Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you couldn’t help yourself? Have you tried speaking loudly, hoping someone would hear you out, but no one seems to care? One of the most difficult situations to be is one in which no one is ready to stand in the gap for us or speak up for us. Seeing other people hold the key that we need but insensitive to our plights can be challenging. Sometimes those who have the power to help or set others free just don’t do anything. They keep watching, keeping busy doing nothing, until the opportunity to help passes. Is that not common in our world today? Don’t we have a lot of people who are voiceless and helpless in society, people who are constantly passed by or abandoned? At work, in the community and in social circles, aren’t there people who are struggling for breakthrough but can’t get the support they need?

I would like you to shift the attention away from yourself, and then consider those who are around you. Every one of us has one person or another that we can speak up for. Sometimes what people need from you isn’t extraordinarily demanding. In most cases, all we need to do is to add weight or lend our voice on behalf of those whose voice may be silent. Think about your influence at work, home or community. You will see that there are many disadvantaged people. They may not get the job, make the team, secure the contract, get the promotion, receive the aid or maximize their potential unless you stand up for them or speak up for them.
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The question is: who are you speaking up for? If you have ever enjoyed the benevolence of someone in your life who opened a door for you or advocated for you, I am sure you understand what I mean. Imagine what the world would look like if we had more advocates, people who are ready to speak up for, and add weight to support other people. Weighing in to help others may change the course of their life forever, just as some of us have experience. Here is a call for you to lend your voice, to be the voice of those who have no voice.

Sometime in the summer of 2023, I spent several minutes to a few hours every day in Winnipeg’s Kings Park in the Fort Richmond area. My favorite spot in the park was beside a perfectly quiet lake with a small wooden bench for me to sit. I remember sitting there one day and seeing the full reflection of the background forest in the calm lake. I had never seen water so peaceful and quiet, and reflecting its surroundings as if it were a mirror. The only sound I heard was that of the chirping birds. My “head” became very clear. I was able to think clearly with my mind, as peaceful and as clear as the waters in the lake. I felt comfort from within as I meditated, and I got carried away by the deep thoughts of beautiful things I couldn’t even explain. Then, I thought to myself, “here is the best place to be”. True story.

Although my story suggested that the best place to be is a physical location, like the side of a quiet lake. However, I realized that it is not really about a physical place but about the location of our minds at any point in time. It is possible to be beside the quietest water but with the noisiest mind full of anxiety, doubts and fear. It is also possible to be in the middle of chaos and tumult while maintaining calmness on the inside. Internal peace is not a function of our outward experiences but a state of calmness that results from gratefulness, contentment, good works and a positive outlook on life. Truly happy people are those who derive their happiness from the good stored up in their hearts and not from outward factors or situations.
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There is a higher place of rest and happiness that we can all inhabit. We can start journeying toward it. We start by slowing down to acknowledge the beauty of life through both the good and bad times, through the experiences that have molded us into who we are and thereby being grateful for every aspect of our lives. To be in a place of happiness, one must become content, show love and compassion to others, live for the greater good and always expect the best out of life irrespective of present circumstances. It is the best place to be, a higher place of peace and tranquility. 

I don’t know if anyone has judged your ability to do anything in the past. I have had people tell me what course I could have studied, what job I could do, how much money I could make, where I could go and what I could become in life. Guess what? They were all wrong. Only I could have judged how far I should go based on my God-given abilities. I know my gifts and talents and I must not fall short of what I must do with them. But no one else can be the judge of that, except me. Don’t misunderstand me. We do have people in our lives who advise us and truly mean well for us. However, no matter how much they know, how experienced they are and how much they love or hate us, they do not have the right to determine how far we could go in life.

What is most concerning is the negativity that we allow other people to sell to us. People just want to tell you that you cannot do it. They measure your ability by what they can see and quickly conclude that you are incapable of doing what you said you could do. To make matters worse, you have shared your dreams and aspirations with those whose minds are so little they couldn’t fathom how you can achieve it. It is not their fault though, because your current state does not agree with your envisioned future. Your dream is as though a slave will become a king in the same palace where they were born to serve.
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I do have good news for you. What anyone believes about your dreams does not matter as much as what you believe. Moreover, your present condition is not an indication of your possible future state. What determines your future state is what you think, and then what you do about what you think. If no one else believes that you can do it, don’t worry. I am certain that you can do it because your future is not ahead of you such that you should be chasing after it, but it is already loaded within you for you to manifest. Go ahead and do whatever you have set your mind to do, and give me the chance to say, “I knew you could do it.”

In law, the word “jurisdiction” refers to the limit of authority or sovereignty of power and right. For example, each court has its own jurisdiction over which it can interpret and apply the law. In a similar way, each one of us has the circle or the boundary within which we operate. We do not usually have authority beyond those boundaries. At your place of work, even if you are the boss, you would know your limits and boundaries. If you are a successful businessperson, you do not have an unlimited authority. Perhaps you have authority over your company and your staff, however, your authority is limited to that which is within your boundaries.

While boundaries may be real, it is most disturbing to know that most of the boundaries we experience are those we set for ourselves. We tend to create imaginary boundaries in our minds that limit what we can or cannot do or achieve. We limit our own authority and territory by unfounded beliefs, superstition and self-doubt. For those who have fallen victim to this imaginary boundary, it is as if their minds are beclouded and their eyes unable to see beyond their own nose. The imaginary boundary may exist in one’s business or career, finances, relationships, etc. In most cases this mental jurisdiction, developed from self-limiting beliefs and miseducation, caps one’s ability to succeed or go far in one’s endeavour.
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It is time for each one of us to check our level of progress and ask if there are boundaries that need to be moved. What you believe about yourself, your personal success and your relationships will eventually become your reality. There is no real limit to any human ability except that which one sets in their own mind. If you think you can, you are right, and if you think you cannot, you are also right. Would you start moving all those imaginary boundaries and set yourself free from parochialism or you will hold on to your beliefs at the expense of your success and life fulfilment? The choice is yours to make.

Until another time,
Dele Ola, Award-Winning Author of Be A Change Agent
​Click HERE to learn about and get copies of Dele’s Books
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