Hey you,
This is from my archives. I shared it with my social media family during the summer of 2017. I have chosen to represent it here six years later for 2 reasons:
As I read through, It hit me that even during my fight with the monstrous cancer, these lessons remain timeless. And to see if my writing style has evolved over the years.
Below is an excerpt although you may read the entire story here; https://www.facebook.com/amy.nnaji/posts/
I spent last Saturday on the Lagos Lagoon during a Kayaking session. You probably know that already if you follow me on Social Media.
It was a fun afternoon spent crossing off another item off my list. Oh, sure, I do have a list. A list made up of fun things I want to do. Some of them I should have done earlier but I was shackled under the What-If fear. You can call it a handbag list.
Ehm, I can easily access a handbag than a bucket much as I like to squat.
Yeah, I was talking about my Kayaking venture.
Dear reader, it was such an awesome experience. I had so much fun. Such unquantifiable fun and so many lessons kept popping up during that period that I marvelled at how I could glean such lessons while stuck in no man's water.
Well, you know by now that whenever something pops in my head, I think of you to share. And because of that, I have made this list of these 10 lessons which you could apply to your life or business:
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Face that fear: when the news about going on the deep waters broke in my Fitness Group, more people backed down from Aquaphobia than Moneyphobia. It was good to see that people who could fly on air, put their bodies through all sorts of contortions, and run a self-imposed range of 5km to a full marathon could shy away from merely going to exercise on water.
Listen to an experienced hand: before we went on the water, we had a debriefing session. The old man worked on our minds and prepared us for the adventure. I asked the most questions of all and at a stage, one of the team members had to shush me that my questions were too much and fear-inducing. But all I was doing was empowering myself with a SWOT analysis. He enunciated the things to look out for and how to behave at each circumstance. He reinforced the reason why people topple over into the water and how to act if you do fall in. How to behave and sir it out when a bigger vessel roughens up the water and your boat is being tossed to and fro.
When your Boat topples, stay afloat: One of the fears most of us expressed was what to do in such eventuality. He said a simple thing – your body will be in the water but your head will keep bobbing thanks to the life jacket. So all you had to do was assume the prayer position until help came. We saw that okay out when a guy toppled and had to remain like that until help got to him. Can your logical mind imagine a simple thing like palms together with face up will save your life? So it also is in life where you do realize your boat will flip over once or twice on this journey. What you do while in Life’s Waters will determine your outcome.
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Find and leverage on your strengths: do you know that more men than women fall into the Waters? that was the statistics we got. Know why? Women’s Centre of gravity is lower and therefore agrees with the kayak while that of men is higher up and makes them susceptible to get that swim. In your trade you have to find what works for you and ride on it to success.
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A community of shared interest: the only time I had a rethink before going on that water was when I asked about a Life Guard and heard there was none. I faltered and asked 'so what happens to me'? And the man said everyone is watching out for everyone. What did that even mean? Why would another boat owner or a passing vessel come to my rescue when I am their competitors' responsibility? What do they stand to gain? And the answer was in what they stood to lose: any time there is a drowning along that route, the state government shuts down the place and everyone is out of business meantime. So in your business, you have to surround yourself with a community of people who have same vested interests as you do. They would reach out and pull you out of harm's way during your down times.
These are the 10 lessons I took away from that Kayaking session. I have learnt that if you open your mind and eyes in life, there are diamonds in the dust waiting to be picked up and polished for use
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See, now I have shared with you. Have you been on the waters alone before? Will this article help you to dare it? Will want you to share with me which one of these lessons hit home for you.