Jesus said, ‘All these things you are staring at now – the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed’, Luke 21:5-19.
“Don’t get ready. Stay ready.” This is what our Football team coach always told us. You were to stay ready throughout the match. Looking at the ball, all the time. “Don’t get ready. Stay ready. Keep your eyes on the ball all the time”, our coach often shouted.
Our coach, a short, dark skinned man, with a commanding voice, was a talented leader and teacher. He had a way of making his messages stick by knowing when to speak to the heart (emotion), and the brain (logic). He always began by blowing the whistle at 4:10 pm outside the classroom, always after the official school bell has gone. This meant no teacher was still in a class by the time he passed by. All First Team and Second Team players knew that was a call to the pitch. Anyone who arrived last, regardless of the excuse, had to do 30 push-ups and 10 pull-ups over the crossbar on the goal. The first person always captained the team for that day.
During the briefing, the coach was always on the lookout for anyone absent-minded. He threw a hardball at you. And then shouted: “Don’t get ready. Stay ready. Keep your eyes on the ball all the time.”
Back to you, dear reader. As you read this, you are not in the playing field. What are you keeping your eyes on, all the time? Life can be so busy that we tend to forget the most critical things in life – self, family, and friends. As a Catholic Christian, working on your self means here on earth, and also for your soul. And that is where you must stay ready. No one knows the time when they will die. You must stay ready, don’t get ready to nourish your spirit. Attend Church. Read the Bible. Pay your tithe. Treat people well. Don’t go to bed annoyed with anybody, more so, someone you share the bed with. Be humble and above all, pray and ask for forgiveness.
Are you ready now? Do not get ready. Stay ready. Keep your eyes on the ball. Like that football coach of mine during my primary school days, no one would know when the hardball would come. It was always unexpected. The only sure way to avoid it was to keep your eyes on the ball. That meant looking at the coach who always briefed us while holding it or resting it on the leg. If he ever aimed at hitting you with it, he always found you ready.
Are you ready now?
How many of you reading this have kept a grudge against someone else? How much is that grudge-holding you back? How much is that hate and annoyance at them, sucking a lot of energy from you which you need to thrive and win? Hate does not affect the hated. It affects the hater by sucking all the energy from them.
Get ready today. List all people who have annoyed you, and what they did. For each one, write against their names, forgiven. You don’t have to tell them, as they will know you still remember. Just forgive and let go. When you next meet them, treat them as friends, as if nothing happened. I guarantee they will come clean and then you can say “I forgave you.” That is what being ready is all about.
Copyright Mustapha Bernabas Mugisa, 2019. All rights reserved. Visit mustaphabm3.sg-host.com, for my book, 7Tools of an effective board member. Want to become a leader others admire? Go to Aristock and buy a copy today.
