YOUTH AND GENDER NETWORK

Hi there. There is no doubt in my mind that the desire of every young person out there is to have a great future. I have never met anybody who desired failure, rejection or mishap. Everyone, and I mean everyone, irrespective of age, gender or class, desires something good to occur in their lives. People dream dreams. Many crave for success. Many more fantasize about greatness. Indeed, the human mind is a fertile ground for conceptualizing ideas, plans and visions. Our minds are capable of traveling great distances, reverting to events of the past, observing present occurrences and even peeping into the future. Whilst the human mind has the capacity to wonder into the realm of the unknown, have you ever considered the fact that your thoughts are powerful and your mind is a breeding ground for good or evil?

There is a young man called Joe, who is in the habit of dwelling on negative thoughts. He believes that the only way to survive in Nigeria is by cheating and defrauding others of their legitimate earnings. Joe also believes that he is destined to be a failure because nobody from his lineage has ever amounted to anything good. Most of his relations are nonentities who lived miserable lives. As a result of his thought pattern, Joe rarely has the energy or drive to pursue any legitimate assignment. His mind keeps hatching evil plans or telling him to accept a destiny of failure and defeat.

In a similar vein, Amaka thinks the worst of herself. She believes that she is daft, ugly, jinxed and ultimately a loser in her pursuits. She also believes that the only way of surviving a harsh economy is by resorting to prostitution. Despite efforts by her sister to convince her otherwise, she refuses to see reason, choosing rather to retain a negative mindset. Just like Joe and Amaka, there are many people out there who waste their energies on breeding bad thoughts. They dwell on the negative, relish pity parties, and generally find it difficult to see any light in the dark tunnels of their minds. I've got advice for you buddy: quit the stinking thought pattern! Just in case you don't know, the more you feed your mind with such negative imaginations, the more those imaginations manifest as miserable reality for you.

Whilst it is true that the challenges of life could make one to feel down and out occasionally, that is by no means a justification for your going on a roller coaster ride of misery in your mind. You need to make a detour this moment, and embrace the mindset of winners. Those who have the winning formula do not have two heads, four ears and eight limbs. They are normal human beings just like you and me. The difference between failures and winners often lies in their mindset. Winners see challenges as opportunities in disguise. They also see obstacles as stepping stones to breakthroughs. For every distasteful experience in your life, you could learn a valuable lesson; become more mature, and move ahead with your positive plans. I suggest you get rid of every bad thought pattern today. Flush every evil imagination out of your mind and fill that fertile mind of yours with beautiful, positive and powerful ideas. Stop hatching plans of how to covet your neighbour's property, or how to defraud your brother of his hard earned money. You have the ability to be successful, if only you can believe in yourself and your God-given potentials. Yes, begin to see yourself as a winner. Imagine yourself in success destination. Channel your energies into legitimate work and stop lazing around. No doubt, the idle mind is the devil's workshop so get busy. Read a good book that can motivate you to remain focused and positive. Realize that nothing is impossible to those who believe and work towards achieving their positive goals. Yes, it might take a while to see your dreams translated to reality, but with patience, determination, fervent prayers and an unrepentant positive attitude, you are sure to become a winner someday soon. Make a firm resolution to adopt the mindset of winners in the coming year. God will see you through. So long.