ᴀ sʜᴏᴛ ᴏғ ᴍʏsᴇʟғ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍʏ ʟᴀᴘᴛᴏᴘ
There is a statement so powerful that it goes beyond just the literal words spoken. It crosses the boundaries of impossibilities to birth a type of energy: willpower. "I can do it" is a statement that has brought the seemingly impossible to reality and has benefitted mankind in many ways. It is a statement of the mind; it does not need to be verbally expressed.
There is a bridge between a goal and the realization of that goal; the mind. It is practically impossible to make a person do something without the individual's consent. Even if the person is subjected to pressure, it really depends on the mindset of the individual for them to comply.
I have seen movies, and I am sure that would be the case in reality, where spies would be willing to give up their lives just to protect information so vital that it could jeopardize the entire existence of an organization and its plans of attack. This information could be just one word.
Tenor
It is all analogous to how we perceive and approach things in life. In the sense that, whatever you have done or are doing, you have made some little decision on whether to do it. And that is where willpower comes in.
There was a time I was reading a post here on Hive by some user. She talked about how learning is extremely difficult for her and how she would rather do with the little she knows and live that way. I was shocked. I mean, not like I wanted to judge her. I could relate to how she felt, but the outright decision to not even try was what amazed me.
In a way, we all do that too. We outrightly make decisions to not even "try." Have you ever made a statement like "Nah, I cannot do/learn that"? Sure, you have. Maybe not literally, but in some similar way. I know I have, countless times. But there is something I have come to realise about myself. If I deem something possible for myself, I will attain it.
The wise words of Ben Franklin, "You can do anything you set your mind to," are ones that describe how I approach some matters sometimes. Let me give an example. During my early days at university, there was always one course or another that would always seem like some sort of mission impossible course for the majority of students. And seniors were never really helping matters as they would further instill fear into us by saying things like, "That course was so difficult, the majority of our colleagues had to appeal to have it waived." Words like this did more than discourage people, but for me, I had a different mentality.
Tenor
Rather than feeling like I should just manage to pass the course so I do not have to retake it, I would rather feel determined to do excellently in it. I would feel like "why should this course be impossible to get an "A" in?" And I would then place top priority on the course throughout the semester. Priority number one meant that I had to be determined to understand the course, no matter how high the mountains I had to climb. And guess what? All the times I did this, I always ended up acing the course excellently. It always felt good in the end, although it was a long journey to travel.
It is very uncommon for me to deem anything impossible, especially by just hearing other people's opinions. This is why many people often tell me that I am a very quick learner. Learning is never really hard for me if I set my mind towards it. It is only if I decide in my heart that I am not willing to learn that I actually find learning hard. This helps me a lot when I am trying something new. I believe "outstanding" can still be achieved even when someone is new to something, so I aim for that and it in turn improves my learning curve.
ʜᴇʟʟᴏ
Another example is typing. I have actually been learning to type on a computer keyboard. I want to be able to use all ten of my fingers to type more efficiently and comfortably. Before joining Hive, I never really knew how to type. I could type on my mobile phone really fast and efficiently, but I was more like a chicken with the keys on my laptop. I knew where all the keys were, but I could not just type like @starstrings01. That man is freaking fast. When he types, I only hear "prraa prra pra prra clack clack" and his eyes are locked on to the screen.
Typing really slowly made blogging quite a hassle because it always took a very long time to complete. I then decided I was finally going to learn how to type. I started with 'Mavis Beacon teaches typing', but I then moved on to use the latest websites that would help facilitate my growth. I practiced almost every day, for at least 2 minutes every day, and I got better at it. I started at 10 WPM (words per minute) and now I am hovering around 40 words per minute.
ᴍʏ ᴛʏᴘɪɴɢ sᴘᴇᴇᴅ ɴᴏᴡ
Now, it is more like a game I play when I want to unwind. Whenever I feel bored, I just open my PC and I just begin to type and type, usually for about 30 minutes at a stretch, or till my speed begins to drop again, then I know I am feeling fatigued. I have come to enjoy typing and I am looking forward to getting much better and being as good as my oga, Starstrings.
ᴛʜɪs ɪs ᴍᴇ ᴛʏᴘɪɴɢ
There are many areas of my life I want to improve in, and this mentality is what I intend to hold on to. Of course, it goes beyond just that quote. Self-discipline is important. The mentality is basically a foundation to start with, and without it, what can the righteous do?
W̳̿͟͞h̳̿͟͞o̳̿͟͞ ̳̿͟͞i̳̿͟͞s̳̿͟͞ ̳̿͟͞O̳̿͟͞l̳̿͟͞u̳̿͟͞j̳̿͟͞a̳̿͟͞y̳̿͟͞?̳̿͟͞
Olujay is a Nigerian musician (guitarist and singer) based in Nigeria. He is currently in his final year studying mechatronics engineering at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta.
He strongly believes that everyone has the ability to affect change in some manner, and that we all have the capability to influence others.
One of his many goals is to become the best version of himself that he can attain. And, in doing so, maintain balance in order to do everything well.
𝕀𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕖𝕟𝕛𝕠𝕪𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕥, 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕝𝕪 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕒 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥, 𝕣𝕖𝕓𝕝𝕠𝕘, 𝕠𝕣 𝕦𝕡𝕧𝕠𝕥𝕖. 𝕀𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕓𝕖 𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕝𝕪 𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕.
