Monday 3 April 2017

No One is Born Smart

Who was born with the ability to read and write, and the ability to do the extraordinary – who was born smart?

No one is actually born smart; we all started at point zero – from crawling, learning to talk, learning simple arithmetic, algebra, and communication, to our role today in the society as professionals in our different endeavours. But some people add some extra challenging efforts to advance what they’ve learned already, whilst others depend on and stick to only what they have learned, whether or not it gives them success or makes them smart.

Dr. Carol Dweck of Stanford University, California, a Researcher of human mindset for decades, has found that, most individuals are either of fixed-mindset or growth-mindset. The former focuses on the belief of only one’s innate resources - here, it is erroneously believed that one is either smart or not; thus, smartness is genetic. The latter, on the other hand, centres on developing the brain capacity and “talents” by facing challenges and difficult tasks. Thus, “capability and intelligence can be grown through effort, struggle, and failure”.

Truthfully and as has been confirmed by neurological Researchers, the brain really works like the muscle. The more you use it, the more it develops and the more difficult tasks you use it to resolve, the more extraordinarily better it becomes. This simply presupposes that failures only advance your intelligence, but always getting a thumb-up in the same activity, which you often do, only limits your mental horizon.

Applicably, the best way to survive in a complex society is to erase the fixed-mindset syndrome and get clothed with the growth-mindset approach. Students should not totally constrain themselves to class activities or to their fields of study. In the opposite direction, non-students should not also consider education a thing for “the privileged few” and therefore limit themselves to their own activities. Going beyond our capacity is the key to a better, meaningful future.

What people call intelligence or smartness obviously boils down to curiosity. How curious are you about some facts and skills? How curious are you about what you ought to have that you do not have? And how do you resolve them? You can’t resolve them if you are fixed-minded. You can’t resolve them if you allow the first few failures to tune you down. And you can’t resolve them if you sleep on your strengths or allow minor circumstances to defeat you.

So, stand out, speak out, take a tedious task, and take a special education on your brain. No tests and no exams. In fact, the more failures you have, the better you become. You can’t learn everything in school. It is the extra efforts you take in training yourself that truly helps to make you very outstanding in life.

No one is actually born smart – we all started at point zero. No one is smarter than you are and there is not a person, who can exactly do what you can do. Get more failures, get a better future!
If you have read this post to this extent, congratulations! You have a growth-mindset and the sky shall be your first step of success.

Wednesday 16 March 2016

THE MYSTERY OF LIFE



What does life really mean? What does it offer? How should I live it? What are the reasons why I must resist evil? And if I do resist it, what will I benefit? What happens to all my achievements when I die? Will my death change anything in the world; will everything still be going smoothly? What will happen to my Facebook account? Will friends still send me messages, friend requests, and Birthday wishes even when I am no more? Will I still remember all I went through in life when I die? Will my little world still remember me? How long will my loved ones mourn me? If I die, will everything about me in life get closed? Where do dead people go? Will I go there as well? If I go there, will I fit in? If I fit in, will I still retain the knowledge I have acquired from the land of the living? How exactly is the land of the dead? Why are we afraid of dying? If I die, will I be considered a successful person? These and so many other similar questions keep me wondering very deeply sequel to the death of my secondary school friend, Abalu, Chiamaka.
Every time I look around the world from my little environment, I see beauty, technology, fashion, education, satisfaction, wealth, happiness, comfortableness, and other interesting things that make life worth living. With these, I do not want to die. On the other hand, I see suffering, poverty, sadness, homelessness, underdevelopment, sickness, illiteracy, killings, immorality, deceit, and other things that make life very miserable. With these, I might wish to die. The most interesting thing I observe about these two categories is that no matter how well we are deeply rooted in any of their individuals, we will never be tired of seeking more. And we just cannot eliminate them from our existence.

One great thing that everyone wishes to achieve in life is success i.e. being a successful person. But the striking question that jumps into my mind about this is; “what really does it mean to be a man of success”? Is it by the number of certificates, the acquisition of wealth and positions, being very famous? Making global transformations? Being super intelligent? Getting all the attentions? Just being simply happy with your friends, family, loved ones, and the society in which you find yourself? Or, is it all of these coupled together. You can achieve almost all of those and still are not successful. It’s not either your fame or wealth that determines your real evaluation. It is the richness of your heart that does; a man, who never treats his fellow with disdain and contempt, despite their social and cultural position, is considered successful.
Additionally, we often choose to do evil to get what we want the way we want it.  What do you gain? Every time I sit and think of why I should do evil, I simply do not find any reasonable answer no matter how hard I think. After all, everything you gain out of it will never be yours forever. Hurting people has become the hobby and interest of most people. Note that this only brings everlasting doom. Can you give life? Can you replace it? If the answer to these questions is “No”, so, what reason do you have to do evil? I know that sometimes, we do “minor” evil unconsciously because of its inevitability in real life existence, but it is rational that it is that way than otherwise. So, strive to, at least, minimize the occurrence of evil.
Also note that life is designed in such a way that if something is not actually meant for you, you can never get it. If you force yourself to get it, it will never bring you joy, and even if joy comes through it, it will never last long and will certainly end up in total disaster.
Your education, fame, wealth, positions, and acquisition are really “not yours”. What is “yours” is your real person that resides in you. You should not be interested in what the person next to you has or what he is, rather, pay attention to your real self. Whether you reside in a gutter or you fetch your food from garbage, it doesn’t define your originality. You should also bear in mind that we all have something but what we have and its level differ. Thus, you should consider yourself and others, and then use what you have for the common good, not for the suppression and marginalization of others.
You see, I have learned not to compare myself to anyone. Unnecessary comparison only wanes your passion and zeal. A little attempt to become another person pushes you away from the track of your dreams. No matter your culture, sexual orientation, gender, and belief, you are okay, and comparison steals yourself from you. Just believe in yourself and have sincere confidence in your innate capabilities.
Death is a natural phenomenon that visits man. Imagine a corpse lying in front of you now - ponder on the questions in the introductory part of this post. Now, put yourself in the shoes of the deceased. What might be the possible answers? Well, you still have life and you can make changes.
Finally, life is a long road, which is very short. The more we live, the more we learn and the more we learn, the more questions we ask about our existence and our fate after death. Even if these questions may not have absolute answers, one thing is sure. And that is for us to be ourselves and live peacefully, genuinely, and virtually with others. You may not live to be the whole person that you have planned to be, but the little time you stay on earth matters a lot and a great reward awaits your doings.