THRIVING AS A GIRL-CHILD

Written by Gavin Aleogho

 

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Psalms 139:14

 

Malala Yousafzai was born in 1997 in Swat Valley, Pakistan, to a modest family. Malala grew up in a region where the Taliban increasingly imposed strict rules, especially curtailing the education of girls. Thanks to her father, a passionate advocate for education. Her father inspired her to fight for the right to learn despite these oppressive conditions.

 

Despite the oppression and assassination attempt on her life, she rose to become a major voice for girl-child, an activist for girls-education. Through her advocacy, many girls rose from obscurity to prominence. She is a symbol of courage and resilience.

 

The story of Malala Yousafzai is one I love to use to inspire and motivate girls. It tells how a girl-child can rise to become what God has designed her to be, despite the many challenges confronting her.

 

The girl-child is a unique gift from God that everyone must recognize, appreciate, and celebrate. Her potential is limitless. A girl-child that is encouraged and supported by parents and society will always evolve to become a major contributor to the advancement of the society. This is why Michelle Obama said, “When girls are educated, their countries become stronger and more prosperous."

There is no doubt that the girl–child is confronted with many challenges, ranging from societal marginalisation, sexual molestation, gender discrimination, and cultural oppression. However, it is important to know that, like Malala; a lot of ladies have been able to rise to the peak of their careers despite these obstacles.

 

The girl-child must understand that she is not inferior to anybody, rather, she is made in God’s image, and she is fearfully and wonderfully made. She must see herself from God’s perspective, for her self-worth does not lie in the opinion of the society or of men but of what God says about you. Every girl-child must be told she is valuable.

 

The girl child must also understand that she is not without a God-given purpose. As a girl, there is a purpose why God made you. You are not here to fulfil the purpose of another man. You are unique; with an assignment to fulfil here on here. If you don’t come to this realisation, you will suffer from an inferiority complex.

 

For the girl-child to thrive in this contemporary world, she must strive to develop herself. Develop yourself academically as a girl. Get wisdom, get understanding. Improve yourself. Get skills. Develop your talents. Doing this will greatly open doors for you in the future.

You can’t overlook the importance of having a mentor, coach, or role model if you must advance in life as a girl. You need someone who will guard, help and motivate you to become all you are designed to be. Such a person must be mature, God-fearing, experienced, and filled with wisdom to properly guard you.

Like the father of Malala; parents, society, and the church must rise up to give support and encourage the girls-child to become all that God has designed them to be. Don’t be among those that abuse, violence, or take advantage of our girls-child. Be a source of inspiration and motivation for our girls-child. They need your support.

 

THE FIVE ELEMENTS OF HARD WORK

-Gavin Aleogho

 

In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.

Proverbs 14:23

 

The purpose of every work that we involve in is to have results; that is what Proverbs 14:23a is saying; “there is profit in hard work.” But what if a man claims to be working hard without results? What could be wrong?

 

It is possible to think that you are hard-working, but in reality, you are not. You are only busy without directions. Like a quack carpenter, you are not hitting the nail on the head; hence the nail is not being driven in.

 

A young man claims that he is working hard to pass his exams. Although you always find him reading, when you take a critical look at what he is reading, you find out that he is reading the wrong materials which do not relate to the course he is supposed to be preparing for. Such a person is actually working but is he working correctly? No.

 

The elements of hard work are the components that will help you to work rightly and smartly, making your hard work worthwhile, rather than just being busy beating about the bush. Incorporating these 5-elements into your work is guaranteed to produce great results.

 

Here are the 5-elements:

 

Element 1: DRIVE

 

Your drive is your motivation. If you don't have a drive in life, you will be static in life. Your drive is the reason why you are doing what you are doing. It is your reason for the work in the first place.

 

For example, a young man that came from a poor family who gains admission into a high institution might be very serious with his studies. This is given to the fact that he is from a poor family background. And he wants to successfully finish his studies so that he can be of help to his family. That is a good drive.

 

Your drive will keep you awake when others are sleeping. However, when you lack that drive, you will find yourself procrastinating on what you ought to be doing.

 

For you not to deal with a slack hand, you will have at the front of your mind the reasons why you should be doing what you ought to do.

