I once ditched an interview as a customer care rep at an eye clinic to attend a Facebook ads training in 2018.
And while on the bus on my way to the training, I received an email from the clinic telling me I was late and therefore blacklisted from ever applying to their company.
And before you ask, no, I wasnât going to be paid to attend the training, I didnât have any job at that time and I was super broke.
In fact, prior to that time, I had sent out my resumes to more than 14 companies.
See, the interview invite came at the wrong time. Yes, I wanted a job, I needed the pay. But I wanted something much more, something much bigger.
I wanted to be a trainer, a guide, I wanted to be a creator (even though I didnât know it was called that then), and the ads training interview came right at the time when I was hungry for knowledge.
Before you judge me, I want you to answer this question, have you ever made a dumb (or seemingly dumb) decision in your life? Sure you have, so take off your judgemental hat.
Family members have scolded me many times for taking decisions that they tagged âlife ruiningâ I kid you not.
I remember the time I left my job at the bank because it was too structural and rigid. I kid you not when I say my mother took me to her Church for deliverance.
Iâm not telling you all this because I want you to see me as a strong-minded girl or because I want accolades.
Iâm simply revealing these stories to you because when I think of how far these âdumbâ decisions have brought me, I marvel at the confidence that I have.
A few days ago, I was walking along the road with a friend, gisting her about how I almost missed the opportunity to graduate from a discipleship class in Church simply because my unit head refused to put a plan in place.
But knowing the kind of person that he was, I already made plans for myself and when the fallout came, I was covered. I graduated.
My friend said, and I quote âHow do you even do it? How do you make certain decisions and then stick with them?â
You see, when you have a big picture of where you are going, and you constantly play that picture in your mind, youâll make decisions and stick with them.
Are you planning to leave your job? Do you want to rent an apartment? Is it a career shift youâre planning? Maybe a switch from nursing to financial management? Stop worrying about what people will say and take the leap.
If you have the Spirit of God in you, then every decision youâll be making will be Spirit-led, not human led.
Will you make mistakes on the way? Of course you will. Will people think you are crazy? Yes, definitely. My mum did (stil does).
Did Jeff Bezos leave his investment bank job to start a virtual book store that is now valued at millions of dollars? Yes he did. And donât even get me started on hundreds of others who did the same.
A girl from my Church told me about how her parents want her to do everything for them. She just graduated from the university and now, they want her to be fully home to tend to their needs.
She says she wants to do her masters, but dad and mum are not willing to pay because they said theyâve done their bit, yet they canât allow her get a job because she needs to be home constantly to attend to them.
I used to be in a similar rut. My parents would say I barely stay at home to help them with something, my mum would need me to go to the bank and to the market with her all the time.
My dad would need someone to be home in case guests came. Well, I wasnât having it, and so I gave them a piece of my mind. Kindly, of course.
And thatâs exactly what I told the girl to do. When she succeeds, theyâll thank her, and also thank her adviser - me.
My mum used to complain that I was on my computer too much, that I worked a lot.
I still had one more picece of my mind that I gave her the first time, so I did it again. Kindly.
I once told members of my department in Church that I never conform, one day when they said I loved to review decisions a lot.
I told them I like to stand out, I like to stand my ground and I really didnât bother what others say, as long as Iâm doing the right thing and that which the Holy Spirit lays in my heart to do.
Of course, I do it with love, with kindness. You should too.
If your decisions will affect people, then go back to review it. But never conform because the truth is, nothing is wrong with you, youâre just built differently.