By: Ing. Yayah A. B. Conteh.
It has taken most of us quite some time to comprehend the fact that time greatly impacts on our daily lives because everything in our environment is constantly changing, from a seed of rice grown today that germinates and blossoms into multiple grains tomorrow, to a newly born baby that grows from childhood into adulthood after some years.
Men and women always have the power of choice; it is widely acknowledged that it is not really what happens to an individual that matters, but the manner in which one responds to what happens to them.
A former colleague of mine at work always lamented the slow pace of development in his life since he graduated from university.
He sometimes itched and boiled over with envy and indignation at the successes scored by some of his former college mates who were now plying their trade elsewhere, and whose effort had multiplied and yielded more positive results.
My learned friend however forgot that everyone’s biological clock ticks and sounds differently from the other.
Some people fail to acknowledge the fact that we are all drawn into a world full with uncertainties of the future that dictates the course of our lives.
We see this concept even reinforced in the book of Ecclesiastes 9:11, New James International version, which states that, “The race is not for the swift, nor the battle for the strong, nor food for the wise or riches for the intelligent, nor even favour for the learned, but that time and circumstance govern them all.”
It is quite significant to pinpoint here that time and circumstance can change at any time for a variety of reasons, the most common of which include social and political changes, natural disasters and economic changes.
This means that it is always important to be prepared for change and to be able to adapt to new challenges and situations.
Demonstrating the ability to be resilient, and being able to bounce back from these setbacks can be a praiseworthy quality.
This, in reality, means that change in an individual’s trajectory is inevitable, be it positive or negative, as it is also an opportunity for growth.
One can overcome most of these hurdles by being prepared for change and by being able to adapt to new situations.
An individual may be influential and powerful today and become nobody tomorrow. This state of life has manifested repeated itself in our country from time to time. In other words, time is more powerful than us.
Under normal circumstances, one is never created to be depressed, ashamed, condemned or unworthy, but rather to be victorious.
The fact that you may have had an unfair past does not necessarily mean that you would end up having an unfair future.
It might be possible you may have gotten off with a rough start in life, but it is not necessarily how you start that matters, but how you end the race.
The reason why most people fail in life is that they surrender themselves too soon before they even begin the struggles.
They forget that you miss all the shots because you didn’t take the necessary risks. Try always and fail but never always fail to try.
Afterwards, a meaningful and successful life is not being rich, popular, being highly educated or being perfect.
It is about being humble, being real, being strong and, above all, being able to help and touch the lives of others. Only then we could have attained a life full of fulfilment and contentment.
Ing. Yayah A. B. Conteh is the former Director of the Mechanical Services Department (MSD) of the Sierra Leone Roads Authority (SLRA).
Tel nos: 076640364 / 077718805.
E-mail: contehyayahab2020@gmail.com.