You can achieve great things if you can condition your mind. However, past failures can play a trick on the mind, painting a mental picture that leaves many people stuck and unable to move beyond the past.
Favour Oresanya, the convener of FLIPPP, a conversation and insights platform, hosted a webinar on ‘The Cybernetics of the Growth Mindset’ to help young people make the best decision in their careers and not allow their mindset limit them.
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The guest speaker, Mr. Dike Chukwumerije, writer, author, performance poet, and public speaker, defines mindset as what catches your attention, what you see, and what you talk about.
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He said, “Mindset is like a social media algorithm; once it sees you like books, it starts showing you books and books.”
According to him, two people can be in the same situation, have the same experience, yet have different mindsets. He said mindset is critical, and we are all prisoners of our minds.
3 Ways Mindsets Are Formed
Mr. Dike Chukwumerije went on to highlight three ways that mindsets are formed. First, history (past experience) is one of the strongest forgers of mindsets, adding that the past forms the conclusion we have.
Also, the present also tends to reinforce the mindset we already have. Most often, people encounter situations and circumstances that re-establishes previously held mindsets.
In addition, the future plays a role in the sort of mindset we have. Mr. Chukwumerije explained that having a goal you’re trying to achieve compels you to look beyond your limitations. He stated that your goal will force a disruption in your mindset and that the future give you something that disrupts your current mindset.
“Having a clear goal is the most important factor in forming a growth mindset,” he said.
How To Discover Purpose
In discovering purpose, most people look at their talents and what they’re good at, which Mr. Chukwumerije believes is the wrong approach. According to him, the first question to ask is what worries/irritates you about the world you live in. Asking the right questions triggers your imagination.
These questions would lead you to discover your passion. What is that cry for help in your head that you can’t silence, and it doesn’t have to be big.
“Some people see things as they are and ask why, but I see things as they ought to be and ask why not?”- George Bernard Shaw.
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The Power of Imagination
Imagination is one of the most potent powers we have as humans, and it is why people born in the era of the post office could invent the internet. The speaker said if you don’t have something you’re trying to achieve that forces you to shift your mindset, separate from how you feel, you might not go far in life.
Your natural abilities are equally important in finding your purpose. Mr. Chukwumerije defines talent as abilities that you acquire easily or that are hard for others to acquire, but you acquired them easily.
He stressed that a growth mindset is having a purpose that is yours and that you cannot easily fulfill your purpose without your natural talents.
According to him, although society ranks talents, preferring one talent above another, no natural talent is useless, just that we don’t know its use. He said society is this way based on the past. He advised people to prioritise one talent that’ll open the door and make them known before they can pursue other passions.
What Should Motivate Your Choice of Career
The speaker lamented the fact that many people only choose a career based on where the money and fame is. He said people should examine their vision and passion before choosing a career path.
According to him, anything can give you fame and fortune, but only your purpose gives you a sense of fulfillment.
“Choose the path that is truly yours if you don’t want to end up famous and depressed or rich and unhappy,” he said.
Don’t Give Up On Your Chosen Path
He advised that once your mind is locked up to a goal, keep to it consistently until you achieve it.
In an exclusive chat, he stated that he left the country in his twenties for a master’s abroad and stayed back for 3 years, but he soon realised that his purpose is in Nigeria, and he came back and remained home since then.
He advised young people to go where they believe their destiny is but warned that they would have to fight wherever they find themselves.
“Stick to your life path, and it will bring you money and whatever you are looking for. If you go abroad, you would be a second-class citizen, your children would fight for equality,” he said.
He added that success in life is a mental game, but unfortunately, many people are constantly changing paths, looking for the easy way out.
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“The easy path may give money and fame but won’t give fulfillment. Fulfillment is worth more than any money in the world. That feeling is priceless, and it’s what we should think about,” he said.
He concluded by urging young people not to let their lives be motivated by the search for peace, safety, and money but rather by purpose.
