The Tribune

By Ian Ferguson

Mark the perfect man. This is what he might look like. He gets up in the morning with a bright and positive outlook on life. He sees and seeks to capture all of life’s possibilities. Embarking on another day of life’s opportunities is not a task or feat that induces a feeling or fear or apprehension, but rather is an event looked upon with great expectation and anticipation.

He approaches each challenge without fear. He approaches each mountain with determination and purpose. He savours each victory and quickly dispels the notion of defeat. He moves with confidence towards an assignment, and is relentless in his desire to complete the task. Everything that life presents to him appears bright and positive. He is the epitome of optimism. The very thought of living life to the fullest excites him. He is full of energy and vitality. His mind is pure towards people and everything that surrounds him. Nothing has a dark side. No evil people to stop him from realising his goals. No task too complex.

Well, based on this picture of the perfect man, very few of us, if any, can honestly say that we fit the mold. In fact, most of us would argue that such a person does not exist. Our rationale would go something like this: People are imperfect, and life sometimes becomes overwhelming or is altogether consistent. We further justify our imperfection by stating that our environment dictates what we become in life. We blame our past experiences for the negative approach we sometimes take towards life. We categorise, with great skill, people who are evil and anointed to cause harm to us in some way or another.

Through our life’s experiences, we select those things that interest us and focus our attention on perfecting those areas. We listen to people’s testimony of what we should venture into based on their understandings, interpretations and experiences. They tell us how things ought to be done and convince us, somehow, that because this is the way they did it then it must be the standard for how the thing ought to be done. They provide us with justification for all of our behaviours, deciding for us what is wrong or right; moral or immoral; exciting or boring; safe or dangerous.

Today is a simple call to live life with a higher degree of flexibility and freedom. Leave behind the inhibitions and the things that limit you in the workplace and outside. What do you have your eyes set on today that you once believed to be impossible? Here is your call to tap into the unexplored, launch into the deep, discover the uninhabited. It begins with a simple declaration of ‘YES I CAN’, or in words of scripture: ‘I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.’ Do that thing better today than you did yesterday; try that thing that you’ve been dreaming about for some time. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If it will improve your life and that of those around you, it’s worth it!

• NB: Ian R. Ferguson is a talent management and organisational development consultant, having completed graduate studies with regional and international universities. He has served organsations, both locally and globally, providing relevant solutions to their business growth and development issues. He may be contacted at tcconsultants@coralwave.com.