Maybe the reason you are not excelling is that you are playing the wrong game.

What is the right game? I have no idea what that game is for you. However, here  are some tale tell signs that you could be playing the wrong game.


1)  You don’t actually enjoy playing this game. Playing the game has become an obligation. You spend a good deal of the term thinking about things outside the game. It is not uncommon for you to spend considerable amounts of time looking at the stands. You envy those who are not playing the game with you.
2) You feel trapped in the game. You feel that you have to keep playing no matter what. You feel like a hamster running in the wheel There is no stopping. The game has become a critical part of your life. You can’t imagine your life without the game. But you know even if you stop playing, the game will go on.
3) Your game and your life have become interchangeable. The game is an important part of your life but like any game you play, you put away the playkit at the end of the day and start again tomorrow. You cannot live the game twenty four seven. There needs to be a start and stop regarding the game.
4) You don’t feel you are making any difference to anyone anything. Some people you play with don’t actually know what position you play in the game. You are a mystery man in the game.
5) The game adds to your stress each day. Each day there are more problems coming out of the game. You wonder and ask yourself, what will it take to enjoy the game.
6) The greatest moments are when you are not playing. This is very sad! The time spent away from the game should be a time to get much needed rest, regroup and refocus. However, being away from the game itself should be a great cause for celebration. While we are out of the game, we should ponder and reflect on how we are playing the game and see if anything else can be done.
7) The minute you start playing the game, you wish you could take a time out and you do anything to delay the game. You become known for being a slow player. No one can count on you when you are playing.
8)  You are playing for the wrong reasons. During the first days the game was great fun. You wanted to win so badly and you thought it would make you happy for as long as you played. Now you are just one miserable player in the game!
9) Mention of the game brings bad memories. Mention of the game to you is enough to spoil the day. The game is anything but fun for you. The game is drudgery. The game is discomfort.
Are you playing the right game? No one can really know the right game for you.

Reflection – Choose your crowd

No matter what, some people will pull you down,
The kind who insist on talking about the violent storms on a bright sunny day
Stay clear of these people
With a few words they set you back in your morale and self belief
Who begin to criticise even before they know what they are talking about.
Whose first sentence always begins with “No”, “But”,” Couldn’t”
Always focussing on the negative before anything and everything else.
Thank goodness others will energise you, keep you going!
You will get the affirmation you need just when the self doubt is starting to creep.
No that you must be surrounded by yes man
But those who criticise constructively, give hope, offer alternatives
do it without making you feel bad.
Choose who you mingle with,
Stay clear of people who send the wrong vibes,
The poison that will cloud anything.
People who see the worst in everything,
Who can bring nothing to anything.
Those who will reduce something to nothing.
Those who always  insist that you could have done better,
Those who increase your doubt in your ability
Better to play without any audience than before a rude and unappreciative one.
Choose your crowd.
Not everyone who can hear will listen
Not everyone wants to listen
Not everyone will care to appreciate.
But the crowd aside,
Be your own person without the crowd
Do not live to please the crowd otherwise your life will be crowded with trouble.
Be whole and complete without the affirmation of a crowd
Remain confident in spite of the crowd.
Choose your crowd.
BTM

Hope in contrast

The pressure is mounting,
but so is your resilience,
You want to frown
but there’s reason to smile,
Things are getting tough
but you getting tougher,
You gonna give up a little,
but gain a whole lot more.

You are making mistakes
but also getting the experience.
You are taking risks
but reaping the gains..
You made to be the fool,
but you are really the wiser.

Some think they are hurting you,
but they only making you stronger
Some will pull you down,
but you just keep popping up.

Yesterday is gone
but today is here
Today is going
but tomorrow awaits us,
The time is passing
but there is yet more time before us.

You feeling hopeless
but there’s much more to be hopeful about,
You are stumbling and falling
but only to rise again and keep going!
You want to stop
but you’ll keep going!
You want to give up
but you are going to make it.

BTM