How to Develop Ability

Ability – the power to carry out a task, the strength to see through a goal; the want of it owes to much why most people fail in their endeavors, not really for want of will or skill. Underachievement especially now days don’t really owe to want in knowledge, information surplus abounds as well as the opportunity to achieve whatsoever one may earnestly desire. We usually know what we want; hence the predominant question of this age is not what but why.

The little I know declared Sacha Guitry I owe to my ignorance. The ignorance these days take more of a willful shape than otherwise. Ignorance has never been a good enough answer for failure even less in these times where information flows at ones command.

It has never ceased to amaze me man’s dynamism, I say this with positive disposition, the potential that lies within and the wonder he can make out of himself, how he can change his situation and inspire the life of others. Ability, competence and skill that tend to excellence form a progression of development any progress minded person would strive to experience. Situations exist where what is required of one is beyond what their ability can make happen, that is understandable. Then one must depend on higher powers – God.

I learned from kindergarten about first aid, its first cuts across all aspects of human endeavor and education. The first help you can get principally comes from you; the best help comes from God.

Strength can be developed through effort and practice, one begins to exert oneself by applying this knowledge carefully. Adding effort to effort, patience to patience and strength to strength then one will not cease to develop in their endeavor.

As a man perfects himself in his calling even so does his ability to earn increase. Ability can only be recognized by their fruits in words or deeds. Most people are naturally born with special abilities, indeed every one has their unique area of specialty whether by default or development.

Anyone would increase in ability who shows a willing desire to perfect in their calling. If one wishes to enjoy the fruits of excellence they must cultivate the seeds thereof. The secrete behind perfection is much like an open one hidden under plain view because people willfully choose not to see it – practice. Any outstanding athlete or performer would tell you how they work out their nose to sharpen their ability. Practice at its principal level I think adds backbone to the frame of perfection. It’s your surest way to exert yourself but by far the least enjoyable thing to do.

Everything means many things to different people. Like practice could mean the best thing to one seeks perfection, pleasure on the other hand means the world to any fool. It is estimated that it would require 10 years or an equivalent 10 thousand hours of effort to attain excellence, especially in sports/performance related fields.

You Don’t Motivate a Goat to Fly

Can a goat fly? Well it’s possible. It is difficult rather than impossible. Motivation is very important in actualizing anything but its not the ultimate.

The reason most people fail in achieving their goals is not for lack of motivation, motivation you can get in abundance. It is rather an issue of ability. The horse before the cart, ability comes before motivation. Great things only happen when that principle is adhered to, first things first. You cannot motivate a goat to fly because originally it lacks the ability to do effectively do such.

This however doesn’t rule out ultimately the idea that it cannot do it, but until it first develops the ability to. Anything is possible and anyone can achieve whatsoever reasonable they desire if they set their mind to it and go about it in the right manner.

We all face diverse problems and challenges; these sometimes dampen the hopes of achieving set goals. A goal can be as far or near achievement as one can muster the motivation to get one’s members to work towards it. Ability comes before motivation. This is evident in daily affairs. You cannot be helped when there is nothing to help you with. Nature doesn’t permit vacuum. When you say I am here then someone can say you are there.

Most people seek motivation to overcome challenges without developing the ability to handle the problem. Such motivations are futile. Motivate a goat all you can, it cannot yet fly until you develop its ability to. The eagle that was raised with the chickens thought itself to be a chicken and indeed it was, because it could not fly any farther than them, though it had the potential ability to soar. In cases like this, motivation can work. On the contrary, motivate an ostrich then drop it from the heights and you will watch it drop to the earth like a loaded sack dropped from a plane in flight.

If a man must overcome the many obstacles that hamper him from reaching his goal, he must first learn to develop his ability to; not necessarily skill, for ability comes before skill as well as motivation. A man once said "Give me a place to stand on, and I will move the Earth." He was not lying when he said that. Motivation can only be effective when it's preceded by ability. \opportunity is nothing without the ability to utilize it.

