REMEMBER THE PAST ! NO MATTER WHAT, STRIVE TO KEEP YOUR PROMISE!

There was a blind girl who hated herself just because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She said that if she could only see the world, she would marry her boyfriend.
One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her and then she could see everything, including her boyfriend. Her boyfriend asked her, “Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?”
The girl was shocked when she saw that her boyfriend was blind too, and refused to marry him. Her boyfriend walked away in tears, and later wrote a letter to her saying: “Just take care of my eyes dear.”

This is how human brain changes when the status changed. Only few remember what life was before, and who’s always been there even in the most painful situations.

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WHATEVER COMES TO YOUR MIND TO DO, GIVE IT A SECOND THOUGHT

By, Chukwuka Basil Uche

How often do you crave to get hold of little things? If your answer is very often, you are just being honest to yourself; otherwise you might wish to know further what the “little things” imply. 

Well, the truth is that there is no specific thing as little or big, it all depends on your type of individual, mindset, time and perspective which you are looking at it, little things have different meaning to different set of people at different time, different level of thinking, understanding and disposition. 

What is big for you might be so minute to the world richest man. Also, what you consider big today might indeed become so little three year to come. 

The truth is that life is like a ladder, as you climb pass every step, the view of what you left behind becomes diminished.

Unless you are not growing, there bound to be constant changing of your person, thinking and understanding. 

But mind you, no matter how big you have grown, you still have that impulse to react to things that are so trivial to your current status. 

But if you’ve learned to be in charge of your own person, you don’t come down to your small self that you have left behind, but when forced to, you always smile and let go. It is important therefore to know that one who grows is the one who always try to live above his bigness. That is one who has learnt to be lord over their ego. 

Don’t get it wrong, you grow only when you learn to sit on your ego, not your ego sit on you; what does it mean? In other to resurrect your glory, you have to burry your ego. Just as Robert H. Schuller said that, “Goal must not be from your ego, but problems that cry for a solution’’ and it is only reason that will teach you this.

Though, as it is natural for every living thing to react to external stimuli, so is everyone has this inert burning urge to react to anything that impinge on one’s ego. 

The reaction will depend on the type of surge poses by the corresponding cause. If it catches the fancy of the ego, the reaction is tends to be positive thus that the person will be manipulated to embrace the cause hastily and wholeheartedly. 

However, if the cause signals danger, there tends to be arousal of corresponding surge that create negative reaction in other to counter it. 

This explains the reason you are fulfilled when you are congratulated, and you fill so aggrieved when you are reproached.

It is as strong as the urges you feel when you perceived an aroma of a sweet smelling cooking when you’re so hungry that if care is not taken you find yourself salivate to the embarrassment of your person. 

Whereas the situation would be quite different when you do not have the appetite or when you find the smell repugnant, in any of these cases you’re naturally bound to react differently.

 It is the same as when something you thought as nothing hits your consciousness, you definitely will pay no heed to it, whilst that which you thought as very crucial, you will pursue with every force and energy you have.

 Now, consider a dog or a starved child sits beside you at the first instance, what would be the reaction? Your guess is as good as mine – gaped mouth salivation. Then you ask why do you not salivate even when you were moved to? The answer is simple and short – Personal Control.

Personal Control can be seen as self consciousness or self-control. 

It is the ability to be in charge at all-time, against all odd. 

It is the instant reawakening of the conscious mind from the state of unconscious manipulation. 

It is the power you assume to react purposefully and differently to your natural impulses. 

It is self-awareness, which is, being conscious of what you do, when you do it and why you do it. 

It is what differentiates humans from other animals – the thinking faculty or reasoning ability. Personal control is the ability to subordinate an impulse to a value which Stephen R. Covey referred to as “the essence of the proactive person”.

Logical reasoning is therefore subject to personal control. 

This is because human mind is in constant flux with existential externalities that one is always moved to act before one think. 

Hence, it is only those who are in absolute control of their mind can always take the best of personal judgement and arrive at sound logical decision at earliest possible time before they react to any cause; they always weigh the definite effect of any cause before reacting to it. “He who controls others may be powerful”, said Lao Tzu, “but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.”   

Mastering control over yourself gives you makes much easier for you to master control over others. it is true that he who cannot control himself cannot succeed controlling other people. Robert E. Lee put it thus,   “I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself.”

Personal Control makes you reasonable because with it, you will always act reasonably. 

It will make you weigh outcomes for an action before venturing into it, thus help you to avoid a wild goose chase. It makes you goal oriented thus helps you save your energy for things of little or no important; those things that mostly irritate the ego and make it want to revenge unnecessarily.

Weird thought it may sound but the fact, that what irritate the ego the most are things of little or no importance. Which is why a well dressed man would want to act like mad, pull off his shirt in the public just to fight a person who tell him that he is mad without simply understanding that the person just expressed his opinion and that ignoring him will only prove him wrong in the eye of the public while reacting to it will somewhat prove him right. It is the reason there is war in the world, terrorism and crime.    

If the world would embrace this fact and have a paradigm shift, there sure must be absolute peace in the world.

