Time Consciousness: A Response On How To Be Conscious Of Our Past

TME CONSCIOUSNESS: A RESPONSE ON HOW TO BE CONSCIOUS OF OUR PAST WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE PRESENT AND ITS FUTURE CONSEQUENCES

There is an Igbo adage which states “Onye Amaghi mgbe Mmiri ji maaya, agaghi ama mgbe oji kwusi” which means he who does not know when the rain began to fall on him will certainly not realize when it stops.  This adage is simply a reminder for us to be conscious of time, which will enable us to create a practical assessment. Time consciousness in this context is not just being conscious of the present time activities, it is also being conscious of our past activities, achievements, failures, and then being conscious of its future effect.  Therefore, time being consciousness in this sense requires great discipline, sincere and deliberate mental work, and coordinated hard work; for it deals with a combination of the former, current, and future.

Now may I ask these questions: Have you ever thought of your past experiences; the success and failures you have recorded? Have you also ever thought of your current activities, how serious and dedicated you are to your activities? Have you also thought of your future expectations and rewards, which are not based on miracle, or magic but rather on hard? If your answer to the question above is “No”, I urge you to take a bold step and start right away for action.

In life, we all have both positive and negative experiences, while the positive ones give us joy and satisfaction and as well sets records for us; the negative experiences keep us sad and make us feel humiliated. An example is when one gets the last position in school or fails an important examination, or even losing a great opportunity that does not come by often.

Moreover, when we achieve success, we have to be very careful not to stagnate in the ovation of the achievements and success which is already in the past. The Toyota company did not relax to the ovation of the 1999 model of Toyota Camry. They did not relax rather, they continued improving and getting out to the labor market more sophisticated, amazing, and improved model of Toyota Camry. If they had failed to improve the model; the product will only have the least value in poor underdeveloped countries. There, is a need for us to realize that our past achievements have no meaning if we do not make efforts to improve on them in the present. It becomes obsolete, antiquated, and out of mode and might not find use in the future.

consequently, past achievements and success have their meaning basically within the context of history. But one would be asked, why would you want to be remembered in the historical parlance where there is an opportunity for greater improvement? In other words, we should be careful not to relax when we achieve greatness and stand firm to avoid a potential backsliding.

In Erikson’s psychological development, people can pride themselves in their achievements, relaxing, and singing songs of joy at the age of 65 – death, which is the age of integrity. It is the age of wisdom and satisfaction. But we can testify that even at that age, the world still needs those that have achieved that height. They are needed because of their wealth of experiences and wisdom.  Their advice is sort for when there is need to resolve some challenges that requires the inputs of some experienced individuals. Hence, there is no such moment of inactivity in life. In as much as we continue to enjoy our success and savor its sweetness, we must continue making conscious efforts towards self-development and improvement. There should be no room for us to relent in what we do. We can take break, but we should know that every break has a time limit. Remember, there are those who were once successful but later did not continue to uphold their greatness because they were not conscious enough to improve their strategy in other to maintain greatness. Remember that the reward of good work is more work. The more we attain a higher position, the more responsibility, and work we have to do. A Latin adage would say “Cui multum datum est, multum operandum” To whom much is given, much is expected”. In other words, success should spur us to action.

On the other hand, our failures and negative experiences have a strong positive meaning in the present. It should remain a bunch of experiences, which form a stepping stone, towards achieving greater heights. Errors are instructive and all the negative experiences we passed through including failures are catalyst for success. This means that whenever we fail, we should see it as a reminder for to put in more effort.  Dhar Mann would opine that “Failure is an event. Not a person, keep your head up and keep going” Many tried success but failed multiple times but still did not give up until they eventually gained the accomplishment, they earnestly desired.  Henry Ford is a good example of those who failed and refused to be defeated. His first two car companies failed and left him broke, but that didn’t stop him from founding Ford Motor Company and become the first to apply assembly line manufacturing for cars. He became one of the three most famous and richest men in the world.