 

Element 2: STRATEGIC PLAN

 

It is not enough to put all your energy into a given project; you must also learn to work smart. And for you to work smart, you must have a strategic plan on how you are going to work hard to achieve your goal. You can't just work haphazardly.

 

Hard work in itself does not guarantee success. What guarantees success is hard work that is done the right way on the right thing at the right time.

 

This principle is rightly applied in cooking our African delicacies. When cooking our Africa soup, for you to have the desired result, you must learn to put each ingredient at the proper time. Doing otherwise will alter the beautiful result that you want.

 

In the same vein, you must apply the same principle to the project you are working on. Your hard work must be planned and structured.

 

If you want to have excellence in your academics, you must have a strategic plan on how you will be reading your books on a regular and a daily basis at your most productive hour. This plan must also contain the minimum hour of time you MUST spend daily on reading.

 

This principle is applicable to anything you want to work hard to achieve.

 

Element 3: A GOAL

 

Work is an instrument for attaining your goal. Your goal is your reward.

 

Your goal is what you wish to achieve with your hard work.  As a matter of fact, you ought to have a goal before you engage in any work. Thus, if you find yourself working hard, then never forget the reason why you started working in the first place.

 

A lady who wants to be a good soloist would spend countless hours working on her voice. Not until the goal is achieved, work must continue.

 

When your goal is not clearly defined, you will lack the motivation to keep on working. Not forgetting that as you engage in hard work concerning a goal, you will encounter distractions on your way. But having a clearly defined goal will help you to keep your focus, despite the many distractions in life.

 

Element 4: SACRIFICE

 

There is no true hard work without sacrifice. If you are working hard presently, it invariably means that you are sacrificing something for you to have time and resources to work on your project.

 

Sacrifice is the forfeiting of pleasure for the attainment of a goal. If you want to be a hardworking person, then you must be ready to sacrifice some pleasures. Especially pleasures that tend to distract you from focusing on the task at hand.

 

No sacrifice, no hard work. For hard work is synonymous with sacrifice. Thus, work without sacrifice is not really hard work.

 

Some pleasures that must be sacrificed for hard work are:

-Long hour with TV

-Unproductive use of the internet

-Time on frivolities

-Time with unproductive companions

-Et cetera.

 

Yes, the proverb: "All work and no play make Jack a dull boy," is very true. For you actually need time to refresh your brain. However, you must learn to strike a balance and know when to set a limit.

 

Element 5: EFFORTS AND ENERGY

 

Effort and energy is the amount of work you need to put in to achieve a particular goal. There is a minimum requirement of work needed for every goal you wish to attain.

 

The amount of work needed to get a grade of “F” parallel in an SSCE result can't be compared to the ‘quantity’ of work needed to get a grade of “A” parallel.

 

To attain excellence in your work, much effort and energy must be put in.

 

STEPS TO CULTIVATING AND SUSTAINING A LIFESTYLE OF READING BOOKS

-By Gavin Aleogho

“Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches. A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.  For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.” Proverbs 24:3-6.

Why you should cultivate habit of reading

1. It requires little energy to read and it is less expensive to be a reader.

2. Reading improves mental health and help develops the brain faster.

3. Reading leads to good sleep; helping to improve your health and mental balance.

4. Reading inculcates the values of discipline and concentration.

5. Reading brings inspiration and causes increase in knowledge and wisdom.

6. Reading makes one a good writer.

7. Readers makes a good leader.

8. Reading boost one’s self-esteem.

9. Reading develops and increases vocabulary

10. Early development of reading habit leads to lifelong study habit.

18 Steps to cultivating and sustaining a lifestyle of reading books

1. Let the title of books captivated you.

2. Look towards getting the knowledge contained in the book.

3. Look towards how the book will transform your life.

4. Start by reading small books.

5. Don’t be shy to borrow books to read.

6. Buy books to read. This will push you to have the value of your money.

7. Make a deal with yourself to finish reading every book you pick.

8. Set deadlines on when to finish reading any book you pick

9. Have reading hours, where you mandate yourself to read.

10. Take a book with you to read everywhere you go. 

11. Convert time used on your phone and going through social media to reading.

12. Avoid distractions and time wasters while reading.

13. Read:

-While waiting for someone.

-Before sleeping.

-During break periods.

