Are you working for you or them?
The sky is the limit, somebody once said, and it is safe to state that the phrase is one of the most quoted.
Problem is, many people do not let these words sink in properly before they quote them to others — a bit like cramming for an exam (you just might pass the exam, but not because you understand a thing).
Not many people look up to the sky when setting their goals; not because the sun hurts their eyes, not because the skyscrapers are blocking the view, but because they are too busy looking horizontal at what their neighbour is doing.
They only make a step when the person they’re looking at (more like competing with), takes a step.
Eventually, these people whose motto should be “one step above my neighbour is the limit”, will reach the sky, but the feat leaves them extremely exhausted, never quite getting to enjoy the fruits of their hard work.
People who are in competitions with their neighbours and friends spend too much energy in the competition, they push themselves beyond their capabilities, just so their neighbours don’t have one over them.
Keeping up with the Ochiengs next door is their speciality, so to say. No time to relax, tension is the order of the day, and are afraid of sleeping or going for holiday because the Ochiengs might make a move in their absence.
It is really unhealthy, what with all the stock taking to see who owns more! The only person you should be in competition with is yourself, and the sky is only as high as you want it to be.
Everybody has their own idea of how high the sky is and if your ambition takes you only as far as renting a one-bedroom house with a communal toilet, so be it.
That is your sky, have fun. Behave as if as if you are the only resident of the world. If you are on the other side of the ambition spectrum and you will only relax when you acquire a personal jet, hey, go ahead and work hard and smart.
The rules, however, should remain the same; always have your own plan. Keeping up with the Ochiengs puts you in constant fear that there is something they own yet you don’t.
There is always something to beat. Ironically, keeping up with the Ochiengs is supposed to put you in control, but it ends up doing the opposite.
They have total control of your life and it puts you on the path of the never ending rat race. Where is the fun in that?
If you are already a victim of keeping up with the Ochiengs, there is hope, but it is not an easy path. Stop being a copy cat for starters, and do not be afraid of starting an income generating activity, as long as it is legal.
Do not be afraid of failure, of mistakes, because all the great inventors never invented over night. They tried and tried and tried again, until they were satisfied.
Mistakes, unless they cost lives, are nothing but learning aids — just remember not to make the same mistake twice. And do not be too set in your ways either.
Be flexible, as long as it is within the law of course. Also remember that success is not always measured with money. If you are happy, you are successful.
If you have a job you love, you are successful. If you have a happy family, you are successful. If you have five friends who would drop everything to come to your aid, then you are successful.
Parting shot; if you have to keep up with the Ochiengs, how about trying to have better manners than the Ochiengs, how about trying to be a better example to your children and the wider community than the Ochiengs, how about giving to the needy and helping them?
How about having everybody talk about you because you are the epitome of humanity?
