The Joy of Accomplishment

What a joy it is to accomplish something new! It could be so refreshing to see the end of your toils and labours. It could be finishing a project, completing an assignment, graduation or anything else. The same feeling accompanies each of them. There is that deep sense of fulfilment that goes with accomplishment. The more we have such feelings the more life we add to our existence on earth.

Everyone can enjoy such rapturous feelings but not everyone does. This is because not everyone is accomplishing something of worth. Many are busy, very busy but with little or no accomplishment. If we must have the joy that comes through accomplishment then we must accomplish. We must accomplish things of worth.

The beauty of accomplishment is that it creates an opportunity for joy not only in our lives but in the lives of others. It increases our influence and multiplies our effectiveness. It positions us for greater accomplishments. It builds our confidence and emboldens us. If all these things happen through accomplishment what then does it take to accomplish?

Firstly, there must be a worthy cause. A cause is what makes something happen. Without a cause nothing can happen. You cannot build something on nothing. A cause is a vision. It is a direction that ensures a destination. It is a reason. Life is a cause and is sustained by a cause. So anyone who does not understand the cause of his or her existence will be a wanderer. There is a reason for our existence or else we wouldn’t be alive. If we want to find out the reason for our existence we must get back to the Cause of our lives. That Causeless Cause is God. He alone knows the reason for our existence since He created us. Our lives will have no meaning and know no true fulfilment until we get back to our Maker.

Secondly, when we have found our reason and meaning from God, we will begin to know the required decisions to make and goals to set. This will require mental efforts. God gave us minds so we can think. It takes proper thinking to have a fulfilled life. No man was created a zombie but unfortunately, many spend their lives living like zombies. Thinking is the hardest form of work and that’s why many don’t engage it. It seems easier to live like a robot than to sit down and do some real and critical thinking. For many their brains have been on vacation for many years. A statistic has it that of all humans only five percent think, fifteen percent think they are thinking but are not and eighty percent will rather die than think. The sole reason many lives stink is because they don’t think. The prodigal son of the Bible remained prodigal, wining and dining with pigs and people he didn’t like, living where he didn’t like and doing jobs he didn’t like as long as he refused to think. The day he sat down to think, an end came to his stinking life. He was able to gather the broken fragments of his life and made something beautiful out of it. One moment of real thinking will save you from a lifetime of stinking.

Thirdly, real commitment is a must if we want to have a lifetime of joyous fulfilment. Lack of commitment is a singular most formidable reason why many people fail in life. The reason is that commitment takes up time and energy and many don’t know what and when to give their time and energy. Since we don’t have all the time, we must understand proper time management if we want to succeed. It will actually cost you everything to achieve something of worth. Half commitment is the recipe for failure. It is the cause of failed marriages, businesses and careers. It takes more than contribution to succeed. It takes total commitment.

An illustration from the book ‘2000+ Bible Illustrations’ will buttress this point: “The difference in a contribution and total commitment is usually the difference in failure and success.
A chicken and a hog were walking past a church building one day when they noticed the Sunday morning sermon posted on the outside bulletin board, "Helping the Poor." They walked a ways when the chicken suddenly came across with a suggestion. "Say, Brother Hog, why don't we give all the poor people a nice breakfast of ham and eggs?" The hog thought a moment and replied, "That's all right for you to say because for you it is only a contribution, but for me, it's total commitment!" Jesus succeeded in His mission because He was totally committed to the task before Him. He was willing to give up everything, even His life, for the cause He believed in. No one really succeeds in life until he reaches the point that he is willing to lay down his life. Jesus said, "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone." Disraeli said, "Nothing can resist a will that will stake even existence for its fulfilment!"”

Finally, the issue of focus comes to play. Broken focus is a serious malady. It is the mother of a thousand failures. It is the harbinger of sorrows and perpetual regrets. You will never succeed without focus. This is because focus fortifies commitment. Focus is concentration. It is determination to succeed in a cause. Focus says no to other good options and pays no listening ear to myriad distractions. It takes patience and endurance to be focused and focus produces desired results. Focus means the main emphasis. The greatest challenge of life is to keep the main thing the main thing. It is so easy to get distracted. Focus requires concentrated effort and that effort is what many don’t want to apply. Fulfilment requires focus. No focus no fulfilment.

I believe it is time to enter the realm of accomplishment and partake of the immense joy it brings. Don’t allow yourself to be shifted out of purpose of God for your life. This is your time.

DON’T GIVE UP!

One of the easiest things to do in life is to quit and give up. This is because we naturally wouldn’t want to put or leave ourselves under the crushing weight of contrary situations. We want to run away from dangers and hide in the face of difficulty. It’s just natural. It’s just human. But life is not made to be lived on the realm of softness. And of course, it is important to note that life is tough. Life will bring you to a point when you have to choose between quitting and continuing. And at this point, many quit.

