Learn the BASICS

Everything in life is better understood when you break it down to the basics. Did it ever occur to you that most scientific breakthroughs that have been achieved so far would have been impossible if the scientists had no knowledge of the basics? In order to understand the functionality of materials you would first need to understand the behaviour of the atoms that make up the material. For you to understand all living beings and their behaviour you would need to fully comprehend the building blocks of living organisms, the cell. Food will not revitalise your body if you are not able to break it down into smaller molecules that your body will use –this process is called digestion.

Unfortunately most people ignore the basics, and aim for the much more sophisticated and complicated. This is the reason why most people fail in their endeavours. The people who succeed in life have a penchant for breaking down everything to its building blocks before they start to attempt to understand. In any process they usually tackle the superstructure after investing time in understanding the basic structure and how it the compounds into forming the superstructure.

The beauty lies in the fact that the basics are easy to understand and easy to implement. It’s the little things that we forget or ignore to do each day that determine whether we live a fulfilling life or not. Maybe you might be waiting on great academics, economists, bankers or speakers to share a flowery financial plan to get you out of debt when the answer lies in a simple basic –Stop borrowing more and start paying back. The road to financial liberation simply begins with keeping some of the money you earn and learning how to make the money you retain increase. Before you figure out a financial plan maybe just decide to start keeping a part of your money. Whatever transformation you desire will come your way, if you learn the basics and use them.

So here’s a free tip: Whenever you are faced with any complex situation remember there is a way to break it down to its basic constituents which you can easily master and piece back together to solve the complexities you are confronted with.

This article is written by Glen Dhliwayo.

Twitter: @GlenDhliwayo

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glendhliwayo

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#100DayChallenge #Day1

Get to the bottom of it......

Have you ever had days when something is bothering you yet you just can not really put a finger to it. Could be that lingering anxiety that lasts an afternoon and disappears once you make it to that client meeting in time or that uneasiness you have had since high school that suddenly takes over you whenever you stand in front of any audience. Any anxiety we may carry is usually rooted in something much deeper than the present situation.If we do not make the commitment to sit down and deal with it, it will forever hold us in fear robbing us of the chance to fully enjoy the present and take on bigger opportunities. The question becomes do we just shrug it off, devise coping methods or we get to the bottom of it?

Getting to the bottom of it is not just dealing with the symptoms-it is the whole process of tests and diagnosis to figure out the real problem. Sometimes its much easier to shrug off the feeling and hope it will self-solve but that hardly ever happens. The elephant in the room never disappears because it is not adressed, it only grows by the day.  When you have a headache you take a painkiller and usually after a while it goes away. If that headache is however a symptom of something more complex like dehydration, you could quieten the head for a bit but the dehydration could just get worse and you suffer greater consequences. Getting to the bottom of it is a commitment to totally understand the complexities of our problems and worries with the resolve to deal with it so we can go on with our lives without the burden.

Getting to the bottom of it allows you to take control and make informed decisions in good time. We all suffer from so many different fears some which have been legitimised but will you allow your fears to hold you hostage. Most fears arise from an uncertainty of what ifs and getting to the bottom of it includes the gathering of facts that can empower you to be liberated and in control. If you are convinced you are a terrible public speaker you will always be in knots every time you have to speak before an audience. On the other hand you can open up to understanding what amazing speakers do right, how you can improve and committing to work on yourself to change. Getting to the bottom of it is taking responsibility and control for your state of mind and applying yourself to unpack and deal with your concerns.

It could be a relationship that has suddenly just become unpredictable and difficult,the fear of death or just anxiety about whether your colleague will make it in time for that important client meeting. You have the power to take control of the situation by getting to the bottom of it to figure out what exactly you are concerned about, audit your feelings and thoughts about the situation and choose to do something about the situation. Remember you cannot do everything but you should do everything you can.

Quitting is not an option!

Life is a summation of a series of choices and decisions that we are often asked to make. One of the most familiar of these, is the choice between quitting and carrying on.

When you have tried too many times and produced undesired results, the temptation to throw in the towel and close shop on your dream can be so enticing. What’s sad though is that too many people quit when they are right on the brink of a breakthrough.

Do not give up on a dream that you hold so closely in your heart. It may delay in coming but it will surely come. Keep working on it and in your due season you will surely reap a harvest.

Habakkuk 2:3 says, “For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end [fulfilment]; it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait [earnestly] for it, because it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day.

Every genuine dream has its appointed time in the order of things and surely this is not the time to quit on your dream. Quitting is never an option after all!

God bless you all.

The writer is a Motivational Teacher

He can be contacted on glendhliwayo@gmail.com  or Whatsapp: 0715348044 

You still have it.......

