By Ubong Essien, CSP (Mister Motivator)
“If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again.” – Unknown
One of the finest opportunities of life is the privilege to have a second bite at the cherry; to pick up the pieces and start things all over, especially where we may have performed unsatisfactorily. This is an amazing gift.
To know that each morning welcomes us with a call to begin again with no strings attached. To recalibrate our lives and efforts in a bid to give ourselves a real shot at ultimately achieving our set goals and living our dreams. I often wonder how untenable the pursuit of purpose would be if we never had the opportunity to begin again from time to time. Life would be most unthinkable. That is why I have chosen at this start of a New Year (2018) to encourage you that you too can begin again. Every blessed day is an invitation to begin again; so is every week, month and even year.
Perhaps you have carried over some unfinished business or abandoned project and you’re feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of having to begin again after protracted layoffs. I’m afraid I have no silver bullet to offer you save the admonition that you can begin again, wiser, stronger and better. Maybe it was the failure, the disappointments or the setbacks that thwarted your joyride towards notable accomplishments resulting in that sinking, discouraging feeling. My advice is still the same; you can begin again. We must never be afraid to start again on a fresh slate.
The daily appreciation of beginning again fills us with fresh impetus to turnaround old problems.
The reason we have some monuments standing today is because some great men got up and began again and again and again despite the crumbling of their several initial efforts. They understood the inexhaustible possibilities domiciled in human renewal. For them, it was an opportunity to begin again more intelligently. Yu too can indeed begin again, even where you’ve felt stranded in the middle of nowhere. You can always pick up the pieces.
I leave you with one of the most inspiring choruses I have ever learned from one of the tracks of Larnelle Harris, a renowned gospel singer;
“I can begin again with the passion of a child
My heart has caught a vision of a life that’s still worthwhile
I can reach out again far beyond what I have done
Like a dreamer who’s awakened to a life that’s yet to come
For new beginnings are not just for the young.”
Have a great year!