EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
A busy business executive counting blessings in an office / Photo Courtesy / Tima Miroshnichenko
I prepared Early
The
list will definitely be long. It will be long because a lot of things have
happened along the way. The journey has been beautiful. Beautiful in the sense that
it has revealed both sides of the coin. And perhaps, the most interesting part
of the journey. Was to experience what the head and the tail carried. The weight of each side tested my
fortitude. In typical sense. I am a very strong person. I am strong because I
learned to build a resilient foundation. I have always stood on a strong
foundation. In fact, I have never worried about the foundation my entire life.
I knew I was going somewhere. So I prepared early. I gathered the right tools.
And built an unshakable ground. The building was intentional. Nothing is random
about me anyway. I love life. And my focus is always on the brighter side. And
a good foundation is part of that brighter side.
The
journey was lovely. It was kind enough to show me the path I was walking on.
The path did not contain fruit trees on either side. Instead, the path was full
of twists. And it churned out so many of them. All the ugly side of the coin
came out. Maybe, I had thought about this journey before I walked it. However,
I was not prepared to see or endure what I had to deal with. That was
difficult. It was hard. The journey was complicated. When I said it really
tested my entire existence. It surely did. Like nothing I have ever seen
before. But I am grateful. Because when you have a rough journey such as the
one I have witnessed. You need something strong to stand on. You cannot have a convoluted
journey. And at the same time. Have a shaky base. One of those two must be
stable. Unless you want to sink.
But I
was not prepared to sink. I trained myself to outlast my worst day. Though
journey turned ugly. And almost everything became unbearable. I survived. And
that is the beauty of life for me. Life is a good honest friend. It has your
best interests at heart. It likes you. It loves you. But still. It will bring
tempest to you. A tempest is not betrayal from life. A tempest is a sign. That
your time is up. That you need to mature. A polite remainder of a long journey
ahead. Life does not want you to get comfortable with morsels. A tempest is a tap
on the shoulder to look at the bigger picture. There is more to life than bread
crumbs. More than running one successful business. If your potential is to run
a franchise. Life will not let you rest on the laurels of one venture. It will
push you out of your comfort zone.
A hard working man in business / Photo / Nangila Gallery
Rough Journey
And
sometimes, that push is a rough journey. One that makes you cry. A journey that
robs you off a support system. One that leaves you hanging on a thread. When
you get to the hanging on a thread. You will surely think about something. Hold
the thread stronger or let it go. Whatever decision you make at this point. The
outcome will be called a choice. Because life gave you options. Personally, I
love this type of plot twist. Because it matches my strengths. I am a tough
person too. So if a journey proves to be too tough. I become toughest. My
strategy when I become toughest is not just to survive a turbulence. The
strategy is to get to the bigger picture. I need to know what is contained in
that bigger picture. And how do I turn it around. My focus is to understand
what else the journey needs to get to the destination successfully.
Life
for sure tried me. I almost hated the journey. However, I remembered the
potential. And I was like. If life thought, I got potential to own and run
franchises. Why should I chicken out in the middle of the journey? A thought
like that. Gives you hope. And you begin to find strength to walk one more
step. The more you believe in yourself. The more you keep walking. And before
you know it. You are almost there. And this is where you begin to count. Not
the remaining steps to a successful completion of a journey. But you begin a
proper count. One that focuses on the blessings on the journey. But again. What
is really there to count in a challenging journey that almost took your own
life? Is a blessing available in an ugly set up? Are bruised legs and some
thirsty throat blessings too? What is wrong with life?
But
let us count anyway. Though both sides of the coin conspired to bring more pain
than pleasure. I still had fun on the way. A good journey lets you see and
experience many different things. Hostility, hatred, betrayal, kindness, love,
and growth opportunities. I saw all
those things in my journey. Some made me sad. But I still loved the journey. My
blessing in the midst of all these different emotions was life itself. It
trusted me with a tough challenge. And somewhere deep in its mercies. Life knew
that I could survive. Look. I did not know that I had that kind of strength
life saw in me. I also did not know there was a fighter inside me. At least I
knew I was a bit tough. But surviving a whole tempest was a whole new
revelation. Storms are bad. They make you feel like a failure. Because things
quickly become strange.
Risk After the Other
An exciting pattern of numbers / Photo / Black Ice
And you
have to function in an environment you have never known before. That means. You
will encounter a lot of struggles. To just find somewhere to rest your hand or
foot. You are not equipped for such settings. You have never experienced such
moments. Such strangeness alone, is enough to make you want to quit. Because
storms bring a fool out of you. They bring up a lot of questions with less
answers. So in most occasions. You have to come up with new things all the
time. And even when you come up with those new things. You are not guaranteed
that they will work. So it is a risk after the other. And in some occasions. A
scene in your journey will consume all your resources. But still continue to
bleed. So trust me when I tell you that storms are bad. They are really bad. They
will leave you with few options.
So I
have to count surviving a tempest in the journey as a blessing. Life proved to me
that it was a good friend. It really shook up my life in the worst way
possible. But still trusted me. I love such friends. Those that never let you
settle. Because they know you deserve more. At least I could use an honest
friend in my worst day. I count the kindness life showed me as a blessing. Yes,
it took me through tough scenarios. Some that even tested my very existence.
However, life was kind. It was kind enough to let me see both sides of the
coin. When you see the ugliness and goodness of a coin. You learn two things.
Open your eyes fully and see everything. And second, the influence you receive
from what you see. The things that you see shape you. They can make you better
or a worst version of yourself. That influence means something to a wise person.
I
learned my lessons. And because of those lessons. My future will be much
brighter. Both sides of the coin unburdened me from some things. At least I
learned that my loyalty was in the wrong place. That some people just need to
get out of my way. I couldn’t have come to such conclusion if I remained in the
comfort zone. So life was kind enough to reveal things that were hidden in
plain sight. I gained wisdom through that kindness.
Let's Count Now
A rough tempest at the sea / Photo / Gleive Marcio
And
my life will not remain the same again. The wisdom I am carrying forward has
informed that vetting will be needed. Not everyone will access me because they
can. I have walked passed that door. And I am not opening it. Such wisdom will
ensure that I don’t waste my resources in wrong place or people in the future.
It had to take an honest friend to arrive at these decisions.
The
blessings in the journey were many. I actually counted more than ten blessings.
That just got to tell you. I am not the same person I was five years ago. I am
more blessed moving forward. The baptismal of fire is perhaps. My most treasured
blessing in the entire experience. My character went through fire. And while at
it. Got baptized in the same fire. My attitude turned from bitter to gratitude.
I accepted the journey plus everything it came with. The journey came with pain
and blessings. Loss and restoration. You only had to decide.
Do
you die in the phase of pain and loss? Or do you fight to witness restoration
and blessings. These were tough decisions. I was tired. But I had to forego my
tiredness because I had tough decisions to make. The fire refined me in a way I
had never imagined. It landed me in a good place. A place of safety, peace, and
love. To say that I have grown in different dimensions of my life, is an
understatement. I am thriving spiritually, emotionally, psychologically, and physically.
My soul is subdued. And my body is no longer in charge. There is new leadership
in the land.
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