THE SULKING GIANT

It was a bright Monday morning, a day dreaded by many as it ends momentary relaxation and ushers in another 5 days of busy-ness. You know what I mean, especially if you reside in Lagos. Early rousing, road traffic, BRT queues, etc, usually accompany the start of a new week.

On this particular day, I prepared for work as usual, then noticed my cousin still on the bed. Are you kidding? "Bros, you should be up," I said gently. "Hey little brother, can’t you feel my pain?", he muttered. "I am depressed hence I've lost the zeal to work." I smiled and walked out to attend to the day's tasks. Very funny how one can hide under the umbrella of a challenge to run from expected responsibility. Yes, he had an issue with his wife but should that be the basis for embracing laziness? Well, he ended up not going to work for a few days and I guess he paid or would pay for it somehow when he returned to work.

Shouldn’t I be concerned about a brother who is going through a not-so-good moment? Yes I am or, perhaps, I used to be but for how long should he embrace disappointments and continue to make excuses for being unproductive? This is a job he just got, not even from merit but out of someone's concern for him, seeing him wasting away in such a pitiful state.  Isn’t it a good platform to therefore launch himself to relevance? For how long would he keep being "depressed"? It’s another week; millions of Naira are about changing hands in different parts of the country while my brother’s best therapy for his poor state is to sulk at home. Brilliant idea, isn’t it?

Humans love to be pitied; we want people to feel the pains we go through, we would always wrap our shortcomings with excuses to make it look good in the eyes of the public. Yes, I do that too (once in a while). Oh, how have great men underperformed, succumbing to the negative unfolding of things around. We pathetically paint the scenario as if it is peculiar only to us in the whole universe, as if it is a new development on the face of the earth. Did the Sun just have a baby girl?

I remember Gideon (in Judges 6). He was meant to be a great man, he was addressed as a mighty man of valour by an angel, a warrior expected to liberate his kindred from oppression. He sat under an oak tree when he was supposed to lead a hungry but winning army to battle. His people were in bondage, they had suffered at the hands of the Midianites for so long. Nothing seemed good about them hence the poor man buried his strength, he never saw himself as good, he accommodated the failure of life orchestrated by their long term defeat. Sadly enough, his fame was only known to the birds that resided in the oak tree. He was popular for nothing, a sulking giant, whose value was worthless.

“And the Lord looked upon him, and said, 'Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: Have not I sent thee?' And he said unto him, 'Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.'"

Excuses! The foreplay that robs us of the pleasures of victories, the dart that pins down our strengths, the bait that inhibits performance and efficiency. What’s yours? Tell me the stories that should bring you pity? Your parents died at your tender age, there was no one to send you to school; your father didn’t shower you with gifts and attention that’s why you became wayward; pretty Juliet broke your heart hence you want revenge on a lot of ladies; you finished with a 3^rd class, you weren’t selected for the interview; there are no jobs in town; you don’t have the capital to start that business; you weren’t born with a silver spoon; your father’s family prevented you from inheriting his properties; you attended a public school; you stammer; you aren’t as beautiful as Agbani Darego; there’s no one to introduce you to the MD of your preferred establishment; you failed the exam, blah blah blah. Please tell me more, dear friends? What is that thing that has never happened to people? 

Even Gideon crumbled at the face of defeat hence he needed a re-orientation by the angel to reposition him to the path of greatness. Are you waiting for an angel to do same for you? Trust me, you would wait taya. What if there’s no one to ginger or 'syche' you up as it were? What if no angel appeared to show you a sign? Would you stick to that appalling situation and continually 'romance' the negative mindset about yourself? The best God would do for you is to speak through your thoughts, His Word or through people. You need to rise up from beneath the oak tree for the journey to start; it is time for the giant in you to take a leap. Like Incredible Hulk, it is time to beat your chest to prove a point. You have got to nail those excuses to the wall for there is no permitted excuse for failure. Seest thou a man diligent with excuses? He shall continually sulk under the oak tree and shall never stand for something. In the words of Donna Krech, "whatever you put up with, you end up with."

True, we have setbacks and limitations in life, but learn to move above them. If God re-orientated Moses to understand that his physical disability (stammering) isn’t enough to stop him from success, believe me, nothing should hold you back. As for me, I know who I want to be and nothing, absolutely nothing, is going to keep me sulking under the oak tree.

I charge you to develop the right attitude always. Let the giant in you drown every self-doubt you have built up overtime. Look at each failure as a deposit made into the account that will help you write the check for your next significant success (Donna Krech). The difference between being mediocre and achieving excellence is you (Stephen Richards). I bet the giant in you is now awakened? See you at the top, commanding great success stories like Gideon.

Like the Guiness advert, there is a drop (no, oceanloads) of greatness in every man. Dear friend, I salute the greatness in you!

Written by Olukokun Adedeji