Celebrity Column: Peace Hyde talks about 'Growing new wings'

Hello and welcome to a Piece of Peace, your weekly dose of motivation and inspiration.

This week I would like to share with you on the topic of “Growing new wings”.

I read an interesting story about the Eagle from a very good friend yesterday. When the Eagle grows old, his feathers become weak and cannot take him as fast and high as he should. When he feels weak and about to die, he retires to a place far away in the rocks. Whilst he is there, he plucks out every feather on his body until he is completely bare.

He stays in this hiding place until he either dies or grows new feathers, then he can come out. The eagle creates it’s own 2nd coming. That story resonated with me on a weird level. I am going through a phase in my life these days where I am consistently bombarded by friends and faith builders from the diaspora interested in moving back to Africa to pursue their dream. Most of the time the main question they ask is should I move back or stay with my job.

They want to know if they should stay within the confines of having a safe and secure job or take the plunge and come into the uncertain reality of relocating to Africa. A lot of them have toiled with the idea of relocation and have concluded that it was better to stay abroad in a job that pays than quit everything to pursue their passion. Whenever I am asked, what should I do? I always consider it as such a big responsibility. I am barely getting to grips with my plunge two years ago.

I remember how terrifying it was. I was in a well-paid job and in line for my new promotion, which meant I would be receiving even more money. But somehow I felt that was not enough. I don’t know how to explain it, but I just felt there was a lot more than I could be doing.

It is imperative that we occasionally shed old habits, things, relationships that burden us, or add no value to our lives. Like my good friend put it, we need to change beliefs and values that no longer serve us or align our life Vision and Goals.

We must be willing to change our environment and everything within it to change our life experiences and behaviours. I most certainly do not believe that I am the right person to give advice on whether or not to relocate. I believe my experiences are unique to just me and even if I tried to, it would be hard for me to explain how I am at this point in my career right now. Making the move to relocate back to Africa was a tough decision.

The reality of relocating to Africa was even more challenging in certain aspects than I realised. But all in all, I am confident I made the right choice for my personal circumstances and what was right for me at the time. The choice to move back can never be made for you by anyone but yourself. There are several moments where I questioned the logic or rational in quitting a well-paid job to earn a significantly lower salary than what I was earning.

The early days were full of uncertainties and self-doubt. But one thing that kept me going was the faith that no matter what, God will not let me come this far only to fail. I am far from where I want to be, but I know I am never giving up until I have fulfilled my fullest potential, no matter what that may be.

So if you are reading this today and considering a move back to the motherland, my number one advice is, have faith in God that no matter what decision you make, provided you work diligently and hard always, you will succeed and like the Eagle, this might be a second chance for you to achieve something greater than you ever imagined. No matter what you do, be yourself, because everyone else is taken.

Much Love,

Peace Hyde.