-When you want to relax.

-While traveling.

14. You can have someone to encourage and supervise your reading.

15. Having a reading partner will help also.

16. If possible, have a list of books you want to read

17. Keep a record of books you have read.

18. Set target on the numbers of books you want to read in a year or per month and keep at it.

HINTS TO ACHIEVING ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

By Gavin Aleogho

What is excellence?

Excellence is the quality of being outstanding or extremely good at what you do. It is a conscious develop attitude or habit over a period of time. It is not a trait that is inherited but one that is developed. That is why you could find a man that has excelled in all his endeavours but his children are failures, you also find a reverse of the same case. This is because the trait of excellence cannot be transferred by blood, but it can only be learnt and developed. This goes to show that you can excel in life whether your biological parents are successful or not.

Excellence doesn’t imply perfection, but it’s only a walk towards perfection. And it has a price tag which is sacrifice. Excellence is never achieved on a platter of gold. You don’t achieve excellence just by being indifferent to things that concern you. Excellence is a spirit. Excellence should be developed to become a habit which is exhibited in everything that one does.

Achieving academic excellence

You can apply excellence in every of your endeavour in life. One aspect of life that demands excellence is in the aspect of academics. I believe everyone can excel academically if they desire it and if they know how to achieve it.

One of the first steps to achieving academic excellence is having the right motivation. Why do you want that degree? What is your drive? What do you want to achieve with that degree? If you can answer these questions rightly, you would not need anyone to compel you to study or put in your best.

Let us have some tips that would keep us focused and motivated in achieving academic excellence.

1.      Know and believe in yourself. The first step towards achieving excellence in your academics is to know yourself and believe in what you can do. Have confidence in yourself and your inherent ability.

2.      Know your limitations and weak point: Know your weak point and limitations and work at it. For example, if you are an engineering student but you are poor in mathematics; that is a weak point that would affect other of your courses. Work on improving in mathematics.

3.      Know your strength. Know yourself, your worth, your built, strength and abilities. Everyone have something that puts them at advantage. Look critically into your life and check what you have and leverage on it.

4.      Set a target. Have a goal in mind. What grade are you targeting in that course? Do you have all it takes to achieve that? If not, go work at getting all it takes to achieve your target. When you set a target, you brace up yourself to achieve it.

5.      Know what it requires. You need to know what it takes (the cost and sacrifice it requires) to achieve your goal. Does it require you get a new book? Does it require that you increase the number of hour of studies? Check it up and give it all it takes.

6.      Prioritize your activities. Set things in your life in order of importance. What priority have you placed in achieving that degree vis-à-vis other activities that are prone to eating up your time? Check it up and place achieving that degree a top priority and you will see that you will succeed.

7.      Discipline yourself to study: this is a conscious control over your life and lifestyle. You have to be in control of your life and not leave it to chance. You can not achieve anything in life without self-discipline. You should not wait for an external force to push you to do what you ought to do.

8.      Stay Focused. Focus all your time, energy and resources in achieving that goal. Give it all it takes to achieve your aim. Don’t allow anything to take you off course.

9.      Manage your time. Manage and organize your time in such a way so as to achieve maximum return from it. Understand your peak period and leverage on it. Do away with every form of time wasters.

10.  Keep right association. Keep right company that would spur you to achieve excellence in your academics. Never associate with friends that would waste your time or divert your focus.

11.  Prepare early. Prepare adequately and early for your test and examination. The saying that, “proper preparation prevent poor performance”, still holds true today. You can achieve much if you prepare early.

12.  Depend on God’s blessings. Never forget nor neglect the God factor. Trust God to crown your effort with success.

Beware of the following attitude

1.    Indolence. Laziness and idleness attitudes must be avoided. To achieve success you must negate laziness. For hard work is a major requirement to achieving success.

2.    Procrastination. What must be done must be done in the right time. Avoid the habit of postponing doing things that makes for academic excellence.

3.      Stupidity. Avoid doing things or indulging in things or acts that would jeopardise your chances of achieving success in your academics.

4.      Nonchalance. A nonchalant attitude is one that is indifferent about important things. When one is nonchalant about his or her studies, he is bound to fail. You can’t be unserious about your studies. For you to achieve academic excellence, you must take achieving that degree very important.