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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