Why do we quit? We quit when we are not getting the expected results. Lots of time we get into businesses, relationships and others things with expectations. Some of these expectations are realistic while others are not. But as long as we retain unrealistic expectations we are bound to be disappointed. Sometimes our realistic expectations are not forth coming as at when expected and so we quit. We quit doing what we know is right. We quit believing in the power of our dreams. We quit. Unfortunately, many people don’t realise that often times the breakthroughs lie just after the quitting point. We don’t realise that our salvations are nearer than when we believed and so we quit. Had we persevered a little longer, maybe our victory would’ve smiled at us. But that eludes us because we did quit.

Also, we quit because we were ill-prepared for our endeavours. The Scriptures enjoin us to sit down and count the cost of any endeavour before embarking on it. But most of times, we let our emotions and enthusiasm override our reasons and start without adequate preparations, only to realise that we would need more than emotion can offer. Not to prepare is to prepare to fail. We must count the cost of the journey before starting. The beauty of a project is in the completion. Abandoned projects make ugly sites and that is the reason many lives are ugly. We cannot go forward in life by abandoning what we started but we will not fare better if we don’t prepare before starting.

Furthermore, we quit because of lack of courage. The worst state in life is a state of discouragement. It’s a pathetic state. Not even God can do a thing worthwhile in the life of a discouraged person. Before any major assignment in life God will work in the heart of the person to put courage there. This is because only a courageous person can win. Lack of courage is more dangerous than lack of talent and skills. When courage leaves success leaves. This is because success and courage are partners.

Finally, we quit because important people around our lives don’t believe in us. It could be very distressing to anyone when the people who are supposed to aid you become your detractors. It could really be disheartening when your supporters turn against you. At such moments, it is easy to quit. But you see it is still possible to win in spite of your oppositions. If you believe and are fully convinced in your course of action then go on. No one can stop you without your consent. If you refuse to consent to negative views and opinions they can’t stop you.

Are you convinced about what you want to do? Are you facing discouragement right now? Be assured you are not far from your breakthrough. This is not the time to giveup; this is the time to go up. Keep moving. Keep keeping on. Keep believing. Keep trying. Without the last breath of your life keep fighting. You may be faint be don’t give up. You may be knocked down but don’t give up. Rise up and move. The snail may be slow but with steady inputs will get to its destination. May God grant you the grace to continue and cross to the other side called victory.

Birthday!

My birthday was on Oct. 3 and it’s a date I cherish as it offers me opportunity to cast my mind back in retrospect and see the manifold blessings of God for which I owe Him thanks. God has been gracious to me on every side and I have so many reasons to thank Him.

On my birthday last year, I was single but this year I’m married to the most important woman on earth. To make things wonderful, her birthday is also Oct 3. So you can imagine what a memorable time it could have been. Is it a coincidence or what? I think it is a coincidence orchestrated by God. I deeply appreciate God for the privilege to be married. I did an article on the greatest treasure we can ever have recently on my other blog: http://realmenonline.blogspot.com/ , I think it will wise to check it up.

Every year our birthday comes around and that should tell us many things. Firstly, it is important to know that we don’t have all the time to waste. With each tick of the clock, we are getting closer to our graves. We can’t retrieve lost times and so it becomes important to maximize the time we have left on earth to do worthy things that will affect humanity for good and bring glory to God. We must live with eternity in view because whether we like it or not, we can’t stay here forever. To do this effectively, we need to understand our purpose and pursue it with vigour. There is no place for laziness and laxity. We must live like people who have no time because we don’t have much it to make our contribution.

Secondly, it tells us that God has given us a whole year to improve ourselves and the society at large. The question is -have you improved in the last one year? Someone has said that in the next ten years the world will still be the same except for two things: the books you would have read and the people you would have met. What are the books you have read in the last one year? How have they helped you in your development? If you are still thinking the same way you were thinking by last year it’s a sign that you might not improved much. Who are the people you have met and how have they affected your life in this last one year? Are you getting better or worse? You are the only one who can answer these all-important questions and you have to answer them.

Thirdly, it tells us that if we don’t do anything about our state we will still remain where we are now by next year. Someone also said that the only thing some people do is to get old. You can’t afford to live your life just to get old. You are created to improve on yourself using all the available resources God has made available to you. It’s time to get better and move forward. One of the finest truths I have discovered is that anybody can get better. It is important to make sure that we keep improving every year. Don’t let next year meet you where you are today.

In conclusion, I pray for you that you will be all that God has designed and empowered you to be so that by next year you will have something to celebrate.