Realistic Living

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

The one person, who is of more importance to you thananyone else in the world, is just - YOU. And it isyour conception of yourself that determines yourrelationship to life, and with everyone else with whomyou come in contact.

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

Disposition as used by Samuel Johnson simply means thenatural qualities of a person's character. Alan Jonesonce said that " one of our problems is that very fewof us have developed any distinctive personal life.Everything about us seems secondhand" What is it aboutyou that makes you different? What is it about yourcharacter 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 spousecentered, family centered, money centered, workcentered, pleasure centered, possession centered,friend centered, enemy centered or self centered?Whatever is at the center of your life will be thesource of your security, guidance, wisdom & power.Security and clear guidance brings true wisdom, andwisdom becomes the spark or catalyst to release anddirect power.

Three factors namely: purpose, people and paradigmwill go in a long way in determining the principlesyou have. Your natural qualities-your behavior andcharacter are shaped and reshaped, formed andreformed, created and recreated by these factors.

PURPOSE

We must create a version of our present and futurelife. It will require spending serious time askingourselves "Who do I really want to be and how do I getthere?" This version and dream must be based on agenuine understanding of your own talents, skills anddesires.

When you give yourself the freedom and permission tobe true to yourself you come up with importantprinciples that continually takes you towardsfulfilling your true purposes.

Due to the fact that so many external influencesconfuse the pursuit of genuine purposes you must drawup principles that do not change regardless of theseinfluences.

PEOPLE

The people factor is one that cannot beover-emphasized in the sense that we were born and weare still living in a world of people with variousideas, ideals and values.

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

You may allow yourself to be recreated in the image ofsomeone else. The truth is you were already created insomeone else's image, the image of God. Your task isto devote your life to making principles thatauthenticates your God-given self.

PARADIGM

Your paradigm or your pattern of doing things is a byeproduct of so many factors; such as your cultural andreligious background.

The cultural practices and believes you know andsometimes participates in. your religious background -your faith, believe and your understanding of severalreligious practices will go a long way in determiningyour paradigm.

Your paradigm is one of the factors that determinesyour principles and must be based on believes that arewell established in your faith. Must be based on yourrelationship with God and not on a religion.

Realistic living is all about taking time tounderstand your disposition- the natural qualities ofyour person, with a view at examining what it is thatyour life is centered around and afterwards creatingprinciples that will guide you to a life you wantbearing at the back of your mind the roles played bythese three factors - purpose, people and paradigm.

Is your life based on correct principles that do notchange, regardless of internal conditions, influencesand circumstances? Are you guided by a compass, whichenables you to see where you want to go and how youwill get there? Does your judgment encompasses a broadspectrum of long-term consequences and reflects a wisebalance and quiet assurance? Are you a self-aware,knowledgeable, proactive individual, largelyunrestricted by the attitudes, behaviors and actionsof 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.