But wait! Who on earth doesn’t have an ego or who on earth doesn’t want to satisfy his ego? The answer is definitely none! 

Even the nations, says James Joyce, have their ego, just like individuals. 

Ego is the nature of human, a survival mechanism. It is the ego that makes you who you are, it makes you want to stand tall above others; it is in fact what keeps the world moving. 

But ego seeking is what has made the mighty fallen, it is what make a nation fight a nation and kingdom rises above kingdom.  It has set into the world an unquenchable fire that is verging to bring it into ruin.

Hence, it is not only nonsensical but also suicidal to seek to satisfy all your ego’s prompts. The voice of ego speaks of instant gratification, personal glory, pride, anger and violence. So be careful when it speaks.  

Always be in control, whatever comes to your mind to do, give it a second thought. Dale Carnegie once wrote in his book how to win friends and influence people that “Everybody in the world is seeking happiness—and there is one sure way to find it. That is by controlling your thoughts. Happiness doesn't depend on outward conditions. It depends on inner conditions.” 

While Ego calls mostly for instant outrageous action, thought calls for reason; your misdeeds depend largely on the level of your ego seeking, while your principles lie so much on the level of your thinking. 

The only product of thinking is thought. 

It is therefore only the absolute control of thought that will guide one through rightful action and positive outcome. 

It queries you on what you stand to gain or lose if you should engage in a fight with someone that insulted you publicly. It will make you guard your utterances when you felt provoked and make you smile at things others will felt so provoked about. 

It is your thought that determines the way your mind will translate issues around you. In fact it is your thought that will guide you through proper decision making. 

It is your thought that makes you who you are and determine what you will become.

Sadness and joy, trouble and peace, sickness and health likewise every other state of being all depend on thought.

Therefore guard your thought, always think, think and think before you act!

Thank you.

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6 THINGS EVERY TEEN SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MONEY

So your teen might have passed their driver’s test with flying colors and aced their latest history test, but what about money matters? While you might get an eye roll from your teen when it comes to teaching them about, say, the importance of saving their money, it’s essential that they have a solid understanding of core financial concepts that will set the stage for their success as adults. Here are six things about money that every teen should know, and a few savvy ways you can help give your teens a financial education:

1. How to create a budget.

As we all know, budgeting is an essential part of managing our finances. One way you can teach your teen how to track their expenses and cash flow is by a system of envelopes, suggests Paul Vasey, founder of CashCrunch Games.

“Teens need to realize that they can only spend a dollar once,” explains Vasey. “They have infinite wants and finite resources, and therefore need to make choices. Once their money has been spent, it cannot be spent again. By getting them to realize that they have choices, and also, if they do not buy the product that day, their lives will probably not come crashing down around them.”

You can work with your teen on saving for a family summer trip. How much will they save for shopping and eats during the trip? How will they allocate their spending?

2. How to save for a rainy day. 

Instead of treating you as the bank, have a chat with them on how they can save for unforeseen expenses, or maybe just for things they’ll need to save up for. Bill Dwight, founder of FamZoo.com, requires that his kids set aside a few hundred dollars in a separate account. “That way, they can cover that first parking ticket, stolen bike, or broken iPhone without relying on a bailout from mom and dad,” Dwight explains.

If you’re a member of a local credit union, can contact your local branch to look into opening a savings account for your teen. It’s a great way to introduce them to the world of tracking their spending and managing their money.

3. The differences between credit and debit cards. 

Knowing the major differences between how credit and debit cards and how to go about applying for one. This can also introduce them to how interest works, and what happens if they don’t pay a credit card on time.

You can show them how to track their spending on their phone, and how to set limits and alerts on their credit card spending through apps such as CardNav(sm) by CO-OP.

4. How student loans work.

Even if you opened a college fund for your child, with the soaring costs of higher education, there’s a good chance that your teen will need to sniff out funding on their own. Talk with them on expectations on who will be paying for what, and what they’ll be responsible for.

Teaching them about how student loans work, the different options and plans for repayment, and their responsibility on paying it back will also help them be prepared for when they are full-fledged adults and have to make major purchases that require good credit.

If you currently have student debt, you could talk to them about your personal experience with paying off your loans. Opening the doors to communication could help them not only have a firmer grasp on student debt, but also your teen will know they can come to you with any questions.

5. How to earn a buck.

Get them started on earning their own money by getting a summer or afterschool gig. It’s a great opportunity to teach them how to read a pay stub, so they understand how income taxes are deducted.

If your teen has a passion for something, such as crafty wares, programming, or woodworking, you can work with them on potentially starting their own business. Being a young entrepreneur will teach them valuable skills that will help them down the road.

6. How investing works.

While you might not necessarily get into specifics and do a deep dive on investing, understanding how the economy and stock market works and learning basic terms such as “bull” and “bear market” will help your teen be more educated when it comes time for them to invest.

