Life is indeed full of challenges and equally full of a myriad of opportunities waiting to be seized. As humans beings we are often on the complaining, whining and feeling sorry for ourselves frame of mind when life doesn’t go as planned. Sometimes at our workplaces we get bored and become demeaned because of the time and effort we put in with little recognition at the end of the month by our employer. At school, we get upset at our lecturer for poorly grading our semester paper, then at home we get all grumpy and start throwing tantrum’s at our loved ones because there was not enough salt in the food or sugar in our cup of tea.
All these experiences are drawn from our inability to cultivate an attitude of value and to bring it out for others to see, feel and remember. We will never get satisfied with accruing material goods in this world and even as we pester and threaten our employers’ we need to ask ourselves whether we are of value to them or not? Does the company save money because you make less mistakes or do they lose valuable income because of your negligence? Are you only concerned about getting a descent grade at the expense of obtaining a holistic education that will inspire learning throughout your life? At home do you set aside your pride and ego to serve those in your home and to appreciate the little that everyone does instead of always rushing to criticize?
When we learn to cope with life and take it each day as it comes, when we understand that there are just some things that we cannot change and when we cultivate a positive attitude in every aspect of our life- then the very things that we continue complaining about will bring inexpressible comfort and peace of conscience to us. When we are at peace with ourselves, by learning to understand our strengths and weaknesses, making necessary changes and then becoming the change that we aspire for others then our value ratings shoot way up!
Allow me to quote a story about developing into a person of value by the author Dave Boreham entitled ‘Up Where You Belong.’
“A huge insurance company for which a friend of mine works went through a re-engineering process. They retrenched thousands of people and restructured the organisation. My friend was appointed head of I.T. He had been with the company for close on five years and now had a number of people who had been there for twenty odd years reporting to him.
These people were not very happy with the fact that this young “Wipper Snapper’ was now heading IT. My friend had, during the five years he was with the company, taken it upon himself to attend as many courses as he could, at his own cost, in order to enhance his skills and increase his knowledge and value.
The other members of the I.T department could also have taken these opportunities, but felt comfortable with the knowledge that they had gained over the past twenty odd years. The problem was that they had one-year experience, twenty odd times over, whereas my friend had five years of varied, updated and dedicated experience. He was of greater value. He had invested in himself by giving his time and his money to become more valuable.”
In essence, society can no longer afford to carry people who are waiting. They require people who are able to contribute and add value. When you become a commodity of value in your society, then the organization that has employed you will seek a greater interest in you and those around you will also notice you! Let us all work a little bit more at cultivating an attitude of value.
