Concentrate on the path, rather than the obstacles, by Bashir Mahmood Baffa
Simon Sinek the British-born American Author and inspirational speaker in one of his talks said that the success of a skier while sliding down the slope between trees depends on his or her mindset.
If the skier focuses on the obstacles (trees) then the only thing he will see is the obstacle. If he however focuses on the path, then all he will see is the path.
Put differently, if the skier while sloping, keeps telling himself “Follow the snow, follow the snow” then he will see plenty of snow and the road between the trees and it will be very easy for him to slide among the thousands of trees. If however, he keeps telling himself, “Don’t hit the tree, don’t hit the tree”, then what he will see are thousands of trees only and he is most likely gonna hit a tree.
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This is because the human brain is not created to comprehend the negative, so if you keep telling it not to do a thing, then it will most certainly do it. So the best thing is to focus on the positive and keep affirming it (the snow, not the trees).
This should be applied in our daily lives. Life is full of challenges, problems, issues, breakdowns, failures, disappointments, threats etc. But each problem or obstacle comes with its unique set of opportunities. The best thing to do is to not focus on the problems, not because they are not there, but because focusing on them will hold you back and it will be very difficult for you to progress. Rather focus on the small path, the opportunity, the chances, and the solutions and all you will see are opportunities, chances and solutions.
From the last 2 decades, despite the difficulties we have faced in the country a lot of young and old people alike, who chose to concentrate on the path rather than the problems or obstacles have made and are making fortune for themselves beyond imagining in the same country that you and I are condemning and lamenting bad about.
Nobody can promise you that the current administration and the ones that will follow will change your life in the way that you desire. It will not. Put it in your mind that it is not the government’s job to make you rich or put a Mossel in your mouth. Its job is to provide an enabling environment, a level playing ground for those who are willing to change their statuses. Some may not agree with this depending on their political philosophy about life too. But that is also focusing on the obstacle. Take the government out of the equation. If it does something good fine, if it doesn’t that shouldn’t be your focus either. Many of the billionaires in the world are a product of crises.
This is a call for me and me to change my perspective and focus on the path, not the obstacles and see how we can change our lives and the people around us positively In sha Allah. Let us start today!
Bashir Mahmood Baffa is a lecturer of Business Administration at Federal University Dutse, Jigawa State. Email:bmahmood03@gmail.com Phone: 08038796815