We should be aware that one of the ways of beginning the journey of success after failure is by accepting our failures, mistakes and errors. Hence acceptance of the stated is already a positive move towards success. The reason is that when we blame ourselves, we put ourselves in the right psychological state for change. But once we start blaming others, our brain builds a defensive mechanism that will make it very difficult for us to realise our errors, and even when everyone shows us the reasons for failures, mistakes, and errors, we can never agree or accept it. And with that kind of mindset, one can hardly make a positive result from our failures and mistakes.

I have this idea that the past errors have in terms of educative value more meaning for the present than the past success. This is because success is final, it bleeds ego often, and when not managed well brings frustration and depression and finally failure. But on the other hand, failure educates and informs, it gives room for humility and hard work. But we should also be conscious of the fact that failure has meaning only when it informs and educates.  Failure is not the end of the road; it is part of the journey of life. Just as any success achieved is not the end of the road, but part of the journey of life. We should be aware that being successful today does not mean that we may not experience failure tomorrow.

Success and failure are part of the journey of life because no one is above mistakes. No one is above mistakes!  Failures have meaning only and only if one uses them as experiences or as knowledge. But failure to learn from our mistakes is disastrous. If we fail an examination, for example, it is left for us to stay and weep and blame our teacher for not teaching well, for not speaking loud and clear. But we have not asked ourselves, “why did others pass”? Instead of blaming everyone for our failure, we should be able to blame ourselves and start studying harder and make sure we do not fail the second time. Whenever we remember that we failed once, we wake up immediately and move to the library to work harder. And with such hard work, we may turn out to be the best in the future. Therefore, we must be careful of our past and the present, we must be careful of our past success and past failures. How we handle and manage the past and the present defines the future. No matter what our past is like, our future is defined by what we are doing today “the present”. I have this saying, “Show me your work today, and I will tell you what your future will look like”. Why I did say “I will tell you what your future would look like and not your future will be” is simply because I am not God but, in most cases, our present action determines our future, the rest could be luck, chance, or “miracle”

However, God has the final say concerning our future. But examining in line with our experiences of life, and what we know about success and failures, reaping the fruits of our labor, to some extent, explains what the future holds for every one of us, in respect to our present work and our present action. A “good student” of Medicine, Nursing, Accountancy, Law, Philosophy, Theology, etc, will surely come out well informed and successful in their respective fields of study if they make genuine use of their present opportunities.

Each day, the question we should ask ourselves is “What have I contributed to the growth of the society” “Am I developing myself today”? Have I added any positive meaning to my life?  Have I just lived the triangular spectrum of existence”? For a better future, we must be careful of what I called “The contemporary destructive exacerbating way of life”; the triangular formula of living. What is this triangular formula? The triangular formula in my usage is living out every day just few activities of our choice. Such activities occupy the core of your daily life.  Example:

Wake up ➡️ Eat ➡️ Play Games ➡️ Watch Television ➡️ Sleep ➡️ Wake up...

If this forms one’s activity of the day, the person will be affected negatively.  Our basic activities should be able to create space for self-development and we can do that by being time conscious. Every day, apart from sweeping the house, cooking, washing, and many other house chores, we should avail ourselves of the opportunity for self-development.

When we watch a movie from morning till evening, through the night, we are simply wasting our future which shows that we are not time conscious. When our life, seeks more entertainment and social media, it is a simple invitation of a future failure. Entertainment is not bad, but we should have a program for it.  Have time for everything and be conscious of time, and develop yourself more with more meaningful activities that leads to self-development and improvement.

Remember, wherever we channel our energy determines what we will achieve. Finally, be careful with your present because it is the time you are sure of. Make maximum use of it through hard work. Do not allow any past failures or future expectations to steal the joys of the present. Make positive use of that great present time God has given you.

I pray that God will continue to enlighten our minds, may He help us to be positive always. And may our hard work continue to fetch us good fortune. Amen!