Commitment

By Olehile Fischer Thataone


I will never forget what my old headmaster told taught me. Normally when you
are only 15 years of age you do not remember most of the things that are
preached by your teachers. But, this particular story is one such lesson
that I will never forget. Every time I drift off course, I get reminded of
this story.

It was a normal Monday morning at an assembly, and he was addressing the
students on important things in life and about committing ourselves to what
is important to us. This is how the story went:

An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every
morning and go to the subway. He would get the train right to Central
London, and then sit at the street corner and beg. He would do this every
single day of his life. He sat at the same street corner and begged for
almost 20 years.

His house was filthy, and a stench came out of the house and it smelled
horribly. The neighbors could not stand the smell anymore, so they summoned
the police officers to clear the place. The officers knocked down the door
and cleaned the house. There were small bags of money all over the house
that he had collected over the years.

The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a
millionaire. They waited outside his house in anticipation to share the good
news with him. When he arrived home that evening, he was met by one the
officers who told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he
was a rich man now, a millionaire.

He said nothing at all; he went into his house and locked the door. The next
morning he woke up as usual, went to the subway, got into the train, and sat
at the street corner and continued to beg.

Obviously, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything significant
for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than staying focused on
the things we enjoy doing, commitment.


We should remain true to our course; which may mean committing yourselves to
things that people around you would normally disapprove. Let nothing
distract us from being happy, let nothing else determine our fate, but
ourselves.

What makes us happy is what matters in the end, not what we acquire

The 90/10 PrincipleAuthor: Stephen Covey

Haveyou read this before?
Discover the 90/10 Principle.

It will change your life (at leastthe way you react to situations).
What is this principle?

10% of life is made up of what happens to you. 90% of life is decided by how you react.

What does this mean? We really have no control over 10% of what happens to us. We cannot stop the car from breaking down. The plane will be late arriving, which throws our whole schedule off. A driver may cut us off in traffic. We have no control over this10%.

The other 90% is different. You determine the other 90%. How? By your reaction. You cannot control a red light., but you can control your reaction. Don't let people fool you; YOU can control how you react.

Let's use an example. You are eating breakfast with your family. Your daughter knocks over a cup of coffee onto your business shirt. You have no control over what just what happened.
What happens next will be determined by how you react. You curse. You harshly scold your daughter for knocking the cup over. She breaks down in tears.

After scolding her, you turn to your spouse and criticize her for placing the cup too close to the edge of the table. A short verbal battle follows. You storm upstairs and change your shirt. Back downstairs, you find your daughter has been too busy crying to finish breakfast and get ready for school. She misses the bus.
Your spouse must leave immediately for work. You rush to the car and drive your daughter to school. Because you are late, you drive 40 miles an hour in a 30 mph speed limit. After a 15-minute delay and throwing $60 traffic fine away, you arrive at school. Your daughter runs into the building without saying goodbye.

After arriving at the office 20 minutes late, you find you forgot your briefcase. Your day has started terrible. As it continues, it seems to get worse and worse. You look forward to coming home, When you arrive home, you find small wedge in your relationship with your spouse and daughter.

Why?
Because of how you reacted in the morning.

Why did you havea bad day?
A) Did the coffee cause it?
B) Did your daughter cause it?
C) Did the policeman cause it?
D) Did you cause it?

The answer is " D".

You had no control over what happened with the coffee. How you reacted in those 5 seconds is what caused your bad day. Here is what could have and should have happened.

Coffee splashes over you. Your daughter is about to cry. You gently say, "It's ok honey, you just need, to be more careful next time". Grabbing a towel you rush upstairs. After grabbing a new shirt and your briefcase, you come back down in time to look through the window and see your child getting on the bus. She turns and waves. You arrive 5 minutes early and cheerfully greet the staff. Your boss comments on how good the day you are having.

Notice the difference? Two different scenarios. Both started the same. Both ended different.

Why? Because of how you REACTED. You really do not have any control over 10% of what happens. The other 90% was determined by your reaction.
Here are some ways to apply the 90/10 principle. If someone says something negative about you, don't be a sponge. Let the attack roll off like water on glass. You don't have to let the negative comment affect you! React properly and it will not ruin your day. A wrong reaction could result in losing a friend, being fired, getting stressed out etc.
How do you react if someone cuts you off in traffic? Do you lose your temper? Pound on the steering wheel? (A friend of mine had the steering wheel fall off) Do you curse? Does your blood pressure skyrocket? Do you try and bump them? WHO CARES if you arrive ten seconds later at work? Why let the cars ruin your drive?

Remember the 90/10 principle, and do not worry about it. You are told you lost your job. Why lose sleep and get irritated? It will work out. Use your worrying energy and time into finding another job.
The plane is late; it is going to mangle your schedule for the day. Why take out your frustration on the flight attendant? She has no control over what is going on. Use your time to study, get to know the other passenger. Why get stressed out? It will just make things worse. Now you know the 90-10 principle. Apply it and you will be amazed at the results. You will lose nothing if you try it. The 90-10 principle is incredible. Very few know and apply this principle. The result? Millions of people are suffering from undeserved stress, trials, problems and heartache. We all must understand and apply the 90/10 principle. It CAN change your life***!!!!!!!

Happy 2005!!!!!

Hi all!!

although 2004 ended badly, i hope every single one of us will keep in mind the powers of nature and the Almightly Creator. it is important to know whos da boss.

hope mankind will wake up to this 'message' and do more good deeds. besides we are all humans rite? why fight against each other? why steal from each other? why harm each other? backstabbing? betrayal? plotting against each other?

hmmm... mankind might be intelligent creatures. but don ever forget who gave us tat intelligence. never bite da hand tat feeds us. it is not by chance or by our own effort tat we develop such intelligence. yes mankind IS intelligent but not really in a good way.

look at all those weapons of mass destruction. wad are they meant for? wad can they do?why spent so much money on such useless things wen it can be put into better use?

really. i don noe wad to say. haiz.... i do hope tat i can do a part in helpin more ppl in anyway i can. this world has enuff sufferings. do not create more.

well 2004 has ended in a sad closing. lets all pray for 2005 to be a good year. do more good deeds. stop doin bad things. we are all humans. help each other. 'love' each other


GOD bless this world