A lot is happening, and we are in a world where there is a lot of competition, imposters, and a lot of people doing what they do because others are doing it but not defining why they are doing it. This has caused fear, confusion, and even deadly sickness on the rampage due to long term distress. I can say with certainty that the moment a person truly choose to discover the “U” in you, they will never turn back.

This is because it will build your belief system, produce confidence about your abilities, and not be an imitator or shadow of yourself. Discovering “U” in you is the same as self-development or self-discovery. You may ask, is it possible I don’t know who I am? If you answer why you truly do what you do with peace of mind, congratulations, that’s a step to it. When you understand yourself, it will help you in every phase of your life.

Self-Discovery

So then what is self-discovery? It is becoming aware of your U, which is your Uniqueness in terms of true potential, character, motives, and even habit. It means finding your purpose or passion in life. It means harnessing your full energy into your childhood and revealing the experience that shaped you. I know some of us had childhood upbringing filled with negative energy such as word of mouth abuse, which pierces through the heart and reduces our self-esteem hence, you believe you are a failure and can’t see good from you.

Beyond childhood, and this present age, many people have depression because they don’t understand who they are and thus caged in the mind and environment of failure. This, unfortunately, becomes true because you feed the negative thoughts and act on it.

Fear, failure, feeling of incapable is not wrong, but what do you do after such feeling? When you understand that self-discovery is not a motivational speech but directly proportional to your thoughts and actions, you will see well and fight hard. Success must exist in the mind before it can exist in reality. Therefore guard your thoughts, mind, diligently because out of it flows issues of life. 

If you want to succeed, you will have to think and act like one who succeeds. It would be best if you did the following:

Let go of self-criticism

 Quit criticizing yourself and acting on the negatives people say or think about You. The more you dwell on it, the more the negative statement becomes real.

 Forgive yourself

very crucial. It’s not late to start again. You can ask KFC founder. 

Challenge yourself with the right set of friends

Even out of good friends, you can choose to know their strengths and reach out to the ones you want to challenge you to succeed. I needed to be part of those that will get a scholarship award from my school during my undergraduate years as a fresher; I associated with medical students most of the time. We were 6 in number, and I was the only one who studied a different course.

Why did I choose them? This is because before they can get into medical school, they need to have a very high CGPA required for me to have my scholarship. Eventually, I got the scholarship, and they all got into medical school. That’s a positive step knowing fully well that they will read

Avoid negative environment

If you can’t afford to change your environment, change your habit, and grow yourself with the right energy filled with positivity. Spend time with the things that resonate with positive vibes in your mind, meditate on it daily, and it shall be a force to fight the toxic environment.

I must tell you this: it is an intentional step that must be taken deliberately. It is not a once and for all discovery, it’s a daily discovery needed in every phase of life. I must say, however, it is not an easy road. It is a road filled with confusion, doubt, misunderstanding, and revisiting of choices every moment. It also requires discipline and consistency in making tough decisions. You can ask any successful person. The drilling process of discovery of U is not easy, but it pays.

My Story

I remember failing a project of shooting a movie in my final year as an undergraduate. I was one of the committee members given the task of fundraising towards the project, but I failed and felt disappointed because I was used to encouraging people, but here I am, I failed. While I examined myself, I realized failing is not a major problem, but what you do after failing. I got posted for my NYSC, and the failure kept hunting me, but guess what? After many failures trying to execute projects, I didn’t get defeated. Still, I eventually carried out so many projects that helped the community of my primary assignment, I eventually partook in movie shooting and even worked with WHO as a volunteer.

All this happened within a year of my NYSC. During the phase of carrying out my projects, I was seen as confused, and I was misunderstood because the people thought I wanted to swindle them. I was seen as mad because I kept practicing what I alone was seeing in my mind, which was parading and rehearsing how I will shake the governor’s hand after being called upon and getting the award. Guess what, my termed mad picture happened! I was eventually the best serving female corp member. I paraded, I was called upon and shook the Governor representative hand and got the award.

Ladies of a truth discovering U in this period is very vital. You can’t give what you don’t have. Hence, the need for self-development. Discovering yourself will help you, your family, and your generation. You will become someone to reckon with, and not one tagged ‘anything goes’. When you understand who you are, you can stand right and overcome any form of abuse. Sure, challenges will come, but you will stand for something beautiful.
In conclusion, when you are crazy about your dream, disappointment will come, but it will help you discover the true self that will link you to someone who will help your potential. I must tell you the truth; it will sometimes take a long or short time depending on how fast you grasp the new knowledge, but the important thing is you will become better and smarter.

Guest Post

Ginika C Uzoeshi

MS Ambassador – CHILLS