your highest qualities is the place where your own essence is defined and the point from which you can more effectively deal with everything outside you. At this point, the circumstances of your existence and all your desires submit to that something inside you.

You know there is no way that you get to this point and not recognize that you are gaining deep knowledge of yourself and therefore, positioning yourself to be able to influence your relationship with yourself and with others. This is about the highest purpose of existence. But to be sure that you are climbing good heights in self-management, you must have results in four main areas of your being. The first is the physical dimension. This is manifested in your ability to handle your inner conflicts on the one hand and your relational conflicts on the other. Much as you would have liked to exist alone (that’s if anyone ever likes that anyway), the reality is that you have other human beings whom you must forge relations with at different levels to give your life a meaning.