Quick fix ? Or maybe not?

*DISCLAIMER* So , I know this is a little long, but encourage and challenge you to read anyway.


So, we have reached the middle of yet another week.
Time goes by fast - we are soon in the middle of June and already the middle of the year.
How are you spending your time? Are you taking advantage of every moment? Are you on the right path in life? Where do you see yourself the next 5 years?

I think these are important questions to keep in mind as we live. Every day I see people who make the wrong choices complain about how their life is turning out, while at the same time they're not really that disciplined with themselves.

I want to talk about what I personally call The Long Road Vs. The Short Road. Call it whatever you wanna call it. You can also call it The Long Tunnel Vs. The Short Tunnel. Or Shortcuts Vs. Endurance.
What is the wisest thing to do when you have two choices. You weigh the pro and cons on both sides. Hence the 'versus'.

A lot of people seem to continue living a life filled with shortcuts. My arguement is that this rarely ever works any good. I want to encourage everyone to be strong and disciplined instead. There are plenty of examples that choosing the short road leads to failure.

Examples:
- You feel like crap. You're depressed. You decide to go get drunk, or start smoking weed, or start taking drugs, or pretend to yourself you don't have any problems. All of these "solutions" will never make the problems any better, it's just a big time waster. In the end, however long it takes for you to live in that denial, you will surely realise that it wasn't the right way to go. The next day you wake up with a massive headache, feeling even worse about yourself, or you drain your brain away, gradually. You end up worse than where you started.

- You are dissatisfied with your financial situation. You want to save money for something big like getting your own house, getting a car, putting yourself out of debt or renewing your flat. Because you feel like crap, you go and buy a bunch of new clothes and spend your entire months pay ( I know someone who just did this ). As a result, money you could have saved is gone. Again this is a time waster.

- Deep inside you are lonely and wish you could find a bestfriend and lover to share your life with. Because you're too scared to deal with your own issues and get real, you end up sleeping with lots of men/women. Maybe it gives you a thrill and loads of confidence. Maybe you're too scared to invest in a real relationship, so you bail everytime things get too serious. Maybe you're too afraid of commitment and responsibility. Maybe you just want to "have a good time". In the end that good time - what of substantial value did it give to you?

There's plenty of more examples.
The common denominator is that they all involve A QUICK FIX but always PROLONGS whatever problem it is you are dealing with. You are in denial, stealing precious time from YOUR LIFE. Time you could have spent more enlightened in truth.
You can always put it off and say you will deal with it tomorrow or next time. Stop and think.
It always becomes "next time". Do it TODAY. Do it NOW.
Sooner or later, you will realise you were just wasting your time because you were too afraid to do what was right. This is a fact. And by sooner or later, "later" can mean 1 month or 50 years.

I'm inspired by watching all the people in denial around me. All the guys who are around 30 and still not doing anything with their lives. They go back to Nigeria claiming they're God's gift to women. Or all the people who gets involved in drug business to make quick money but end up dead. One guy was recently arrested in Germany and died in prison 4 days later - they're bringing his dead body home. All the examples I've given, you might think does not apply to you, because you're not a womanizer, not a maneater and you're not doing anything illegal. But this applies for any small petty issue as well.
We all have our issues, we are all imperfect, we all have stuff we need to WORK on.
You know deep inside that you're procrastinating so much it's effecting your life negatively.
You know carry too much jealousy within.
You know your insecurity is just a bit too much, and drives your boyfriend/husband away.
You know you're being greedy.
You know it's not right to cheat on your wife and it will only lead to more problems either within you or in the rleationship.
You know you're being so controlling you do not allow yourself to try new things.
Etc. etc.
Yet we keep denying it and pretend it's not a problem, that it's others that need to fix their problems, instead of working on ourselves.

Not working on these issues is what keep us making mistakes in our relationships with other people, is what leads to failure on different levels in our lives.

What I am talking about is all kinds of temptations - the temptations to take the easy way out, the quick fix. And my point about it is, if I have not already said it clear enough, that it always extends your misery. You think you're shortening it, while in fact you are prolonging it.

When I was 14 years old, my classmates started smoking, having sex and going to parties getting drunk. I didn't care whether I fit into their standards or not, I kept working hard at school. They thought I was stupid. Why didn't I want to "enjoy" ? Today I am doing well while most of them has gone nowhere. Some got their first kid at 15, some failed in school and continue spending their parents money on partying. But when their parents die, what are they going to do? How are they going to master life when they have not been taught the slightest of responsibility? Another one is a big super model in NY. I see pictures of her on FB - she's anorexic thin, always with a drink or a cigarette in her hand. Some might view that as successful, but I think she struggles, and after her prime time is over she'll fall into a deep pot hole.


My mother said to me "The one who laughs last, laughs best" - There is a similar Igbo proverb that goes "The patient dog eats the fattest bone" . I swear to this rule.
It is sometimes hard as hell - I've been lonely, I've cried, I've struggled. But I know I am better off like this. I am not a follower. Don't be afraid of a little mental struggle. It seasons you and makes you stronger and full of character. You always come out on the other side. Don't be afraid to do YOUR THING. Do not wait until it is too late.