Cart

No products in the bag.

Bugs for Dollars

I must write about this. You’ll see why.

My youngest, Micah, is a very interesting child. He makes us laugh a lot – things he says, his reasoning, and some of his actions. A few days back, I heard him yell at Nathan, so I called them to find out what the problem was. Turns out Micah saw a bug near his online school setup in the parlor and asked Nathan to help him kill it. Nathan refused, maintaining that everyone should face their fears. He had a point. So, I asked Micah to go and kill the bug or avoid it. He didn’t like the verdict, so he started crying.

My husband went down to see what the problem was and resolved it. I wasn’t quite sure how he did it and my attention was elsewhere at that time so I couldn’t find out. Some time later, Micah barged into the office with a glint in his eyes. ‘What’s up?’ I asked. ‘Mummy, I have one hundred naira.’ He said with excitement. ‘How?’ I probed. ‘Daddy said he’ll pay me one hundred naira for every bug I kill, apart from ants.’ I said, ‘Okay, great!’

Over the next two days, he showed up from time to time to say N200, N300, N400 and do a victory dance. We told him we need evidence going forward and he quickly got a broom and a packer to present us with the proof of his last kill. This morning, he made the following declaration – I used to be afraid of bugs but now every time I see them, I see the dollar sign on them. Very funny.

I love the way my husband handled this. He gave Micah a valuable substitute for his fear. And I love how Micah approached it. He changed his perspective from “bugs that I fear” to “dollars running around and climbing walls”.

How do you see the problems that are before you? Can you focus on the value that comes from resolving them? That way while you work through the issues, you’ll celebrate each milestone.

Pitfalls

I read about someone who did something he shouldn’t have done and many people began to attack him on social media. I was concerned about the whole thing and was in deep thought about it for a while. I wanted to understand what went wrong and how it got to that point. I wished I had all the information so I could do a thorough analysis on the matter and identify the root cause, but with the scanty information, I was left with many possible scenarios to analyse.

Well, I have outlined some recommendations based on insights from my analysis that could help us avoid such complications in our own lives.

Firstly, hold true to your values – honesty, integrity, loyalty, faithfulness, and so on. They will serve you and protect you for life.

Secondly, be accountable to certain people in your life whom you respect; people who are older, wiser or more experienced and who have your best interest at heart. Give them permission to engage you whenever they observe anything of concern in your life, you know… they should be free to bring potential red flags to your attention. This should also work in reverse, with you pointing out potential red flags to people close enough to you.

Furthermore, in the midst of pursuing your ambitions in life, keep in mind the people that are most important to you – the people you have primary responsibility for. Yes, I mean your immediate family – your spouse and your children. Providing for your family goes beyond finances and you have to ensure they do not lack the care, nurture, attention, and love that is meant to come from you.

In addition, although it is a good practice to delegate some responsibilities so you can focus on those things that are important and need to be done by you, you have to apply common sense and be careful not to delegate those activities you are meant to handle by yourself. Sometimes, by our frequent absence or inactions, we create enough room for someone else to take our place. This is subtle delegation and we should not  do this.

Lastly, remember you’re human and as such, you’re not perfect. You can make mistakes, even very costly ones. You should therefore learn to run away from appearances of evil rather than stick around with the belief that you can handle it and the situation won’t spiral out of control.

On this note, I wish you a happy and fulfilled life with healthy relationships and scandal/disaster free success.

HAPPY EASTER!

Picture Credit:

http://www.ancoraconsulting.co.uk/home/avoiding-the-common-pitfalls-of-growth/

Privacy Settings
We use cookies to enhance your experience while using our website. If you are using our Services via a browser you can restrict, block or remove cookies through your web browser settings. We also use content and scripts from third parties that may use tracking technologies. You can selectively provide your consent below to allow such third party embeds. For complete information about the cookies we use, data we collect and how we process them, please check our Privacy Policy
Youtube
Consent to display content from Youtube
Vimeo
Consent to display content from Vimeo
Google Maps
Consent to display content from Google
SIGN UP NOW