Zamai Banje

Knowledge For The Modern Millennial

Category: Personal development (page 2 of 7)

A collection of blog posts about personal development. Here, Zamai Banje writes and discusses personal development and how it affects young individuals.

August 30, 2020 / 0 Comments

Solitude: The Only Validation You Need is Within Yourself

What runs through your mind when you see or hear this word? For most people, they define solitude as loneliness, sadness or even depression. In a way, they are right. The word Solitude originally comes from the Latin word solus which means alone.

Yet, there is a big difference between being alone and being lonely. Loneliness is a negative state of isolation. On the other hand, solitude is a positive state where you choose yourself.

Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self

May Sarton

In a world of overwhelming information and search for public validation; solitude is now more important than ever. Everyone seeks to grab your attention ranging from obsessive ads from companies and internet entrepreneurs to a casual friend asking you to hang out. You must have had your own fair share of these attention stealers.

WHAT ABOUT PUBLIC VALIDATION?

What about public validation? This comes from you. It is the tendency to seek attention from others. The compulsive need to gain likes and shares on your social media posts. The need to be adored by a special partner. Or even the urge to constantly gain favour and approval from your seniors, peers and juniors. Yes, you must have had your own fair share of seeking public validation too.

It’s easy to stand in the crowd but it takes courage to stand alone.

Mahatma Gandhi

These things are not bad. Adverts inform you about certain products. A casual hangout can lead to influential relationships in the long run. Even those likes and shares increase awareness about your brand or business. However, when these activities distract you from the things that matter most, that is when the problems start.

This is where the practice of solitude comes in.

Without solitude, no plant or animal can survive, no soil can remain productive, no child can learn about life, no artist can create, no work can grow and be transformed.

Paulo Coelho, manuscript found in Accra
Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger from Pexels

WHY YOU NEED SOLITUDE

Knowing yourself gives room for reflection. It is the only time you can give honest feedback and seek ways to improve your talent and work ethic. Solitude actually enhances creativity and productivity too.

Without great solitude, no serious work is possible.

Pablo Picasso

Practising solitude also gives you the opportunity to know yourself more. Mental strength, empathy is best built in this optimized state of knowing yourself. In this state, you make independent decisions free of external influences. These decisions help you develop more insights into becoming a better person in varying aspects of your life.

Solitude is not the absence of company, but the moment when our soul is free to speak to us and help us decide what to do with our life.

Paulo Coelho, Manuscript found in Accra

HOW TO KNOW YOURSELF BETTER

There are different ways to practice solitude and know yourself better. Here are five major ways I have tried and these steps are highly recommended too:

  • Communicate and pray to the Creator. This allows you to build a personal relationship with God.
  • Meditate. This sounds like an ancient technique, but there are now modern apps for meditation. (I have used the Calm app and it worked really well. It is available on app stores)
  • Read books. Books are little powerhouses of knowledge. Learn to apply knowledge got from these books into your life.
  • Take a personality test. This is science’s way of knowing your strengths and areas you can improve. You can take one of these tests via this LINK
  • Journal and jot down your thoughts. This gives you clarity and a sense of organization around your activities (I wrote an article on how to journal perfectly: Journaling: How To Constantly Channel and Control Your Thoughts)

Yeah, you made it to the end. Practice solitude, know yourself more and you will definitely see the world differently.

August 23, 2020 / 1 Comment

Journaling: How To Constantly Channel and Control Your Thoughts

Hello, beautiful one! Have you heard of the power of written words? I mean not just the words you read, but the words written (or typed) by your hand. Words are very powerful and have always transformed lives. So is it possible you are not controlling yours? There is a hidden power you and I can use. It is the power of Journaling.

Journaling is the activity of keeping a diary or journal for personal and productive purposes. Journaling can take different forms. This ranges from writing daily tasks on a diary to writing concise applicable reviews of a book you just read. This largely depends on your personal style.

Journaling: How to constantly channel and control your thoughts
Photo by Colton Sturgeon on Unsplash

Before you learn more about this power, please check the following scenarios and see if you have ever experienced any of them?

  • Have you ever lost track of time and don’t know what to do at a particular time? Or do you have such overwhelming work that it paralyses you to do something?
  • Have ideas run through your beautiful mind, yet at the opportune time, you forget the exact steps to execute these same ideas? Or sometimes do you forget the entire idea itself?
  • Are you an avid reader, yet lack the capacity to what you apply what you have read? Have you listened to so many videos and podcasts, yet the information got has little or no lasting effects in aspects of your life?

Well, if any of this has happened, you are not alone. I have experienced most of them and recording my actions on journals really helped me a lot. Don’t take my word for it. Here are a couple of reasons you need to start journaling today:

WHY YOU NEED TO START JOURNALING NOW

  • Journaling helps you to stay productive and organized. Yes, dear, it’s true. Recording your daily thoughts and tasks helps you prioritize and keeps you focused on specific tasks throughout the day.
  • Journaling allows you to filter ideas. When you jot down major ideas after reading a book or watching a video; you tend to write down only the major ideas that matter to you. This is really helpful in this world of overwhelming information.
  • When your journal, you learn the subtle art of connecting the dots. This sounds surreal but writing or recording your thoughts helps you evaluate certain situations with a fresher and wiser outlook. You have had the chance to rethink and now pour these ‘second chances’ in your journal.

I hope these reasons are good enough to start recording those ideas. However, before you start writing, there is a mistake you must avoid. When journaling, most people tend to record their entire activities in a single journal. They record work, daily musings, eureka moments and knowledge nuggets in the same journal. This is counterproductive because it eventually leads to messy and cluttered information. This defeats the major purpose of journaling.

