Of course I will never think of insulting you nor am I doing so now. However if my title offends you please forgive me; although if you are patient and follow me through to the end, you will understand what this is about.

I was in the US where I had gone to exhale and recalibrate for this year- 2015. I guess you are thinking 2014 is over, so what about it?

Well, I agree 2014 is over on the calendar but I believe there are still lessons to glean from it. More so, I believe that those that take out time to define their year (2015) before it starts are those that make their year count. You may be running late if you haven’t done that by now.

Which was why I took a few weeks towards the end of last year, not for vacation but to review 2014 and spend time learning so I might be able to bridge the gap between 2014 and 2015.
I began the journey by spending time with my friend, Sista and Coach, Anna McCoy. We spent time piecing together a GPS (Goal Positioning System) for 2015.

My next stop was a 3-day intensive learning and development time in Colorado Springs with the Platform Conference team. We did all that because we believe that a man can only get out of his dream-chase what he puts into it.

Interestingly, during the course of my stay there, I had the awesome privilege of spending an evening with Coach Anna’s mother, Momma Mary Dickerson. Speaking of Momma Mary, I met her for the first time in August 2013 and I really enjoyed chatting with her. At that time, she was hale and hearty and all was well. But by November 2013, she had a major stroke and had  experienced one health crisis after the other since then, especially through most of 2014.

A week before my trip, she returned to Dallas with the determination to recalibrate and exhale as well. By the way, to exhale and recalibrate, I mean to take out time to relax and refresh oneself for a clear retrospection of one’s life, current state or an outgoing year as the case may be; and to prepare and project into the future. So imagine how priceless my time with her that day was.

In the course of our conversation, she mentioned a few things that have strengthened my resolve to push harder because according to her, all that I will be left with at the end of the day will be the choice to either be at peace or not.

Here are four of the priceless gems I gleaned from her:

1. In the end when all is said and done, all we can do is to choose peace. As much as we would like things to change for us and those around us, there would come a time when we have to make peace with ourselves and agree that we cannot change them but trust God that we did our best when we had the chance. I thought to myself, such insight from a woman who has had death stare her in the face is definitely informed by a broad perspective of life.

2. Take life in your stride, recognise that regardless of how hard you try, some things will have to work themselves out in the end. She made me understand that no amount of fussing and being restless was going to change some of the stuff we go through therefore, if we go with the flow, we will get to our destination faster.

3. Another thing she said that blew my mind was that at the end, we will discover that life really is a process and Greatness isn’t truly about titles or appellations but knowing that we did our best. That way, we will be assured that life is only as fair as the choices we make and not by the neighbourhood we live in. Again, this wisdom kept me thinking.

4. You reserve the right to be stupid. Momma Mary shocked me once more when she asked if I had rested enough and was in the right frame of mind for the 3-day conference and l answered ‘yes’. She went on to say, “Good! …because you will need it…anyways, you reserve the right to be stupid only if you choose not to”. According to her, you can choose to be stupid or not.

While we have the right to be stupid depending on our choices and actions, we can actually opt not to. This also means that we can either choose to learn from others or make the same mistakes they made while journeying through life. The choice is ours. This is food for thought!

So as I continue the journey in 2015, I have decided not to take stupidity up on its offer. I rather choose to plan and be wise. Let me ask you, would you take stupidity as an offer this year? Unknown to many, they choose this by not learning from their past, mistakes or not planning their future. Like they say, “he that does not plan is planning to fail”. So what’s your plan for 2015?

If you have not done so, what are you doing to deliberately prepare before this first quarter of the year is out? Have you rested on your oars? Are you thinking of your next phase? Who will you journey with? Is your body strong enough to take you through the year? Is your mind set and well programmed for the year or are you already breaking down in some ways?

As for me, I choose not to be stupid. I choose to plan and be wise. It’s your turn, what do you choose? Please leave a comment below.

You will make it Nevertheless…

Resource of the week

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Bidemi