Not a Nay sayer…

Permit me to say this quote in my mother tongue, then I’d translate..

“Bi won ba fi iyan si epo epa, awon ti o ma yo, ma yo”

Direct translation is:

” Even if pounded yam were served on groundnut pod, those who will be filled/satisfied would still be”

This proverb☝ rang in my head and stayed with me from the first moment i heard it from a senior friend back in my university days where I was pursuing my Bachelor’s degree in Nursing….

At that time, there was this intense fear of failure that gripped most of us in Nursing department…this stemmed from the failure rates of those who had done the RN exams ahead of us…and even from the qualifying exams to write the RN exams( the hospital finals exams)

What was more frightening was the fact that some of those who didn’t pass the qualifying exams and the main RN exams were people we know are intelligent by reputation…

The fact that new regulations came out that if you didn’t pass the RN exams you couldn’t graduate even if you were a first class student made it all the more scary….

Within that time, a lot of people were afraid and I wasn’t excluded…there was the feeling of uncertainty, I dreaded the possibility of having an extra year and having to tell my parents so! With all the already huge expenses they have incurred in the 5years of my study!!!

So, a lot was definitely at stake…but then one day I was discussing with a lady (Nursing student also but a year ahead of me) on this subject and she said that proverb above👆…

She told me not to let my mind be burdened or swayed by all the negative talks around…because, as bad as people were painting things…there were still successful students among us!

Well, that talk changed my thought line…I began to tell myself even if there were two people who passed I’d be one of them…

Fast forward to when my set finally wrote the qualifying exams….about 40% of us passed and I was one of them…eventually that particular exam was cancelled due to issues that arose in the department at the time…

Another qualifying exam was set…I was also one of the not so many who passed.

Then came the Main RN exams and to the Glory of God I passed again!

Now, you may ask, why is this lady telling us this story?

The reason is simple….

We live in a world where our mind is constantly in a battle….

There are a thousand and one reasons to be afraid and uncertain about decisions and just life in general…

But, one thing we should understand is that our mind posses a lot of power to either make us successful or fail!

We need to develop a positive mindset not matter what the situation is around us!

DO NOT BE A NAY SAYER!

Don’t join the herd to say negative things such as

” oh, the country is hard o”

“There are no jobs anywhere”

“Ha! This Buhari regime no favor me o!”….etc

Haven’t you ever wondered that despite all these popular lamentations from people, people are still getting jobs and never broke, are living their best life, starting businesses etc…

Reset your mind!

Work towards achieving your dreams!

Depend on God solely!

Provebs 16:3
Commit your actions to the Lord,

and your plans will succeed.

And the rest will sort themselves out eventually!

Never ever stop believing and trusting God!

Proverbs 3:5-6 …

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Have the Joshua and Caleb mentality! Numbers 13: 28-30

This is what they reported to Moses: “We went to the land where you sent us. It really is a land flowing with milk and honey. Here’s some of its fruit. ²⁸ But the people who live there are strong, and the cities have walls and are very large. We even saw the descendants of Anak there. ²⁹ The Amalekites live in the Negev. The Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the mountain region. And the Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and all along the Jordan River.”

³⁰ Caleb told the people to be quiet and listen to Moses. Caleb said, “Let’s go now and take possession of the land. We should be more than able to conquer it.