Kobina Ansah
There’s only a thin line between doing something confidently… and doing that same thing overconfidently. There’s a thin line between chasing your dreams ambitiously… and living a life of over ambition. You see, even though you are supposed to take risks, you are supposed to know which is worthy a risk and which is death packaged as a risk!
Our lives are made up of the sum total of our decisions. We make a choice each minute of our lives. Essentially, in all our decisions, we need to find that thin line between moderation and extremity. We need to have the wisdom to know what to do when. Some good choices turn bad when we don’t seem to find this thin line.
You need wisdom to walk on this thin line of moderation. Many have wrecked their lives with the extremities. You need to know when you’re wandering into the extreme. You need to find that space that won’t make you an extremist!
The fact that marriage, for instance, is for two (not three) doesn’t mean you should writhe in pain and share your worries with no one even when your spouse is battering you to death. Even though what happens in a home should stay there, you may end up strangling yourselves to death if you try to handle everything alone!
Inasmuch as not everything that happens in a home should stay there, it is needless to invite third parties over at the least chance. A couple would need to take care of “some” matters themselves. However, it’s up to such couple to know what those “some” are. You need to find the thin line between what to handle and what not to.
Many, if not all, of our bad decisions come down to the simple reason of not finding the thin line in our lives. If you do moderate things extremely and the extreme ones moderately, of course, your life will be one whole puzzle of a mess. You need to know what to do when… and when to do what.
Knowledge knows what to do when. Wisdom knows when to do what. You need wisdom. You need knowledge. In the absence of these, your life will be deficient. Some lives today are malnourished because they have wisdom but no knowledge or vice versa.
If you have dreams of starting your own company someday, for instance, one needs to know when to jump off the cliff of working for others. Jumping off at the wrong time may cripple you forever. You need to know when to jump… and how to jump. You need to find that thin line of doing so at a time your dreams won’t come crushing instead. Find the thin line.
Inasmuch as one needs to be courageous to jump, one needs to know when to take that bold step. It’s like a moving train. If you want to jump out of it, you need to know when lest you commit suicide!
I have observed many people live their lives in extremity, thus, messing it up. Back in the day in high school, though one had to burn the midnight candle, for instance, others burnt it until their memories got burnt? they couldn’t even write their exams. Others on the other hand, using those who ‘misburnt’ the midnight candle as an excuse, didn’t study at all, hence, failed.
You see, one always has to find that thin line between use and abuse. It’s that critical. One needs to know when they are not doing enough of something… and when they are excessively doing that same thing. One needs to know when they are excessively stressing themselves out and when they are, on the other hand, not doing enough.
Though you need to get married when you’re ready… not early… it doesn’t mean you should peg your readiness as late as age 60. Though marrying early is great and comes with its own amazing benefits, it doesn’t mean you should rush into it even when you don’t have the means. Find that thin line!
We are supposed to wait for our turn as far as life’s opportunities are concerned. However, sometimes, we may only wait forever if we don’t make the conscious effort to get what we want. Inasmuch as we dare to grab our desires, we should also know that it sometimes pays to wait. You need to find that “sometimes”. You need to know when to wait… and when to run!
Find the thin line always. Find the “sometimes” of your life. Draw the line between moderation and extremity. In life, we walk on this thin line. The earlier you found your way around it, the better.
Know the ceiling to your ambitions. Though you need to be ambitious enough to chase your dreams, you should know when those dreams are leading you nowhere.
You can’t be chasing your football career, for instance, at the local level at age 40 when almost everyone has retired. Don’t place a ceiling on your dreams but know when life places a ceiling on those dreams!
Insofar as we must invest in our dreams, we should know when some investments are like pouring bags of sugar into the sea with the hope of diluting it. It’s a waste of not only time… but resources, too!
Find the thin line. Find the extent to which some dreams may be pursued. Giving up is sometimes not failure. It’s wisdom. It’s the best decision to take. Letting go is sometimes that thin line you need to find. Some dreams must be let go. Some potential spouses must be given up on.
You are the decisions you make. Finding the “sometimes” of your life drives those decisions. Find that thin line!
