IMPETUS TO ACHIEVE:
LEAVE THE SMALL FIGHTS TO SMALL PEOPLE
Fight for something that will leave your name living forever because of its impact and overall value to the progress and development of our country in your time. Don’t be shallow.
IONCE heard someone say that when things in his life are getting easy, then he knows he’s getting lazy. This individual said when he finds himself in a difficult situation and he wishes things could be easier, it is a sign that he is getting lazy.
Similarly, my best friend always tells me that when things are getting harder in his life, when the demands are growing and seem to require more resources - financially, mentally and otherwise, then he knows that he is growing up. He says children don’t have problems. He is absolutely right.
Sometimes, there is a lot of pettiness around our country. When you take a look at different spheres of our society such as workplaces, churches, public offices, you’ll find that when there are thinkers there, these are not always respected. Often on flimsy grounds, the thinkers are frustrated out of giving ideas towards progress because those with small minds use all manner of tactics to relegate them to a back seat row.
There are people with small minds that will easily start a small fight at the expense of the bigger fight towards progress. It can be terrible when such an eventuality occurs.
They say that big minds discuss issues and small minds discuss people; sweeter words have never been said. Those that have had to endure the frustration of dealing with simple and/ or shallow minded people will understand what I mean.
You see dear reader, we all come from different backgrounds. Some of us will hold a grudge against those that are given a better piece of chicken than us in a household, while some of us will wonder why in a world of plenty, in a world where individuals can have a net worth larger than Zambia’s GDP and control personal resources larger than Zambia’s annual budget, we should be starving and not be able to afford a plot in Lusaka. Such is the disparity of thoughts that go on in our different minds.
How can Jeff Bezos of Amazon jump to a whopping net worth of well over US$100 billion, and people here are saying a plot in Lusaka is not affordable? And that people are asking for very high amounts to buy their land?
Life is funny, when you convert in one of Lusaka’s plush neighbourhoods, it will wind up being nothing more than a few hundred thousand dollars. Now ask yourself dear reader – what rules are others playing the game of life by,
that you yourself seem to be missing to afford such? This is what I call a useful conversation to have not just within yourself, but with some progressive people that you might know.
Conversations in your head must not be restricted to the smallest or pettiest things that ever hap- pened. I am in my thirties and believe me, I still know people that harbour grudges against those that injured them in Grade 8!
What can be more ridiculous than that? Especially bearing in mind that I was in Grade 8 twenty years ago! Surely, the individual that continues to harbour such a grudge has not progressed beyond our everyday lifestyle in Grade 8 including petty rivalries and other such schoolboy disputes we tend to experience in that phase of life. The guy is much older now, but living on a schoolboy mentality. Nothing can be more sad.
Where does this leave you? As with everything else, it leaves you with a position to make a choice. Either join the bandwagon of mediocrity of petty minds and fight the small fights. Or join the elite few and fight for a cause whose place history will assign as worthy.
Fight for something that will leave your name living forever because of its impact and overall value to the progress and development of our country in your time. Don’t be shallow.
Never discuss people where there is absolutely no value beyond cheap gossip. Instead, discuss big things, big ideas that will advance the causes of humanity. Dream big, think big and follow through with action to achieve big. Know this - if you think small, you’ll pursue small, fight small and in the event of victory, ultimately achieve small. Life is a journey as I always like to say in this column. And in this life, we get to choose our destiny; it’s always in our hands. If you want to be big in whatever your field or endeavour, it’s entirely up to you. Similarly, if you do not want to go anywhere, then by all means be small minded, be petty and fight the battles of the most tiny in society. I guarantee that you will shine in the world of small people if you come even close to par in your performance.
But that will be it. No serious person will ever recognise you or appreciate your so-called accomplishment. No authority will ever look to you as an individual that can add value. You’ll just be a classic example of a small guy who played in a small league and is not worth remembering.
On the other hand, we have the majors; the one for people who fight the biggest battles. Have you ever noticed how any concert or major event involving different contenders will always start with the smaller contenders first before they show what they call the main event? Take boxing for instance. The main fight is the one that will be advertised heavily to sell tickets. However, the night will proceed with fights in less interesting divisions before finally getting to the main event.
Similarly in music, when there is a household name coming to perform at an arena near you, there is the element of back up artists that will perform in the run up to the main artist taking the stage as the main event.
Today’s article is about you choosing to be the main event and not the entertainment piece meant to kill time in the run up to the main event. If you dream big, then do take the appropriate route through life and choose to fight the big fights. Leave small fights to small people. Share your views: muyang-