Here is what you need to do. Have different journals for different purposes. Here are the major journals you must have to stay on the right track to channelling and controlling your thoughts.

JOURNALS NEEDED FOR THE ROAD

  1. Spiritual Journal: Needed to record your conversations with God, including scriptures, revelations and insights. This keeps you constantly connected with the Creator.
  2. Goal Journal: Needed to record your goals and track progress as you go along. This keeps you accountable and focused.
  3. Day-to-Day Journal: Needed to record the good, bad and the activities you need to improve every day. This keeps you energized and monitor your thoughts.
  4. Gratitude Journal: Needed to record things you are grateful for on a daily basis. This keeps you in a positive and happy state.
  5. Knowledge Journal: Needed to record insights, strategies and quotes you pick from your book studies, videos and podcasts. This should include actionable steps to later on.
  6. Ideation Journal: Needed to record ideas and eureka moments you want to work on or connect later. This keeps you creative.
  7. Work Journal: Needed to record your work-related activities. This keeps your head and workspace minimal with maximum efficiency.

Here is the best part of this article.

HOW TO START JOURNALING TODAY

So far so good, there are two major ways you can start journaling today.

  1. Get a notebook and a pen. Start recording your activities. Just as we have mentioned earlier, get different notebooks for each interest.
  2. The second method is to download a dedicated journaling app. Examples of these apps are Evernote, WriterP and Google Keep. WPS Office and Google Docs can also help your journaling journey. However, the key is to be minimal and to avoid distractions.

QUICK TIP: Create different notebooks (in place of notebooks) in your dedicated app to separate each journal.

Personally, I would recommend the first method – keeping physical journals. There is this sense of serenity and sincerity within yourself when you take a pen and write on a physical journal. Nonetheless, I still use my phone (I currently use WriterP) to record ideas especially in public places (I don’t want to be known as the weird guy who brings out a notebook immediately an idea pops in his head)

Photo by Gabrielle Henderson on Unsplash

FINAL WORDS

This might sound like hard work to you. Especially if you have associated writing with schoolwork in times past. The easiest way to break this fear is to break the rules.

Write whatever you feel like. You can write just two words daily. Draw or doodle by the margins if you feel like. Open your dedicated journaling app and edit a post you copied.

But by all means, journal. I want you to write something today. Cheers.

August 13, 2020 / 4 Comments

Salt and Light: When your Purpose meets Brilliance

Have you ever read a specific verse in the Bible from a different version and had a profound perspective? This is how I felt after reading Matthew 5:13-16 from the Message. After reading these verses and sharing my thoughts, I sincerely hope it gives clarity and understanding in whatever you do. Read closely because it is also the sole reason on why you and I are here on Earth:

Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.

Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill.

MATTHEW 5:13-16 MSG

Salt of the Earth: Be Valuable

In those days, salt was so valuable and useful that it was used as money. Today, America’s sea salt company identified over 14,000 uses of salt. It’s obvious that to live a healthy life, salt must be part of your daily diet. This is how you should be. Be the salt of the earth. Be extremely important in offering value. Here is how to be the salt of the earth:

Salt and Light: When your purpose meets brilliance
Photo by Jason Tuinstra on Unsplash
  • Be Salt. Preserve the peace in your environment and those around you. Try to be peaceful with all men (at least from your end).
  • Be Salt. Listen critically and cleanse the impurities. Dissociate from bad people and remove corrupt communication. Do what is right at all times.
  • Be Salt. Add ‘taste’ and ‘spice’ to the lives of others. Bring the individuality and uniqueness of your mentors, peers and juniors. Be a beacon of positivity and wisdom.
  • Be Salt. Know your origin. Just as how salts originate from the ocean, know you come from a place of abundance. You are limitless and vast. You are from a source of never-ending wisdom, strength and creativity. Knowing your self-identity also boosts your self-worth.

You are the salt of the Earth. Don’t forget this.

Light of the World: Be Visible

The Sun. The Moon. Electric bulb. Candle. These are symbols of life, tranquillity, innovation and restoration respectively. All because they produce light.

Salt and Light: Where your purpose meets brilliance
Photo by Dyu – Ha on Unsplash

This is who you are. The light of the world. You are never meant to be hidden. People need you to survive. Embrace this philosophy wherever you go. Here is how to be the light of the world:

  • Be Light. Give life. Let your attitude, actions and words always spread positivity and joy. People should feel energized, encouraged and elated when they see and hear you.
  • Be Light. Be visible. Share your story. Share your talents in whatever you can. You cannot be hidden. You are meant for the top. Strive with excellence and the urge to learn. Be spectacular in your doings. Always show up strong.
  • Be Light. Illuminate. Enlighten people around you with your exposure, experience and expertise. Don’t be a lonely light in the midst of darkness because it will eventually consume you. Light others up literally. Always seek ways to bring out the potential in others.
  • Be Light. Innovate. For instance, the Sun, fire and lighting powered by electricity give us energy, the power to stay active at night and improves our lives at a faster pace. This is how you ought to be. Stay active. Come up with new ideas. Improve constantly. This is the only way you can shine brighter.

FINAL WORDS

I know life is not perfect and throw bad situations at you. There are certain times when you might feel useless, unimportant or confused on what to do with your day or life in general. Or when waves of loneliness or darkness consume your thoughts which in turn affect your attitude and actions.

Please stay strong in those moments. Stay in constant contact with the Creator. Seek advice from positive friends. And one thing is certain.

Never lose sight of who you are. You are Salt and Light.

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