WHY YOU MIGHT SPOT ME AT A GAME HOUSE

Chukwuebuka had been my friend for a long time. I had come visiting and he had just bought a new Play Station 4 set way back then. We sat and discussed about the Nigerian school system to politics, to social trends and ofcourse literature.

He had been waiting for 'the boys' so he could 'trash them' in a game.

"I would like to play," he gave me the 'girls-don't-play-games kind of smile but I insisted.

Five minutes into the game, he had a knowing smile on his face as he stared at me to the gamepads and back to the screen. One thing was certain, it was not the first time I 'd touch a gamepad. Growing up with my male cousins groomed me for that.

Life itself is a game and realising this in good time will help you pull through it with ease. Life is designed just like games just like your favourite Candy Crush to Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario or even Temple Run. It teaches you to scale hurdles and unlock higher realms of operation. Games school on how to solve problems in a fun way.

However, the moment, you tell someone I have a problem. They give you the puppy glance and expect hell to be let loose. There is no such thing as a Problem. What people actually have are challenges.

The problem about problems is the tag name 'Problem.'

I can't say that I am blind to the fact there is an existence of unemployment, hunger, poverty, crime, income inequality, poor productivity, religious bigotry or corruption. One thing that is certain is that if there is a Challenge, then its solution is lurking behind.

Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. If you don't have any problems, you don't get any seeds.
Norman Vincent Peale

When faced with ~~problems~~ challenges, learn to stay calm and apply the tool of questioning.

What is the root of this problem? There will be an 'Aha' moment when you get the root-cause but you need to be careful not to get boxed into the time-wasting attitude of playing the 'blame game.'

Accept responsibility for the problem and don't get your self beat up if you are at fault. The 'Blame Game has never handed any of its players that I know a trophy.

Your brain and mind is the most powerful tool in the world. Devise a solution and strategize towards how to get it right. Set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely) goals to solve problems.

If it becomes overwhelming getting around it. Ask people who will be willing to help you and be willing to walk with them through the process.

A friend once said to me, " Ifeatu help is everywhere, Open your heart and find it." It has been a lifelong advice that has helped till date. Even among a legion of demons, there will still be a lenient one. Don't you think so?

It's about time to turn that challenge into a story of change.

Have faith in yourself and in God. Heaven helps those who help themselves, remember?

Do you want to bare your thoughts on this? Drop your 'mind's missiles' in the comment section below.

NEXT BIG THING: CREATING A NEW WORLD THROUGH MY LENS - KINGSLEY AGORUA

Jim Rohn had his opinion that "If you don't like where you, change it. You are not a tree." Kingsley Agorua had looked around where he found himself and decided to change it to suit his taste through his lens. My earliest contact with Kingsley should have been in 2012 when I was a student at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri. I spotted him at an event on campus where he was taking photographs. Little did I know that I would bump into him again at my faculty - The School of Health as a student. I was curious as to what a photographer was doing in my faculty during lecture period. Time will reveal that he was a student too who was madly in love with his camera. This was all before the advent of traditional or nearly compulsory bridal showers, baby showers and pre-wedding shoots in the Nigerian Creative Industry. Kingsley Agorua is a cinematographer with years of experience from Oguta in Imo state. He studied Dental Technology at the Federal University ...

Helping hands or holding hands?

It was just last week. I set up a quiz for the pupils I teach. Teaching had never been something I looked forward to but it found me. I can tell you that despite I find myself standing in front of a board each morning, I feel more like I am learning. So, the doubts of if I relished teaching fizzled away. The experience has been fresh and worthy. I had two groups namely A and B consisting of three pupils each for the quiz. The pupils in group A were more of the intelligent stock and group B, I called them the average stock. Once we kicked off, group A had earned eight points leaving group B at two points. "We will finish you, people today", Vincent snarled. He is one of the smartest kids you 'd ever meet, a fast rising Chike Obi breed and the sole provider of the answers coming from his camp. I was tempted to caution him not to talk that way to them but I restrained myself and kept watching the unfolding drama. Group B seemed to have lost hope, they all had a shado...

IFEATU'S BUS CHRONICLE: THE MILITARY, MARRIAGE AND BIBLE GETS A SEAT ON THE YELLOW BUS

One of the places that you should never judge people by the way they look is in Lagos and Onitsha. In the former, a stray looking guy might be a military officer and in the latter, a guy looking like a pauper might just be your unknown landlord. Fridays are my happiest. I just let myself get lost in my daydreaming and indulge myself in the luxury of waiting for the long-expected weekend. Today, the road is free. We ride in calmness except for the sound from the engine that depicts acceleration in our pace. A man dressed in Ankara is seated by my right and a lady holding her umbrella and looking lost is seated by my left. We approach Costain and just as the bus tends to swerve a careless bike rider attempts a rough overtaking. Our infuriated driver is yelling at him as well as the passengers. In Nigeria, some questions don't pose as questions. "Are you mad? Are you crazy?" Our driver is hurling at the indeed crazy biker. The bike rider is obviously the obstin...

JENNIE IFEATU

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