By Abdulrahman Hayyatu
Do you care for excellence? Is there anything you want to do differently from others in such a way that you hope to become the best among equals? If the answers to these questions are affirmative, then you need to pay rapt attention to these essential tips that will unravel the ways of exceptional creativity in your life and equally awaken that sleeping giant in you.
First and foremost, Les Brown, a motivational speaker, once said, “To achieve something that you’ve never achieved before, you must become someone that you have never been before.” The question is, how can one become the best version of oneself as an ambitious student, teacher, business owner, politician, and so on?
Remember that in a world like ours, one needs to do things differently to succeed. Records have it that all those who are at the top are people who have done things differently in such a manner that they have one solution or the other for an existing problem.
To become excellent is to become outstanding or extremely good in one’s chosen career or field. Suffice it to know, therefore, that our contemporary world is one where only those who are exceptional and outstanding in their deeds or deals are celebrated.
As a student, will you continue joining your mates in class to maintain the status quo? Won’t you think about being focused by getting rid of those things that distract you from moving smoothly to your intended destination?
Let me tell you a real-life story. Once upon a time, a learner who was written off by his teacher as a never-do-well — someone who was not disciplined, industrious, or principled — said, “Though I am considered a never-do-well in my class, I must not prove my teachers right. I must strive to show them that their definition of me is untrue.”
Hence, to become a better version of himself became his goal and utmost priority. In life, you must have a well-defined goal. A goal is that thing you wish to achieve in life. Your goals give your life meaning and direction. Those who are clueless never achieve anything different from their mates.
However, to have a definite goal, one must be able to discover oneself. Look! The stuff you are made of is right there within you, screaming for discovery. The problem most times is that the world has become so noisy and full of distractions that people barely listen to the still small voice of their destiny. Always create a quiet time for meditation and self-discovery.
Consequently, you must know that no two persons were created the same. That is why the only way forward is self-discovery. The reason for this is that the Creator of heaven and earth has given all of us one special gift, which we need to discover and make use of. The shocking part of this discovery is that no one can do it for you. Teachers and mentors can guide you to discover yourself, but the discovery itself is wholly an individual assignment that everyone must do. Begin now to pay attention to those things you do effortlessly, because they are the treasures you have been given, and which must be pivotal in your attainment of success.
Additionally, self-discovery gives birth to creativity. The moment you know your strength, you need to strive very hard to develop it and build upon it. That strive to become better is called creativity. In a world like ours, creativity has proven to be the core value of excellence, which no one can overemphasize. This is why the leading men of the economy today, like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Dangote, and others, are all creative people.
Creativity here means inventing something new for the sake of proffering solutions to the immediate needs of man. Yes! It is all about solutions to problems. Those who have discovered the dire needs of man and proffered lasting and accurate solutions to them have always been the ones we celebrate.
No wonder it is often said that a problem identified is half solved. Therefore, discover your gift in life, form an achievable goal around it, remain focused, and work on your weaknesses. Then, you will become outstanding when you begin to proffer accurate solutions to people’s problems in life.
By and large, a truly educated person is someone who can creatively solve his problems, those of his immediate community, and those of the world at large.
Abdulrahman Hayyatu is the senior prefect at Key Special Academy, Gwarinpa