The Doer’s Attitude: Motivate Yourself to Achieve

      Wishes don’t achieve goals, work do.  Goals at the beginning do seem achievable and indeed are, until the quest to actualizing them do doubts spring up that makes one think otherwise. I as well as you can understand that goals can be stalled in the course to achieve them. People set goals and fail to achieve them for so many reasons than can't be mentioned now. Let’s look at three simple yet effective tactics of self motivation and how it can help achieve goals. The best motivation you can get is the one you give yourself.         

     

      I can: this is the first level of motivation, it is better to start small and grow. I can, they say is a word of power, it reflects the courage self belief as well as muster courage to achieve set goal. It creates the belief to start anything.  Whether you think you can or not you are usually right. It is about you, if you think you can you will. Things happen and they do, the sooner we agree with them. The distance between you and achieving your goal can be as long or short as you can get yourself to walk the way between the ends. Your ability to achieve does not guaranty it’s done, people only believe you for what they see you do. If you think you can, go a step further to will. Before I set to achieve a goal, I usually ask myself; is this humanly achievable? I f yes, then I can achieve it. It’s necessary to be reasonable in setting goals.

        

I will: where there is a will to walk, to act, to progress, to live, to achieve, there will be a way. Opportunity comes to the one who expects it and calls for it. Willing reflects commitment; definite commitment creates opportunity to achieve set goal. The moment one definitely wills and commits oneself to a purpose; it attracts opportunity as well as obstacles. Every goal worth achieving gets its fair share of impediment. So don’t get bitter or anxious when you experience such difficulty in your strive to achieve your goal. 

        

I must: the third level of motivation happens when opposition has come to the fore and the task seems unachievable. If it requires strong measures to overcome desperate situation, one must be ready to respond thus. Certain obstacles defy passive response. ‘I must’ reflects a strong commitment and determination to accomplish a task or achieve a goal. What you don’t show much commitment, you can easily let go at the face of resistance especially when giving up can be justified. If anything is worth achieving, it is worth the commitment.

If I can achieve a goal, I will set out to achieve it. In the process of doing this, challenges spring up which must be surmounted for the goal to be achieved.  At times as this one may lack stuff to continue with the ambition but if the goal is worthy, then one must motivate one’s members to keep on with the goal.

Your Attitude Means a Lot

There are two things, do and don’t do. But now they are three; do, don’t do and try. Caught between the midst, most people find it fashionable to try rather than setting out to actually achieve. As much as I would like to agree that there is nothing as try, only do and don’t do but sadly I must admit there is. The issue is not really with trying, but the attitude.

There is an attitude to everything. Trying and doing are no exceptions.  Why try when you can do? Well, I see the reason. It's easy to figure out – unpreparedness. There is no harm in trial, so everybody wants to try; very few set out to do. There is one straight path for setting out to do – conscious preparation proceeded by willingness and applied effort to really do. It’s easy to try but difficult to do, even though both aim at the same goal, attitude makes the difference.

1.       1. A trier’s attitude: it’s not what you do or say but how you do it or say it. The attitude of a trier is way different from that of one who sets out to achieve. Aside preparation and ability the psychological approach of being a trier could upset the goal. People shed most of the criticism when they bear the trier’s tag. Trying is a courteous way of excusing unpreparedness. A trier is a doer who sets out to achieve a goal but thinks he will fail.  A trier is a good starter but never gets to finish what he started, not for inability or any other thing but from the unset they have excused their unpreparedness and by virtue of that leverage, they can opt out when it gets difficult as they earlier expected it would. Trying is not just an attitude; it can become a standard and a bad one at that. You basically don’t set your standard, they kind of work in alignment with the habits and character of your person-hood. If one’s standard is that of a trier, they basically go about everything with the same attitude.  

