MONDAY MORNING COFFEE ☕️

I have had two major moments since stepping back into Nigeria for our annual African Family Life Delegate Conference and both moments got me thinking deeply.

A friend took me to a club in Ikoyi and something shocked me. Nobody was talking about the “problems of Nigeria” that dominate social media every day. The conversations were about opportunities, collaborations, investments, expansions and massive deals. Listening to them, you would almost not believe they lived in the same country everyone keeps lamenting about.

Then I moved to Uyo, Akwa Ibom for the conference since Thursday and I carefully observed the city. The roads were clean, the environment felt organized, the food was fresh and the road network was breathtaking. Beyond the infrastructure, there also seemed to be a bit of contentment among the people about the way everyone went about their business. Of course, I had some poor service delivery from some service providers but what I chose to see gave me hope about what is still possible across Nigeria. The ability to visualize and birth the Ibom golf resort from what I believe was a massive forest totally left me fastinated by what can happen when a human being moves from blaming to creating.

As I reflected on all these, I remembered the very first poem written by King David, which I considered a poem on positioning:

“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the way of sinners nor sit in the seat of the scornful…”

And suddenly, four lessons hit me hard.

1. WHERE YOU ARE POSITIONED DETERINES WHAT YOU SEE
Many of us have been wired to only detect what is failing while remaining blind to the massive opportunities around us. This does not mean the problems are not real. They are. But opportunity also exists beside crisis. The question is: can you see it?

2. CONVERSATIONS CREATE REALITIES
The people around you are shaping your emotional climate daily. Some circles only magnify fear, hopelessness and anger. Others discuss possibilities, partnerships, systems and the future. Eventually, your dominant conversations become your dominant expectations.

3. ENVIRONMENTS CAN EXPAND OR SHRINK YOUR THINKING
There are places that drain your hope and there are places that awaken possibility within you. Sometimes the greatest transformation in your life will begin with changing what you expose yourself to consistently.

4. NATIONS CHANGE WHEN PEOPLE START BUILDING INSTEAD OF ONLY COMPLAINING
What I saw in Uyo reminded me that transformation is possible. What I heard in Ikoyi reminded me that opportunities still exist. Perhaps the future of Nigeria may not first be rescued by critics but by builders -people who can see beyond what is broken and still create what is possible.

This week, be intentional about your positioning. Because where you sit determines what enters your ears…
what enters your ears shapes what enters your heart…
and what enters your heart eventually determines the future you build.

I remain a Saviour

Praise Fowowe