YOU ARE WHAT YOU ARE TODAY BECAUSE OF YESTERDAY’S DECISION; A NEW YEAR TREAT.
ETINOSA-OKANKAN CHRISTOPHER OSAMUYI
We make decisions everyday whether consciously or unconsciously. It is the quality of our decision that determines the quality of the life we live. Our decisions will either make us or break us. Decision is what determines our destiny.
In my few years on this earth, I have sat down to watch men and women with great dreams, who could have made impact on their generation, watching life taking them by surprise, because of the wrong decisions they have made sometime in their life journey. One question that echoes in the ear of such individuals is, “if only I could turn back the hands of time there are some things I did which I would not have done, places I went to, which I would not have gone, food I ate which I would not have eaten, actions I took which I would not have taken and friends I made which I would not have. But ours here to be in the seminary becomes a good decision, however, it the question of how many are truly faithful to this decision. How many of us are ready to ensure that this decision of becoming a priest comes to fruition?
The fruit of yesterday’s decision are blooming today in our lives, and we wish we could uproot the seed which we planted yesterday, when they actually turn out in the negative, but otherwise, we wish to continue to nurture the plant that such decision has turn into. A decision made in a second could have effect that lasts for decades.
Have you ever sat down to do a rethink of your life and the decisions you have made in times past; are they affecting you now? Are they really positive or negative? Can you honestly give yourself a pass mark? After one, two, three, four, to seven years in the seminary, what will be your result? After all the books you have read what have you learnt? After all the formation processes you have passed through, can you really say there is a positive changed me? A person who cannot sit down to consider his life cannot arise to confront his life.
You are where you are today, because of yesterday’s decision; you can choose to become better – if it is the case that you find yourself lacking behind, or even best, when you consider yourself better – tomorrow by making a quality decision today. Stop mortgaging your tomorrow to satisfy today. Start to discipline yourself today in order to achieve a brighter tomorrow. If you do not decide your tomorrow, you could remain a child of circumstance and a victim of life. If you do not decide your tomorrow, you are staking your future. If you do not decide your tomorrow, you are living your life open to other people’s decision. And where you do, you end up living other people’s lives. At the end, you may sadly notice that you have not lived the life you actually wanted to live.
I have made up my mind today that I refuse to be handicapped for life. I have decided to live my life and be myself. I will make a decision that empower my tomorrow for excellence and success. I will be creative and resourceful to see my dreams come to reality. I will strive to be the best in anything I do. I will not allow peer pressure, lust or fear to determine what my future will be. Is this your conclusion today? Then do everything within and beyond yourself-ability to make it happen. Preparing yourself for a better future may not be interesting, glamorous or exciting, but your commitment to it, is what takes you closer to your dreams.
You must always remember that how you end up in life is guided by your decision, even in the gravest situation; nothing can take the place of decision to make everyday either to build a future for yourself or to drift aimlessly through life. Never forget, you are what you are today, because of yesterday’s decision, make do of the now to ensure a nicer and better later.