2.       2. A doer’s attitude: a doer is one who sets to achieve a thing and acknowledges that he may fail, considering the challenges that he may face but doesn’t excuse himself from preparing for those challenges, resolving to pull through. A doer is a trier with an intention to achieve his aim, an intention backed with the right preparation and attitude.

It’s not what you do but how you do it, attitude makes the difference between good and excellent.

Before you face your fear

There is one indisputable way to defeat fear and that is by facing the fear. We all have fears that we must at one time or the other either face or be confronted by. It takes courage and more to face your fear, this I think is good. He is not wise who waits until he is confronted by his fears. It is not uncommon for people to avoid their fears or problems thinking that in so doing they escape it. No, you don’t escape a problem by avoiding, you do by solving it.

Whether you face your fears or it confronts you, one of two things is sure. You either conquer it or you fall in defeat at its feat. That is not what you want is it? If any fear must be conquered, one way or the other it must first be confronted. There are two stages about fear as it relates to this post, the first is confronting it and the other is getting to conquer it. Before you face your fear, here are some tips that can help.

1.    Decide to face your fear: there is nothing as powerful and effective in conditioning your mind for the task as a decision to face your fear. Many people want to face their fears but have not made any real decision to do so. Many people like to confront their problems, they think about it, they wish they could, they even desire opportunity to face it. But nothing favorably remarkable really happens until one makes the decision to face the fear. Without this, you are yet to state your stand, that alone sends a signal which I strongly believe attracts every opportunity and event that tends to more fear which eventually prevents you from confronting the main fear or problem in a manner that solves it. Don’t just intend to face your fear, endorse your intention with a firm decision.

2.    Commit to your decision: responsibility begets commitment. You have decided to face your fear; that singular decision would basically create a responsibility on your path towards achieving your goal. You now have some thing to commit to. But commitment doesn’t just hold because you want to commit to something.  You have to be realistic with issues. Have worthy basis that back your decision to commit to your course. Consider the terms and turns about your commitment, which will give clarity of purpose.  Don’t leave your commitment floating on baseless heights as such commitments don’t live long to achieve their purpose.

3.    Work it: what happens after you commit to confront your fears? William H. Murray puts it well in saying that the moment one definitely commits oneself then providence moves too. All sort of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issue from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and material assistance which no man would have dreamed would come his way. As Murray acknowledged, your decision and commitment brings all sorts of opportunity in your favor but what is opportunity when you fail to use it? What really brings you face to face with your fear is working the work. Most people decide and commit to things but don’t get ahead working towards it. We should withdraw from the idea of wanting to get lucky at everything; nature reserves little or no luck for one who will not work to earn it. You begin to get really lucky when you start working. Yes luck comes with work and most people miss out on luck because they don’t like work. Who was it again that said the harder I work, the luckier I get? Well, he’s every bit correct.

As much as you would want to conquer your fears and advance with your affairs in life, you must first cross the bridge of facing the fear. There are no two ways about conquering fears, other than taking a decision to face it which is a conscious intentional act. On the contrary, if you allow your fear to confront you (as it will most certainly do when you avoid it) for not deciding to face it, you loose that sense of control over the situation. There is a sense of control and confidence that comes with intentionally going after something rather than something coming after you, not just with fears alone. You become more confident and in control when you are proactive, taking the initiative to do things rather than being told to. That I think is a good way about handling fear. Make a strong decision to confront your fear, commit to that decision and work towards it by actually doing that which you otherwise think you can’t. Confront your fear and face the future with courage.

Power to effect change

The future that we will eventually live is not formed by means of wishes or desire but they are created by the decisions of today as well as their corresponding actions. It’s a true saying that the life we live today is a sum total of the decisions we made yesterday. How powerful can these eight letter word - decision be?
The power in the eight letter word – decision has not ceased to prove its efficacy to those who use it wisely as well as those who don’t, but with different outcomes. You are wise if you understand that life works in seasons. Most people work out their lives calling all sorts of unnecessary and unwarranted palaver because they lack the knowledge of this fundamental truth – things happen in their seasons.

