Power Tip no 2

power tip no 1

Mistaken Identity

Introduction

The world has a system of classifying people into certain groups based on multiple factors. They are classified or categorised based on their gender, skin colour, educational achievement, family history or contribution to society, physical ability, personal accolades, societal and social association or status and more. Others are just labelled based on a hunch of the community. Then others have personally deliberately mislabelled themselves based on their personal experiences of the past, family history, upbringing and so on. 

If you are an associate of a prominent business man, sports man, or politician, you find yourself receiving a certain status in the society that is not necessarily your own. People respect you based on association. The day you separate from such influential figures, your status also dissipates. Others, like Pastors kids, pastor’s wives and children born of the highly intelligent or prominent people receive high esteems in the society with “perfect” expectations of their performance. Their behaviours, performances and achievements are measured based on their parents or spouses accolades, and not of their own.

I can imagine the pressure that these people have to go through each day trying to match the status of their parents or spouses. The pressure sometimes makes them vulnerable to more mistakes in life than they normally would had they not been exposed to the competition with the status that is not theirs. How I wish they could share with us how this kind of life makes them feel.

Celebrities have to deal with the people who expect them to be super perfect beings; hence they turn to drugs and image reconstruction to meet the expectations of the public. They miss out on giving the public and their followers the genuine feel of who they really are. They rather ascribe themselves to what the world expects of them and it brings more frustration.

Looking into biblical history

History shows us that this is not new. Biblically there were circumstances like these before. During the times when Jesus physically walked on earth, His disciples were expected to act and perform miracles like He did. Later they were identified as those who “walked with Jesus”. At this level, this was a good thing.

There are however circumstances that are somewhat difficult. Like in the life of Moses, who after having rescued a Hebrew from the hands of an Egyptian, whom he killed on the spot was rejected by other Hebrews. As he walked around the Hebrew natives, he was described as a man who kills his own that he had to run into refugee camp far in the desert for 40 years. Can you imagine, 40 years away from your people because one incident that people have used as a permanent marker of who you are. 

It is very difficult to be identified with the past all the time or with the character that is much more capable than you are and yet you are not. It makes one feel unwelcomed and maybe inferior.

21st Century dilemma

Having said all the above, which we may say it’s rather an ambiguous illustration of reality and truth. The 21st century generation is living in times where in people have mistakenly taken the identity of other highly acclaimed personalities such as sports celebrities, musicians, actors and so on. While they themselves may be living in the world of realities, (well some of them of course) those who follow and admire them have bought into their images such that they want to buy into the images that others have naturally inherited with money. The pain ascribed to the notion of facial changing, skin bleaching and so on is robbing youth of their true lives which could have been lived in full.

It is not a problem to admire someone, but it is rather totally wrong to admire a person such that you want to lose yourself and try and be them. I heard someone say “if you imitate someone, the best thing you can ever come close to being, is to be his/her second best”. But if you pursue being yourself, building your brand, you have more to gain than becoming second best.  Your true identity is not borrowed and cannot be bought with money but can be worked on by yourself through determination. 

I had a meeting with one of the guys I admire in the 21st century generation, Thulani Mphahlele and he was telling me about his organisation, The CEO Speaks. He said “we all have the power to engineer our lives”. I guess it so true. The reality, however, is that others have engineered their lives to death.  There are many people who have scraped off their beautiful self to “things” they do not enjoy. What is the use of spending years and years trying to fake being someone you do not know while there is a beautiful woman or a handsome man in you wrapped in God’s glory? Embrace yourself and enjoy your life.

Peeling off the layers of toxicity

If there is a tough thing that we can do for ourselves, it is peeling off the layers of mistaken identity. We ought to build the image that is locked within us by God, the creator and giver of life even if it is difficult. I can make reference of many people who have found what they were born to do, sharpened their skill and have become internationally recognised heroes in the world’s hall of fame. 

We can talk of Dr John Tibane, who based on his intellectual gifting was directed into becoming a medical doctor. He later realised that it was not what he wanted to be, that is what people wanted him to be. He left medical practices and became a well-recognised speaker who now is enjoying the arena and empowering people’s lives than he would being a Doctor.  

People like Nick Vujicic, a man who has broken beyond extreme boundaries and hit the sky with brain power and limitless attitude. He writes in his book, life with no limits that “knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power”. Now that is being free from the ideologies of others about you and mastering the true you. This man has no legs or arms. And yet he lives his life better than many who have. I mean, what is stopping you from being the best you can be? You are far too smart to be the only thing standing on your way.

Eliminate yourself from the boundaries of people’s idea of you. People, who set their agenda of you, lie to you, waste your time and mislead you to what they think you are. You are a person by yourself and not according to what other say of you. You have to get out of your way and stop limiting yourself by embracing wrong ideologies, opinions and perceptions of you.

Challenge yourself

Set your mind to a goal that you have never attained before. It does not have to be an extrinsic challenge. It must be something that you have personally desired to do. It could be a dream you have been laying off for years and were intimidated to follow, it could be a course you wanted to enrol, or a business you were told it’s too big for you. Give it a try. 

What you need to do is try to answer this question: what do I stand to lose for doing or not doing this? Step up, step out and climb that mountain. After all,  you will never know if you can do it until you try. So you have to put your attitude, your mind power, your skills and all to the test.

Invest in your mind

A friend of mine is writing a book which will be released soon. In his book, Investment in your personality, Nyiko L. Mthombeni writes, “the greatest investment is not in things, but in you. Your mind is a garden that can only be watered through use”. I totally agree. I will publish a summary of his book in this blog later on for you to read.

Your mind is the best factory where all products, tangible and intangible are manufactured. Napoleon Hill said “more gold has been mined in the mind of man than from the earth”. That is a reason enough to make you want to invest in it because more gold is found in there. You can be physically impaired, but if your mind is still intact, you can live beyond what many physically abled people can achieve. But you have to know yourself well enough to get to that.

If you do not live up to the reality of your purpose, you rob the world of what God has invested in you. Bonnke Shipalana asked a question that is very profound and I want to leave you with it; “should you die, what would the world have lost?’. Dr Myles Monroe said the richest place on earth is the cemetery. People have died with ideas never realised, dreams never pursued, books never written, music never sang. 

Refuse to miss out on your identity!