Realistic Living

" The fountain of content must spring up in the mind,
and he who hath so little knowledge of human nature as
to seek happiness by changing anything but his own
disposition, will waste his life in fruitless efforts
and multiply the grief he purposes to remove." –
Samuel Johnson

The one person, who is of more importance to you than
anyone else in the world, is just - YOU. And it is
your conception of yourself that determines your
relationship to life, and with everyone else with whom
you come in contact.

What do you know about you? The real you, not just
your physical body but your mind, consciousness and
identity that no one else really knows. What do you
know about life? The only thing that most of us really
know is that we are alive; but what that life is many
of us have not been able to discover.

Disposition as used by Samuel Johnson simply means the
natural qualities of a person’s character. Alan Jones
once said that " one of our problems is that very few
of us have developed any distinctive personal life.
Everything about us seems secondhand" What is it about
you that makes you different? What is it about your
character that makes you stand out from the crowd?
What principles do you live by that makes you unique?
What are those things that make up your value system?

Are you a principled centered person or are you spouse
centered, family centered, money centered, work
centered, pleasure centered, possession centered,
friend centered, enemy centered or self centered?
Whatever is at the center of your life will be the
source of your security, guidance, wisdom & power.
Security and clear guidance brings true wisdom, and
wisdom becomes the spark or catalyst to release and
direct power.

Three factors namely: purpose, people and paradigm
will go in a long way in determining the principles
you have. Your natural qualities-your behavior and
character are shaped and reshaped, formed and
reformed, created and recreated by these factors.

PURPOSE

We must create a version of our present and future
life. It will require spending serious time asking
ourselves "Who do I really want to be and how do I get
there?" This version and dream must be based on a
genuine understanding of your own talents, skills and
desires.

When you give yourself the freedom and permission to
be true to yourself you come up with important
principles that continually takes you towards
fulfilling your true purposes.

Due to the fact that so many external influences
confuse the pursuit of genuine purposes you must draw
up principles that do not change regardless of these
influences.

PEOPLE

The people factor is one that cannot be
over-emphasized in the sense that we were born and we
are still living in a world of people with various
ideas, ideals and values.

Some people- friends, parents, bosses, co-workers –
may want to recreate you in their own image. They have
preconceived ideas of who you should be, what you
should be, what you should do and how you should love
and all these affect the kind of principles you have
about life.

You may allow yourself to be recreated in the image of
someone else. The truth is you were already created in
someone else’s image, the image of God. Your task is
to devote your life to making principles that
authenticates your God-given self.

PARADIGM

Your paradigm or your pattern of doing things is a bye
product of so many factors; such as your cultural and
religious background.

The cultural practices and believes you know and
sometimes participates in. your religious background –
your faith, believe and your understanding of several
religious practices will go a long way in determining
your paradigm.

Your paradigm is one of the factors that determines
your principles and must be based on believes that are
well established in your faith. Must be based on your
relationship with God and not on a religion.

Realistic living is all about taking time to
understand your disposition- the natural qualities of
your person, with a view at examining what it is that
your life is centered around and afterwards creating
principles that will guide you to a life you want
bearing at the back of your mind the roles played by
these three factors – purpose, people and paradigm.

Is your life based on correct principles that do not
change, regardless of internal conditions, influences
and circumstances? Are you guided by a compass, which
enables you to see where you want to go and how you
will get there? Does your judgment encompasses a broad
spectrum of long-term consequences and reflects a wise
balance and quiet assurance? Are you a self-aware,
knowledgeable, proactive individual, largely
unrestricted by the attitudes, behaviors and actions
of others?

FROM:
Bobola Oniwura

Bobola Oniwura is a student of architecture that believes in the development of a creative universal mind in every young person.

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