The problem with the Rat race is that even if you win, you are still a rat. – Lilly Tomlinson

Don’t go through life bored!

Have you ever been so engaged with too much activity that drained you and sapped you of so much energy, time and resources, yet left you with a sense of underachievement? Have you been so engrossed with chasing a dream that was never yours, yes it wasn’t your dream, but you chose to be part of that dream because of pecuniary gains that will accrue as a result of your association with the pursuit. How about celebrating Fridays, always looking forward to running away from your official obligations because of what you thought was a channel of making money and meeting your ever-increasing needs has suddenly become a chore, replete with dreadful thoughts of waking up on a Monday morning to continue the rote of turning up in your office and signing off before the close of working hours. Life that was before now fun and enjoyable has suddenly become a boredom filled with perfunctory activities that must take place in order to fulfill a ritual, all in a bid to prove that that you are living while that is not living but could pass for mere existence and occupation of space. If your answer to any these questions is in the affirmative, or you are privy to someone whose life falls within the confines of the above description then this piece is for you.

Are you part of the crowd?

Wikipedia defines rat race as an endless, self defeating or pointless pursuit. When we engage in this lifestyle, we ignorantly enmesh ourselves in an inordinate pursuit that is laced with competition for wealth, power and fame. In all honesty this is how the pressure and demands of this world has conscripted many of us to live. When it becomes obvious that the overhead is rising, the monthly and yearly expense seems to be overshooting, making it difficult for the meager income to satisfy the ever increasing expenditure. When it seems as if you have been left behind in the affairs of life, your school mates that were once your play pals are no longer calling you, seeing that there’s an obvious gulf in “class”. These are the likely scenario that necessitates this race. Once these scenarios are given thought to, without considering the basics. The natural thing to do at this point will be to explore every available option that presents itself as an avenue for making ends meet, this is where this irreverent pursuit sets in. it is at this point that most times caution is thrown to the winds.

The term Rat race comes from the race between two rats to get the piece of cheese at the other end of the room. First by trying to outrun each other. In the process, they spend more energy than the reward is worth. – Dr V Subramanyan.

A mad completion sets in; schemes are hatched on how to outsmart a colleague in order to go ahead of them or to get a promotion before them by hook or crook. Standards are compromised, character and integrity is never mentioned, all in a bid to make ends meet, while neglecting and trading the core principles of life which has its obvious negative and terrible repercussive results when they are disobeyed. This in summary is what rat race means and this is how it is seen in our society today.

Knowing your life purpose is the first step toward living a truly conscious life. A life purpose provides us with a clear goal, a set finish line that you truly want to reach. -Simon Foster

There is a higher plane to operate and live in.

This is needless, because there is a better way to live life. If and only we strive to discover and pursue purpose. Purpose is the original intent for creating a thing. It is our WHY. There is a reason why we are here on planet earth, and it is tied to solving problems and meeting needs. Life lived based on this ideal brings relevance, satisfaction and joy that is devoid of the self-defeating, needless and pointless pursuit. When our sole desire which is to live according to our purpose is woven into the fabric of our existence here on earth, this needless, self-defeating pursuit will become a thing of past. Every individual here on this planet earth has a reason for being here, and that reason is within us crying for expression. It is that silent but loud voice within our spirit, which is our core, trying to express itself through ideas, thoughts that momentarily flash through our mind. But in ignorance we have neglected them choosing rather to go through the known and common paths of life that is trodden by common men on the streets, paths of least resistance. The discovery of your WHY and an answer to your WHY brings to an end this “Rat race”.

When you find your WHY, You don’t hit snooze no more! You find a way to make it happen! -Eric Thomas

I have often asked, why use the rodent, Rat to qualify this race? In observing the Rat I noticed that the Rat does not have a defined path when it is in motion little wonder our activities as individuals can be likened to such rodent, using its name to qualify our activities when it lacks such definite and clear approach in its pursuit in life.

How do we beat this trap?

Discover what it is you are here for: This will require a careful but assertive introspection. Look within, for it is when you look within that you will find that which you have been looking for outside. This will require asking questions.

Quality questions create quality life, successful people as better questions, and as a result get better answers. – Anthony Robbins

Give attention to the ideas and thoughts that flash through your mind. Once those ideas and thoughts come, write them down. It doesn’t end there you need to take action by taking steps in seeing that they come to fruition. Everything we are seeing today once existed in the thought realm. It was action that moved them from the thought realm to the realm of existence.

Focus

It will require focus on your part in order to achieve anything of worth. Most individuals today lost focus owing to pressure from the challenges of life. When you discover your “WHY” the end product as a result of the pursuit will not be immediate. There will be adverse circumstances contrary to your expectations that will arise. But in order for you to see your “WHY” materialize you must remain focused. From elementary physics the Pin hole camera and the magnifying glass shows us the power and effect of focus. Such clarity and penetration will be the resultant effect that will accompany your pursuit when you remain focused.

Determination

Another word for determination is firmness of purpose. This is your resolve to go through whatever the challenges that will arise in the course of your pursuit of purpose. The decision to whether the storm no matter what comes your way. This attitude is what separates leaders from followers. One of the things that will help your resoluteness will be your ability to concentrate, refusing to be swayed by the deafening voices that will try to persuade you to renege on you resolve to go ahead with that which you have discovered as your “WHY”

Conclusion

No individual has any right to come into the world and go out of it without leaving behind him distinct and legitimate reasons for having passed through it. – George Washington Carver

Our inability as individuals to discover and focus on our WHY, develop the inherent potentials that will aid us in bringing our WHY to a point of value is the reason for so much frustration that is common in our societies today. Our relevance is tied to the solutions we bring to the pervading problems bedeviling our families, communities and our nations at large. These solutions are found in our WHY. Everything created in life is to provide solution, the human hands, legs are there to provide solution for the body and so man as an individual by design ought to provide solution to a particular need in this world and it is tied to your WHY. Go ahead and find it so that with your contribution and my contribution the world will become a better place for us all.