I appreciate the art and science of farming, it’s a beauty observing a wise and diligent farmer, he sure understands seasons. On the other side of the matter, you will rightly observe that the world is getting faster by the moment, everybody wants the next thing now (well, who won’t, if they have the means to) even before its due season. Most people strive for such getting not really because it’s a serious need they can’t do without, this is the conscious voluntary aspects of the matter. The unconscious dimension of it is that such people do not really understand time and seasons.

The subject is quite important in determining success or failure. Most people do so much, breaking, pulling, shoving and striving to achieve various desires. Of course the possibility allows that anyone can achieve anything if they choose and work towards it. But when things are done out of their seasons progress may turn out to be only temporal.

It’s amazing how things change, in just a moment, with just one decision, at the pull of a switch. There is one switch everyone goes around with, at the pull of which you can dramatically transform situations and indeed your world. But how can you do that? And what sort of switch could that be? Conditions are controlled by seasons? When seasons change, other related or sub facilities follow suit. The good thing here is that you can change the seasons that determine your situations, as everyone can. This is one remarkable virtue possible to man. Decisions create seasons. Decision is that switch available to anyone to practically change situations. The disparity of opportunity that comes to people can be directly attributed to the difference in their decisions. Decisions create seasons. Control the seasons of your life by pulling the right switch.

Press for improvement

Man has always sought to develop himself, his surrounding and his life in general. That trend has not ceased. It is natural in man to grow as well as find exciting and efficient ways of doing things. Creativity here is the idea and ability to improve situation and do things in better ways. The instincts to always improve are there but it can also just remain there. The important question is how to stir it and put it to beneficial use. The need for creativity is higher than ever, and though time may be short, it always leaves an opportunity to improve. One can remain at a level without improvement for decades but for the books one reads and the people one meets. I know you don’t want that, you want to improve with every moment and become the best possible. I have identified some tips that can help you form the habit of conscious steps towards improvement.

1. Show concern: it all starts here; building a habit of improvement begins by showing concern. Nothing can be attempted with an indifferent attitude. It’s disturbing to stay around people who show absolutely no concern to what’s happening in their immediate environment. Such people are categorized under the groups of people who wait for things to happen. People who solve problems don’t do it because they have a special knack for problem solving. Albert Einstein in one his responses said “I’m not a genius; I only stick with problems longer”. Solving problems begins with identifying a need and showing some concern, that singular act of showing concern can spark a flurry of ideas as to solving the problem. Anybody can identify a problem but not everyone shows concern. Show some concern to improve the situation when there is no obvious problem to solve, ask you what can be improved upon and eventually when situation calls for improvement you won’t need the highest level of consciousness to identify it and respond.

2. Think possible: if you will think anyway, why not think possible? You lose nothing thinking possible; consciously nurture the thought that improvement is possible. Some people keep limiting their possibility to the standard their past has set for them. They whine to themselves- oh this’d best it has ever got with me. Since I got the idea that there is always a possible way of going about anything, I have nurtured and applied that thought to various life situations and it’s always proved helpful. A fool says it can never be done (perhaps because it has never been done) until someone comes around and does it. When a wise person has a problem he can’t solve, he doesn’t shelve it and throw the keys. He thinks to himself, I may not have the solution to this problem but someone a little bit clever than I may. Time and again events have proven that there is always a possible way about anything.

3. Be the change: the term change alone sparks a lot of feelings in different people, some detest it, some enjoy the challenge and opportunity it brings, and some others don’t just care. But the truth in its crude form remains – no change, no growth, and no improvement. Change – whether you like it or not, you will still experience its effect (nobody is immune to it). Become the catalyst of the improvement you want to experience in and around you. Change as we want it should not be determined by external influence. But lasting and effective change should start from within; it should be a product of our own conscious decision.

You can’t possibly be a solution to a problem you show no concern over. If you will think any way, think possible, think big. If you want to see any change, you might as well start it.