If you can afford to do so, one thing you can do to give your teen a jump-start on investing is to play what Dwight of FamZoo calls the “Family 401(k),” where after your teen gets their first summer job, you can work with them on opening a Roth IRA. You can sweeten the pot by offering to match their contributions. One thing you can also do is invest the money in a low-cost, diversified index fund. “This practice rewards hard work while teaching your teens the power of matching opportunities, compounding, index funds, long term investing, dollar cost averaging [if you do it each year], and tax­-advantaged savings,” explains Dwight.

By taking the time now to teach your teens fundamentals about money, they’ll have the financial smarts to succeed as adults

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WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BECOME? THINK IT AND ACT IT!

 Today I want us to dwell on the power of thinking and its' connection to becoming. This is a key aspect of personality building, simple also but most difficult to understand. The reason being that thought at times comes involuntarily and tends to be very difficult to control. This therefore formed yet another important sub to the topic of discussion -- how best to control your thought. 

The issue of mind control is as much as self control. Hence anyone who can control him/her mind would sure have no problem controlling his/herself, thinking and actions. It is the mind that initiate it all, the thinking, then the thought triggers the body to action. Thus, whatever that man does starts right from the mind. Think of the platform you are reading this at the moment, think of the school you attended, think of the house you are leaving in, think of the bank, the cloths, all once an idea resided in someone's mind before it came to manifestation.

Nothing made by human that has not once existed in the mind before it came to be. This shows a strong connection between Mind, Thought, actions and Manifestation. The body is in perpetual communication with the mind and mostly works on it's instructions.

If you are a student of computer, you will understand the body as a computer hardware, the mind as the software, the thought as a program bits and the brain as the processor.  You will also understand the process of thinking as a software programing, the way the computer works depends on the programme written in the software, if the right codes are written into the software, the computer does the right thing, but if the wrong code is written into the software, the computer either misbehave or crashes. 

Same is applicable to human beings, when the positive thoughts are constantly fed to the mind the person has no other option that to become positive, while in other case the negative thoughts are constantly fed to the mind the person definitely turns out to become negative.

What this mean therefore, is that the mind is the power of manifestation. whatever that is placed in the mind, unless removed and replaced, must come to manifest. why did I said replaced? Because the mind is such a retentive entity that whatever that it holds, lingers even when it is removed unless it is replaced entirely. This is sure an important way to control your mind.

In other to be in absolute control of your mind, you must first of all learn to remove and replace unwanted thoughts from your mind. It is very important you decide what you want your person to manifest, examine your mind and get rid of any contradicting thought, then replace with the positive thought about your  desired person, as soon as this is achieved, you will see your self becoming that which you desired to become. At times negative thoughts do not just left as easy as that, but with constant countering with the positive thinking, you wont even know when it get lost.


The next is act. It is very important when you think you act. Thus, Norman Vincent Peal puts it, "if you want a quality, act as if you already have it, if you want to be courageous, act as if you were - and as you act and persevere in acting, so you tend to become". Aristotle rather put it this way, "Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting a particular way. You become just by performing just actions, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave actions". Therefore you become what you think and act.

By
 Chukwuka Basil Uche

...To be continued.
 

 

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7 TIPS ON HOW TO BECOME A BETTER STUDENT

Being a student, especially in the later years of Secondary school and the higher institution years, can be a time when you are finally given the independence that you craved. 

At the same you haven’t learned exactly how to manage your life between the educational and personal developments that seems to occur at an increasing rate.

 Getting your plans and time sorted out is vital to your success in these educational years, so if you are looking for some guidance on how best to arrange yourself, then here are seven of the best self-management tips all students should know.

1. Sleep

First and foremost, you need to be getting a good night’s sleep as often as you can. After all, your brain needs just as much rest as any other organ to operate at its full capacity, and if it is running on empty it is not going to serve you in the best way that it can.

2. Eat

A healthy diet is also essential during these stressful times at school. The more good fuel your body has, the more inspired and motivated you are going to be to get your work done and perform at a good energy level. Lots of fruit and vegetables will keep you feeling good and strong.

3. No Skipping

Experts at Assignment Masters cannot stress enough just how important it is that you do not skip any of your classes. There will always be vital information given out in every class that could be the key to unlocking the idea for your final project; you should always be ready and present.

4. Calendar

Buy a calendar and make notes of every single deadline and class that you have. This way you will always be on top of the places you have to be and what times you have to be there. One of the worst things that could happen is for you to complete an assignment but hand it in a day too late.

5. Technology Balance

Make the effort to balance out your use of certain technology and social media platforms. They are the number one culprit for procrastination amongst today’s student body, and training yourself to stay away when you are writing your assignments can be really beneficial.

6. Study Groups

If you are the kind of student who finds it nearly impossible to be productive alone, then make the most of all the different study groups that your school or college offers. There you will be able to work alongside people who are motivated and their motivation will spur you into action and make you much more productive.

7. Don’t Over Commit

The mixture of personal and professional life at college can sometimes be overwhelming. Balancing these two aspects can be tough, but it is important to try not to over commit to activities on either side. Always leave time at the end of a day to review your studies so you can go in to the next day’s classes ready and prepared.

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