By Bayo Ogunmupe
While we live in perpetual fear of making mistakes or taking wrong turns, the spiritual equation allows us to take the free way and hit the destination we desire. Because the voice of the universe can never be wrong, you should mute out the voice of your ego and tune into the voice of the universe. This my letter is so timely now where a lot of conflicting messages about politics, career, relationships, parenting and even nutrition bombard us even to the point of utter confusion. You can avoid all of the time wasted by following the spiritual formulas set below.
One, formulate a powerful guided meditation and affirmative prayer that will allow you to accept and love yourself fully. Try to live differently from your friends and neighbors. Even small changes can be significant: different form of transportation to work or different route home. Eat lunch with someone different in a place you've never been before. Wear a dress you would never have worn before. The mind that opens to a new idea never returns to its original size. Get out of your comfort zone. Of course at this point of your following this column, you are well out of your comfort zone already. But you must take advantage of your unusual position to take you further out of your comfort zone.
Two, a recent study from the Harvard School of Business in the USA suggests that asking for advice is actually well received and makes you look more capable. By asking for advice, you acknowledge the other person's intelligence and expertise, which makes them feel good. Remember the U.S car magnate Henry Ford's words: Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right. Consistency of purpose is what matters in any kind of success. People often stop working hard when they reach the top; but to maintain that top position, you have to work harder and be more consistent in your work to end up triumphantly.
Three, mind your own business, if no one has asked for your advice; it's probably unwanted and wise to keep it to yourself. Besides, it's impossible to ever know the whole story. It is so easy for you to assume you understand the situation, when in fact, you don't have all the facts. If something doesn't affect you directly, best stay out of it. Know when to shut up and actually do so. Keeping your thoughts to yourself when you are agitated is one of the most valuable skills to learn. There are many instances when keeping to yourself is the best course. When we're angry or upset, we blurt out anything and everything that comes to our mind. In such situations it's better to keep quiet. It is useless to respond to someone too upset to listen rationally to anything you have to say.
Four, resist gossip; the most important thing in life is relationships.And the most important thing about building and keeping relationships is trust. The easiest way to lose trust is to gossip about people behind their backs. Sadly, learning not to gossip is hard to do because it meant missing out on important conversations, distancing oneself from influential people and awkwardly having to tell people, sorry, I don't need to know that. Thus, staying present in the moment is all you need do. Living in the present moment might not mean much to you. The state we have become used to is a state where our thoughts are either of the past: what has been, what could have been; what you thought happened versus what actually did happen or of the future; what could happen.
Five, speaking up is one way of finding purpose in your life. If you want to have impact in your work, your community or on a wider public platform, you must learn to speak up in public. The fear of speaking our mind in public is the commonest fear across cultures. World's greatest investor, Warren Buffett said this about public speaking: "You've got to be able to communicate in life and it's enormously important. If you can't communicate and talk to other people and get across your ideas, you're giving up your potentials." Speaking in public is tied to being honest with others. Just because you don't have anything nice to say, doesn't mean you shouldn't say it. But if you could be brutally honest with yourself, the rewards would be personal integrity and respect from others; both currencies that will take you far in life.
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