By Lydia Aje
We were in a staff meeting making preparations towards our annual end of year party.
The school director needed someone to do some voice-over recording as part of the programs for the event.
“Who can fit into this?” asked the director.
“Miss E is the perfect person” I said, pointing in her direction without even thinking.
“Why can’t you do it?”
The director turned to me with a look of bewilderment in her eyes.
I didn’t know what was running through her mind. I guess I’ve had a glimpse of it now.
I felt embarrassed but I still tried to maintain my composure. I guess the look on my face had given off to reflect what was on my mind.
“Why can’t I do it?”
I was forced to ask myself the million dollar question.
She’s obviously the best fit for this role.
She’s confident and outspoken.
She is the life of the party. Everyone wants to associate with her.
I tried to give reasons to justify my stand. I didn’t know my reasons were mere excuses.
I believed I had nothing to offer.
Like, who wants to hear me speak?
How do I put these words together?
Plus, I had barely spent three months in the organization. I still considered myself a newbie.
My director insisted I take the role and gave me an assignment to start rehearsing.
It was tough but that was exactly what I needed- THE PUSH
Guess what the outcome was?
I over-delivered to my own astonishment.
My colleagues were not really surprised. They believed I achieved great results with whatever was committed into my hands.
I guess I was the only one that didn’t believe in me.
I was always looking down on myself, convincing myself with a hundred and one reasons why I wasn’t good enough.
Are you like me too?
Do you give yourself reasons to believe you’re not good enough?
Do you try to run away from responsibilities because you believe you have nothing to offer?
I guess everyone has been guilty of this at a time in their lives.
And have been able to overcome this with different approaches that point to one thing- BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND PUT IN THE WORK.
Mine was just a push. An external force that pushed me out of my comfort zone and wouldn’t give up on me until I got results.
I believe you’ve been pushed out of your comfort zone a couple of times too.
This is how I pushed myself into writing this piece because someone needs to hear my story.
In all you do, make every single day a productive one, and push yourself when you have to.
