Don't Point Fingers, Just Stay Focused
So you’re imprisoned for twenty-seven years. You have a bucket for a toilet for eighteen of those years. A hard bed, in a small cell. Your’re allowed one visitor, for thirty minutes, once per year. Not only is your freedom taken away, you are treated terribly. And despite all of that, you remain level headed. You remain strong. You remain in control and in power. You remain a master of your domain. This was the case for Nelson Mandela.
A fellow prisoner would later explain in a Frontline interview “he [Mandela] always made the point, if they say you must run, insist on walking. If they say you must walk fast, insist on walking slowly. That was the whole point. We are going to set the terms.”
Mandela took control as a prisoner, being unfairly and unjustly held due to his resistance of the horrific apartheid regime in South Africa. Mandela would pretend to have a jump rope and use it to stay active. He would shadow box. Mandela held his shoulders back and square and his head high compared to other prisoners. And used his ability to do so to encourage the other prisoners. Mandela was confident in himself and his ability.
So was he really a prisoner? We cannot speak for Mandela. However, if you are in control of yourself, regardless of injustice and cruel treatment are you a prisoner? Nelson Mandela showed just how powerful the mind is and can be. It did not matter what Mandela went through. What forces were against him. He didn’t point fingers. He didn’t blame anyone. He simply decided to be in charge of himself. To be in control of what he thinks, what he says and what he does.
You too have this ability. Your boss does not have to get to you or the person behind you in traffic that is tail-gating you. The person that takes the parking spot you clearly found first or cuts you in line at the coffee shop. How irrelevant the hard times we face in comparison to Mandela. And yet, emotions take over. Rage, anger, road rage become the norm. Don’t get emotional. Stand tall, with your shoulders square and your head high. In the face of divorce. The business failing. The error at work. The terminal illness diagnosis. The investment that you thought would work and didn’t. The home you wanted to buy and you were outbid for it. The fight with a relative or friend.
Don’t point fingers, just focus. And if you do point a finger, it must be at yourself. You set the terms in your life. With the people and the challenges you encounter.
Thought Provoking Questions : What is preventing you from walking with your head held high? What will it take for you to not point fingers and just focus?
Dan Roman is a writer that releases a daily meditation. A quick read. Sharing wisdom and asking thought-provoking questions. Influenced by the obstacles, success and failures in life and of others. Using history, books, current events, philosophy, and ancient wisdom. These writings are actionable, thought-provoking, designed to make your life better.
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