JOURNEY TO GREATNESS

Sometimes, I sit and wonder what it feels like to be ‘’a great person’’. Then I think to myself, who is great? I think my mum is great but I also think some powerful women (housewives, bank MDs, ministers, Margaret Thatcher RIP) are great.

So what is greatness?

I think greatness is the ability to achieve and make a difference in the face of adversity or brilliance in exploiting opportunities. I believe the day we were conceived, the ability to be great was set and it is up to us to find what we want to be great at.

So how does my mum for example exhibit greatness? 

Now, is my mum a really popular woman on TV, an MFR or Dangote? No, certainly not. But her greatness comes from her ability to achieve constantly in spite of adversity (cue all of her kids) and inspiring and helping other people in this journey of life. She solves problems around her meticulously and diligently- no matter how petty the problem may seem. She’s an awe-amazing wife and mother- caring, responsible, attentive, a motivator and she watches out for people. I am proud to say she has never been accused of cheating, stealing or causing harm to another person in her quest for financial stability. This to me makes her great- the ability to achieve with her personal principles intact.

So how does one achieve this greatness?

What I see is that great people have a sense of self i.e. they know who they are or are confident in showing who they are. This confidence gives them the comfort in themselves which allows them develop a thick skin to the opinions of others. Their existence is not validated by the opinions of those around them (this doesn’t mean that they do not take advice from people around them, I know my mum speaks to a lot to her elder sister and other people she consults as well).

The lines in two different songs ‘bow-down bitches’-Beyoncé Knowles and ‘bitch don’t kill my vibe’ – Kendrick Lamar are great lines. They validated my thoughts on some characteristics that help achieve greatness.

1.       KNOW THYSELF, KNOW THYSELF, KNOW THYSELF’; 

     One of my favourite quotes of all time from Plato. When Beyoncé released ‘bow-down bitches’ it was received with mixed feelings. How could ‘oh-so-elegant-Beyoncé’ speak in such manner (Ratchet- urban slang for an undesirable, coarse woman) but Beyoncé can be ratchet and that’s okay! She embraced her hood-rat and why not? There is nothing more important than knowing oneself; the confidence one gets to rise when they fall comes from some type of self-awareness/assuredness. I reiterate know thyself, know thyself, know thyself.

2.   OTHER PEOPLE’S OPINION OF YOU DOES NOT HAVE TO BECOME YOUR REALITY’; 

      I read somewhere that “’Greatness is single-minded, if you take on the worlds opinion, you’d be non-existent. Think about Jesus, I’m sure people told him to back down from the cross but he knew his goal and he was going to get it. He got on the cross. Let us take a more contemporary example, Mark Zuckerberg, he was a drop out after all yet he owns the largest social media platforms. Setting it up in the first place was single-mindedness. On this note, when on the path to your greatness, remember to say ‘bitch don’t kill my vibe’ especially those who drag you down knowingly or unknowingly by their unproductive opinions.

I am currently on a journey to Greatness/Becoming and so today, I would like to write about myself, I hope I can critique my character and inspire you, my revered readers to know thyself.

ABOUT ME: I am so hopeful about life. I used to be black and white about life until I studied philosophy. Yes, I am one of those who feel they know about life because their minds have been opened to the great diversity of life.  At times I want to give up on so many things yet I keep holding on to thin line of hope and I say this to myself all the time ‘’I am strong, I am a superwoman, the world will feel my Impact and I will die empty’’. I know many things and so I live in grey zones. I always make random jumps…my mind works really quickly and so it processes things before I understand them fully. I think writing about oneself is weird but it helps develop your sense of self-analysis. I live life by knowledge. I am currently interested in the girl child and as such an advocate for girl child education, I believe so much in the girl child and can’t wait to see them effect a positive change in the world. I can also classify myself as an Human Rights Activist, I am against domestic violence of any sort. I believe myself to be Human first before I am a Woman and a Woman before I am a Black. I love shopping and I totally hate surprises. Know thyself, it’s the only way forward.

Here is to peace, love and life of GREATNESS!!!