Very soon you will be on your own, making decisions for yourself and soon for other people who are to become your family. You are to build on the good foundation your parents have given and destroy the bad ones, What you become and who you become is largely dependent on your willingness to allow the Spirit of God to mold you accomplish in your future.
The saying is true that the youth will soon take over from today’s adult but true to the fact is that there are over various categories of adults to take over from. We have the poor, the lazy, the hardworking, the successful and wealthy. However, the question is, which of these adults are you substituting ? The caliber of person you take over from depends on the decisions and choices you make today. Below are some gemstones for life.
The First and important gemstone is Cultivate a SECRET PLACE life.
Whatever it takes, whatever it will cost, whatever you will do, work hard with the Holy Spirit to develop the habit of making time within your day to be with the most important person in your life (God Almighty) and talk to him about everything there is to talk about. Jesus says in Matthew 6:6 “But thou when thou pray, enter into thy closet and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy father which is in secret shall reward thee openly”. The assurance here is that any time you go into your secret place your father (God) is there. The best way to deal with challenges is to run to your secret place to seek God’s face. Whilst there, have a good time; sing to him, talk to him, meditate on the word and see him breathe on a portion of the scripture that is right and timely just for you.
A life built on a relationship with Jesus where communication flows unhindered is a life that never miss its purpose. There is nothing better than building with the one who knows how the structure is.
The second gemstone to pick is to Develop Great relationships.
Relationships are of God’s great gifts of companionship and help. With relationships, God increases our hands, our feet, our capacities and abilities. Your hands cannot do everything but a friend can continue from where you left off. Your legs cannot go everywhere but somebody can enter some awesome places on your behalf.
Many times, you will not be able to comfort and encourage yourself, that is where a good relationships comes in handy. Building relationships with the right people now can become a priceless asset in your future. Therefore, when you find a good person who has what it takes to help you get to the top, start, nurture and keep a relationship with them. Sometimes you have to serve people without taking anything in return just to strike off a relationship.
Gemstone three is to develop Winning Habits
You are picking many habits in your relationships and the many experiences you go through, whether you are conscious of it or not. Pay attention then and ensure that you collect and keep habit of reading and listening.
The habit of reading is a must have. Have an unquenchable thirst for information. From the bible to your course materials, to facts about your career, make reading a golden habit. If at this stage in your life, you still have not developed these, start now. Give yourself a 21-day challenge of having and following a reading plan. Read over the notes you make in class, read beyond the notes you take in class, read on your area of career interest, read the WORD OF GOD, read biographies of great people, read authentic Christian books and news.
The secret is that everything you read becomes information saved in files and and folders somewhere in your brain, ready to be pulled out whenever you need them. The difference between a good and a bad student, a good and bad interviewee, a good and a bad pastor is how information saved in the ‘folders’ of one’s brain. You cannot give out more information than you know.
Develop Good listening skills
James 1:19 admonishes is to develop good listening skills. Great people are those who are disciplined enough to listen and consume.
It is important to note that until we listen very well, effective decisions cannot be made about life. You need it to be a good student, a good worker, a good partner because effective person.
Relationships thrive on good listening because it is through listening that we can extract information about impartation. There is a difference between listening and hearing but listening comes with the purpose of receiving important facts to drive purposeful action. Do not forget that you are what you listen to and what you consume. Right listening yields right behavior just like the usual saying, Garbage in, Garbage out (GIGO).
Value time
Everybody, whether rich or poor, young or old is given the same amount of time (24hours). Some turn theirs into money, others services and other products. Unfortunately, it expires or turns into waste when not used; it passes away and there is nothing to show for it. In our world today, there is a monster that eats away time. The name of this monster is ‘technology’, the name of his child is ‘Social media’. Left unchecked, this monster can eat away every minute of the twenty-four hours you have. Just be on guard.
Gather experiences.
There are skills and experiences in life you need to gather for the future. Take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way and learn something new to gain experiences. You want to become an accountant, use your vacations in volunteering services at any accounting firm. The truth is that you are not serving for free; you are gaining experiences that cannot be bought with money. When you put it on your CVs, it puts you a step ahead of other potential job seekers who would be competing with you on the job market. Every opportunity you get to serve in any committee is priceless. Do it with all diligence. You would be great. You would be successful because it is impossible to fail with these gemstones in life.
The writer Gina Asante is a wife, mother, communications specialist, musician and a Christian youth advocate, with a passion of seeing young adults succeeding in all spheres of their lives. | Gisants@gmail.com