Most times we desire to be better people than we currently are so every once in a while we will make commitments to go the extra mile. We will take on tasks that require endurance to keep going when we would rather give up. We commit to doing with much less than we could comfortably like. We diet, exercise, read, pray, save, endure, empathise and try to understand, we are patient, we practise restraint we endure and we sacrifice. Unfortunately the world still continues without much regard to our efforts. The easy alternatives do not always go away. The ordinary is still accepted and offered to us. We endure and we keep going, our willpower and self confidence growing with every good day. We even start to glow in the affirmation of others when results start to show. We improve and yaay we are better people. Then one day something upsets our routine and we decide to just let it slide for a day. The next day there is another acceptable reason for us to pass again. Third time, fourth time and we think maybe we will just let this week slide. Next week we almost resume but gosh we have forgotten how painful it is and so we reduce the standard. A week, two weeks, a month and slowly but surely we slide back to where we started - only that this time we now carry the guilt and regret of having failed. At what point is it okay to just throw in the towel?  Is there hope to try again? At what point can we make peace with the guilt and regret and just be?

I will confess : Initially I thought this was for someone else out there but I realise maybe I needed to hear it more myself. Amongst the many other things I have slacked on, is this very blog. Busy days at work, family and friends visiting, writers block, lame internet and its been all sixteen weeks since I last posted here. Yes initially there were excuses but with time it became an issue of whether I still deserved it? Or maybe I should just be content with the fact that at some point in my life I was once a good blogger and close that chapter. Unfortunately when we have failed, the greatest enemy becomes that carried over feeling of failure and inconsistency. The doubt about whether we deserve another chance. That fear that what if we fail again? That false comfort to say ‘For what it was worth-those were good days' But what happens to out true potential and what we still could have been? What if someone was looking to us for inspiration? Maybe these are just my little fears and insecurities but just in case someone out there fights the same battles possible with a different issue may I encourage you to try again. Maybe just once more? Today?

It does not matter how many days, weeks, months or years it has been since you last tried but I think today is a good day to try get back into it .Do not let slip ups or mistakes convince you that you are a failure. I believe that in this journey of life we are always work in progress. Only ready for this very day we are living but still requiring a little more toughening and wisening up for tomorrow so do not be too hard on yourself. Maybe yesterday you were not yet ready to stand that test you failed but gather wisdom from it, muster up enough courage and believe its not over until you master it. So just in case you have also fallen for the umpteenth time please do not give up on yourself. Slowly but surely, get yourself up, dust yourself of those negative hold backs and put one foot forward. You may be unsteady as you learn to get back into it but build on the confidence just like the last time. Get back into it- run, walk, limp and if you really can't gather enough strength you may crawl. You cannot do everything, but you should do everything you can.

Walk the other way.....

Yesterday I was chatting with someone about their life principles-amongst the several things they shared ,what really caught my attention was their saying they lived their life not based on what they know they want but by walking away from what they do not want. I thought it was an interesting way to live but I just had to experience it. So when we offered to take them for a walk, we asked him which way he did not want to go and guess what? He snubbed the direction with your usual park, popular buildings, and interesting shops and so it seems we were headed the ‘other way. Disregarding the little protest in my mind about how we were leaving the usual fun stuff and choosing to embrace an open mind we set out in the other direction.

 Granted there was not much to show in the form of scenery and building, we got caught up in small chat about life, ideas and opinions we ended up walking further than we would have planned and I learnt so much in a small while. Looking back at that little chat and stroll I have picked a few things that I will just quickly share here about daring to walk away from what we know we do not like and embarking on the paths untrodden and uncertain

1.It grows you-when you throw yourself into the unknown because there are really no set boundaries you just keep applying yourself tirelessly and as such you keep growing. As you are amazed at just how much you can actually do, it serves as inspiration to do so much more. Outside the comfort zone, achievement does not say this is it we are done, it says instead oh wow, so how much more can we do and become.

2. The possibilities are endless- because the road has never been walked before you are not necessarily tied and restricted to previously paved out routes. It is entirely up to you to choose which way to go and should that one fail you are not necessarily distressed as you know there are 101 other paths you can pursue and as such you are always excited and raring to go

3. When you are out of the comfort zone you tend to learn what is really important and you focus on it. Away from the pursuit of the ordinary you are bound to learn what really is important. Say for example you choose not to become an accountant though it pays very well but choose instead something you are passionate about, you will sooner learn that the actual purpose of work is significance and service and so you learn to grasp the real valuables of life.

I have set my mind to live a full life, each day grabbing random opportunities, exploring new things and just trying out life. In this journey I have learnt so much, have found myself enjoying the liberation from fear, dogma and unfounded expectations. It’s an amazing journey as I discover people, myself and life as a whole. Yesterday  a random chat with Ian Kamau and Ano gave me a little insight, an awesome perspective to life and a good stroll . Here is to hope you dare to walk away from what you do not want, I promise as you go you will find so much more you like and live a little more excitingly.