The blessings of God make rich and add no sorrow. That begs the question: would you rather be rich and sorrowful or poor and happy? I know someone would say ‘rich and happy’ but that option is not in the ballot.
The world is so heavily skewed towards the desperation to acquire riches. I don’t have any problem with riches, so long as they are not acquired by all means. If you have to ‘win’ by all means, chances are that you will not play ‘fair’, and I have everything against that mentality.
What happens is that we get focused on winning that we forget the price paid as well as the harm and hurt inflicted in a desperate attempt to win. Every time you win, you lost something. This is important and I want to say it again. Every single time you win you lost something. Sometimes you actually win at a huge loss, that the winning becomes undesirable.
Our people answer ‘Echem azu ogu’ which means I think about the aftermath of war. When we do echemazuogu, we either sheath our dagger or fight only unavoidable wars. In any case, we choose our wars carefully and engage in wars reluctantly. Again this is crucial because most wars or arguments or quarrels are unnecessary and unprofitable.
So you that celebrate yourself for all your wins, be it business, career, political, social or whatever. Have you considered what you lost for each win you recorded? Did you win an argument and lost a friend? Have you won a business contract and lost the trust of your friends? Did you win the promotion at work and lost the love of your children? Again, have you taken time every time you recorded a ‘win’ to evaluate what you lost? What are you trading for what you are gaining?
Think about these. It is a new year and a time to review. Wisdom is profitable fo direct.
(Excerpts from a book in the works: Winning at a loss)
@MezieOkolo, Author & Leadership Analyst
01/04/2020