Carpe diem: The titanic ship, and black swan

It was Rudyard Kipling who once wrote, and I quote,

“If you can keep your head when all about you

are losing theirs, and blaming it on you…

If you can dream, and not make dreams your master;

If you can think, and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with triumph and disaster

and treat those two impostors just the same;

Yours is the earth and everything that’s in it,..”

According to John Charles Maxwell, a foremost leadership scholar, “Every successful person is someone who once failed but never regarded himself or herself as a failure.”

Many people battle with the feeling of failure and defeatism on daily basis, the most dangerous part of this battle of the mind is those doubtful thoughts about oneself.

At the heart of those doubts and/or feelings is one central question; am I a failure? And that is the nucleus of the problem because it is nearly impossible for any person to believe he or she is a failure and hopes to succeed at the same time.

A person’s vision, simply put, is his or her ability to see his or her future in the present built on past experiences. A fact remains that all of mankind have their past and present; and a blend of this past, which is experience and their aspirations, shapes their vision in life.

However, one important thing about having a vision is the ability, to be honest with oneself about the current realities and not to live in a fool’s paradise.

In fact, an honest and accurate assessment of the present reality is as important as a vision of the future. In the journey of life, the two must go hand in hand.

This is so, because one cannot get to the future without being in the present, just like one cannot see tomorrow without today. Consequently, unless a honest and critical assessment of the current situation of one’s life is carried out, it would be almost never possible to fully achieve the set vision.

This is what happens when a person focuses on the future without looking at the present.

The contrasting situation is people who focus on the present without a vision for the future pay much more attention to things that have gone wrong or are bad in the present, and because of this, all they do is complain or react over every little fault.

This kind of disposition to life does not allow one the grace to be proactive and creative to achieve his or her desired future; rather it causes one to just give-up hope at every little disappointment.

Both having a clear picture of the future and a honest assessment of the present situation is very critical. Having a vision without being present is like having one’s head in the clouds.

While holding on to the present without a vision is like being stuck in the mud. Just like it is said that a people without a vision and a vision with a people amounts to futility.

As one’s vision becomes clearer, he or she has to look at his or her current situation and take the needed stock. Proper evaluation is unarguably key to progressive living.

You need to be honest with yourself, which is ordinarily very difficult to do if one is in the habit of blaming himself or someone else for every little fault.

To overcome this, you have to put the blame bag aside. It is not necessary to carry the blame bag along because it keeps one away from seeing the truth. Like it is said, sentiment and emotions blindfold people’s vision in the face of truth, hence, in the quest for truth, emotionality must be jettisoned.

Ever watched the thriller film called ‘Titanic’? The titanic ship is a good illustration of living in the present without a vision for the future and living in the dreamland without a proper assessment of the present.

The titanic ship was a powerful steamship designed, developed, and launched with the mind of being the largest, most luxurious, and strongest steamship ever made by man.

Read also: Lack of visionary leadership worsens Nigeria’s woes – Obi

The builders were totally focused on this goal, but they were unprepared for the possibility of unforeseen circumstances. “The Black Swan Syndrome” – they did not hold an honest account of their present situation then.

Aware of the icebergs, they made a terrible decision to hold a timeline while denying the danger of the current situation. The disastrous outcome of that voyage is a very good typology of what it means to focus on the vision without a critical evaluation of the present situation of things.

Focusing on your vision, and being honest about the true situation of things currently is what allows one to move full force ahead in the journey of life. This means that the moment your vision becomes conscious in you, you have to start living it.

In other words, you have to enjoy your future in the present. Even as your vision is forming, you need to act on what you know. You have to bring your vision into your present.

Learn from the past, plan for the future, and live in the present! That is to say, live your vision now, or better still enjoy yourself today!! (Carpe diem).