I had always dreamed of becoming a banker in the future when I was smallā¦wait, noā¦I wanted to become an engineerā¦orā¦what is a pharmacist?
Whatever it was, it really doesnāt matter anymore because Iām where Iāve always dreamed Iād beā¦or wait, am I though?
The fickleness of our thoughts.
WARNING: As you read this article, you may start to feel a slight feeling of self doubt and you may question your current achievements and even your entire existence. So if I were you, Iād stop reading and go off to do something else, like wet your plants.
ā¦or you could just continue. Your choice. *Big grin*
My further mathās teacher called me into his office one day and asked what I wanted to study in the university, āEngineeringā I said, with a big smile. āBut why then arenāt you writing further maths in your SSCE (Secondary School Certificate Examination)?ā He asked.
Prior to that time, I had cancelled Further maths and Technical drawing from my SSCE registration form and only biological sciences were left. Yet, I was still telling everyone I wanted to study engineering in the university. I was already 16 years old and was going to write my SSCE in a few months.
I had always told my parents I wanted to work in a bank, but my dad said no. That meant that Iād have to go to commercial class in my senior year and He insinuated that commercial class was for losers. People who went to commercial class ended up selling roasted corn, Boli (roasted plantain), rubber sandals and other kinds of goods that were inconsequential in the open market.
My dad said this in 2002, not me.
You see the truth of the matter is that I was really mentally lazy as a child and I was always looking for the easiest way out. But because my dad was a stern educationist (a teacher and a school principal) for many years, he easily saw through me and because of that he made those academic decisions for me.
I went ahead to study Biochemistry, his choice, because the school I chose didnāt have pharmacy. Engineering was no longer in the pipeline because my mother said āwomen shouldnāt work near enginesā
Iām pretty sure you could guess the rest of the story.
I was an average student all through the university. Rummaging through pathways and chemical formulas, cramming 22 amino acid structures in my head for just one course and having a bright sparkly āEā in that course. It was turmoil.
During one of my compulsory internships (I interned at a maternity laboratory), I started to see the big picture. I started to see how everything was being planned by God and that I was actually going to become a researcher or a laboratory genius because I could take blood samples and I could test for malaria and typhoid.
I thought to myself āI can even transition into medicineā I was carrying out malaria tests for crying out loud.
Internship ended and I went back to school. Once again, I was struggling through chemical formulas and benchworks and I thought to myself āNope, God didnāt plan this. Iām no material for medicine, this was never God, it was just my thoughtsā
I finally graduated with a second class lower and I started to look for jobs in hospital labs. I began to think again that maybe I was made for this, maybe God is actually in the story. I happily took my CV and application letter to a few labs.
I donāt want to dwell too much on this but letās just say I was disappointed again.
Now, you may be working with your university degree, good and fine. But who told you thatās what you are supposed to be doing? Maybe you studied marketing and now you work in a marketing firm, what if you werenāt supposed to work in a marketing firm?
Yes, I know what youāre thinking āFisayo, I feel fulfilled working here, itās my passionāā¦blah blah blah. What if you would have felt better fulfilled working in an orphanage home or what if your passion was really in operations and not marketing?
But you will never know because you never tried it out.
What if you were supposed to study Elect Elect and be an intrapreneur in a major energy company in Dubai but you opted for entrepreneurship instead and you sell scented candles on Instagram?
Or, what if you were supposed to sell scented candles on Instagram, but you currently work as product developer in a fintech? What if you would never succeed in that career as a product developer because thatās not where you are supposed to be?
WHAT IF YOU HAVE BEEN DOING THE WRONG THINGS ALL YOUR LIFE?
*Whew* that was a lot of āWhat ifsā
Currently, Iām a digital creator and an online business strategist, and everyday, I ask myself how well Iād have done if I were to be in corporate. But I look again at my life and the control I have over my own time and I thank God Iām not in corporate.
But what if I was supposed to be in corporate?
I have a YouTube channel and a blog where I share really valuable content and they are like the best things ever but what if I wasnāt supposed to be on those platforms and instead, work in the laboratory as a researcher?
All these what ifs to let you know that you cannot be a king in the place where the kingmaker has not assigned you.
You see, our thoughts donāt matter, our thoughts are fickle. I thought I wanted to work in a bank when I grew up. Let me shock you, I did work in a bank, from 2017-2018, it was the worst feeling ever. I hated it, I resigned without any notice.
My dad thought commercial class was for the average person, he was wrong. Even sciences can and have produced many 'ālosersā in the history of losers production.. *Big Laugh*
My mum thought engineering was not the best fit for women, there are more women engineers in that sphere today.
You thought your university degree would get you a good job, you were wrong, you studied accounting and now you are a full time YouTuber.
Goes to show that our thoughts are fickle.
Listen, thereās a unique story written about all of us. All you just have to do is to trust the storyteller. You must be careful never to allow your personal agenda get in the way of Godās agenda for you.
And if you had a false start at the beginning, you can still be the first person to breast the tape. You just have to trust the storyteller. There are no limitations to what you can be as long as itās what God has called you to be.
You may be under resourced, undervalued, underequipped for the assignment He has called you to carry out but you must never be discouraged by your disadvantages in the beginning.
To be a king, you must be in the space and location assigned to you because no matter how ambitious you are, you can never outdream God. But until then, whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your heart and might.