LET NEGATIVITY MOTIVATE YOU not break you

There will always be negative people out there, there will be negative thoughts in your mind even when you wish they weren’t. I know many of us say we choose positivity, that we are for positive living but then what happens when the negative thoughts pop up or when someone throws a negative comment at us… What then?

I can’t put a figure to the number of times I’ve been in such situations but I’m glad that over the years I have learnt to turn whatever kind of negative comments or thoughts to motivate and challenge myself and others to be better.

There’s one significant moment in my life that I’ve shared with a few people I have met struggling with making choices and decisions and today I share that story with the world hoping that someone will learn a thing or two from it.

The year was 2007 and it was my first year in Secondary school at Bweranyangi Girls School. I had so many dreams. I was full of hope. I knew I wanted to become a doctor but I wasn’t able to perform science subjects well so it was obvious I had to figure out which route I would follow and which career I would pursue.

Fast forward to 2010 and after so many career guidance lectures, I’m thinking I could become a lawyer and join the walk to justice but because of the stories I heard about studying law and how costly it can be so I convinced myself that it wasn’t for me.

The year is 2011 and I have to join A’level (HSC). Because of my love for maths and Geography I thought of doing Maths, Economics, Geography and Art. But then I sit back and ask myself what do I want in the end?? With the guidance of my parents, I ended up majoring in History, Literature, Divinity and Art. Very strange combination.

I had only two years to decide what course I would pursue at University and of course my career path.

Sometime in 2012, one of my teachers meets me outside class and asks me what course I wanted to pursue at University. By then I was gambling and trying to convince myself that maybe I could actually be cut out to be a lawyer.

“what course do you want to do at University? What do you want to become in future?” He asked

“I want to do law. I’m thinking of becoming a lawyer.” I replied.

His reply after that was a “hmmmm” and then a smirk and then he laughed. I was just standing there looking at him wondering why he laughed.

So he goes like,

“Have you ever seen a short lawyer?”

And then he walked away.

I had never met any lawyer at the time and so I didn’t know if they all had to be tall.

I went back and reflected on that conversation and instead of pushing me away from becoming a lawyer, it gave me a purpose and made my path so clear. It was at that moment that I knew I had to become a lawyer no matter what. That negative conversation made me so vibrant and its that element of positive energy that I’ve carried around with me to this day.

2013 my Form six results are out and my performance was great but I was admitted to two different Universities for two different courses and neither of the two was law. With the help of my family and my mentor (Ms Patience Namanya) who believed in me, I applied to the best University in Uganda (Uganda Christian University) for the Bachelor of Laws course, sat the interviews and was then successfully admitted for my dream course. (How I managed financially is a story for another day)

Today’s story is about how I turned that negative conversation into the greatest motivation to become what I am today. My teacher who should have encouraged me to follow my dreams and work hard to achieve my dreams was negatively influencing to give up just because of my physical stature. After that conversation I told my self that one day I would look in the mirror and see a lawyer, I told myself that nothing would stop me from pursuing my dreams and it was the best thing I’ve ever told myself.

In 2013 I joined Law school at Uganda Christian University and even when it was so hard to wake up in the late hours of the night to read, even when I didn’t perform as I wanted to, I still kept going and praying to make through and in July 2017 I graduated from Law school. Every day I wake up and look in the mirror and see a Lawyer. I have met many brilliant people who have excelled at what they do because they don’t give in to negativities. I have also seen many people give in to the negativity around them and this always leads regret in the end.

You will be told very many things by the people around you, you will hear different negative stories about your plans. Some people will tell you-you can’t handle it, others will say – you’re not meant for this. But amidst all that, listen to your heart and know what you really want. Focus on your dreams and how you want your future to be and don’t let anyone or anything get between you and what you want. Set your goals, believe in yourself, focus on achieving those goals and work hard to live your dream.

Choose positivity but once faced with negativity, know that it can be positive motivating energy to help you be better.

daily post

Advertisement