Maturing...

It is my opinion that as men mature they become in some ways more like women and as women mature they become in some ways more like men. Men become more caring and sympathetic while women become more rational and less emotional.

Why some parents may be losing it.

I came across an edition of supa strika comic. Immediately, I knew there was something sinister about it. I have read accounts of some people who claimed to have been shown revelations of Heaven and hell. I do not always take in these accounts hook, line and sinker. One account says some comic or children cartoon heroes are look like some demons in hell. I didn’t take it seriously because I was of the view that it had the potential of labelling all cartoon or comic characters as evil. But as the Scripture says, ‘the tree is known by its fruit’, we can know the good ones from the bad ones. Your truly, the story is about football but many of the characters were evil-looking. Some supposed footballers have very long canine teeth, similar to that of dogs. I can guarantee that a child exposed to these things regularly and lacks the proper parental supervision will tend towards rebellion and violent conduct. In our kind of world children get exposed to all kinds of wrong things but shared proper values of families can keep them from growing inside them. Unfortunately, these days we don’t seem to find time to watch over the children.

Satan is definitely going to use some children to torment their parents because they did not give them proper guidance. Unfortunately once more, it seems this trend will continue to get worse considering the way the world operates right now. But I am most convinced that if you train up your child in the proper way he/she will never be overwhelmed in the current evil madness. Even if he tastes the evil madness, he will remember that he was made of a better stuff.

...of military, and systems that work

Recently my brother and I were discussing childhood (career) dreams. He recalled how as a little child wanted to become an ambassador. Later he wanted to be a lawyer. Now he is a brand management expert. My earliest career dream was to be an architect as my father (probably all male children at one time in their lives wanted to do want their father did). Later in my late teens I wanted a career in the military. I fell in love with the order and the chain of command of the military. Of course as a young lad I also liked the power that military personnel exude. Some years later, I no longer wanted a military career because I considered the military life to be too rigid for me—a firm believer in creativity and diversity of ideas. Now my career is in organization development.

However, as we discussed I found that my initial interest in the military was because I found in the military a system that works. Even in the midst of the corruption that eats away at every institution in Nigeria I found the military retaining some form of effectiveness. I am not saying in any way that they were spared the assault of corruption however they retained a level of effectiveness that was not found in institutions like the Police. Looking beyond Nigeria, we find a similar scenario of the military. (The military worldwide have been responsible for many important inventions from the internet to GPS and so on.) This reality is what drew my young mind to the military. What was it that gave the military that edge of effectiveness? It is the unique culture of the military—a culture that ensures that missions are accomplished despite challenges. It also ensures that there is unity of command and that everyone is working towards some set objectives. That harmony, be it coerced or not, is essential to the military’s effectiveness. The culture emphasizes discipline and respect of authority. One of the reasons the military is effective is because it requires few persons to do the strategic planning while others carry it out with energy and doggedness. It does not generally tolerate dissent—even if the subordinate’s view can accomplish the task better. The rich pool of ideas that a more liberal system allows is lost. Had I been conscripted into the military my unwillingness to ‘follow-follow’ would be my greatest problem. I would have loved to have our missions and the strategy justified as much as possible.

A very effective organization, therefore, is one that embraces, on one hand, the strength of the military (cohesion and order) and on the other hand, openness of ideas and views of a civilian life. The synthesis will result in an organization that is both progressive and effective.

....on Maturity.

Maturity is a term that is used in many aspects of life; for example in agriculture, biology, brewery, etc. But maturity in human emotional development is the focus here. The Dictionary defines maturity as: the state of full development. As none of us, I believe, will reach absolute maturity on earth, I prefer sometimes to use the term ‘maturing’ or ‘relative maturity’. For use in this post I put forth a definition of maturity as follows:

Maturity is a developed sense of internal control that keeps a person on the right or appropriate path in life.

The issue of maturity is so important that one can almost not over emphasize it. It is crucial in marriage, leadership, politics, education, family life, church ministry, etc.
 

Ecc 10:16—17.Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning! Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility, and your princes feast at the proper time, for strength, and not for drunkenness!

3 key concepts in definition

•   Develop(ment)—this communicates a sense of growth; of gradual progress; of stages. It is certainly not a sudden thing. Growth is almost always painful!
•   Internal control—maturing is essentially inward and independent of social status, academic achievements and sometimes even age. A professor can be very immature while a stark illiterate can be relatively mature, and vice versa.
•   Right or appropriate path—maturity keeps you on track! One does not get lost in the mob. It frees you from what a friend calls ‘cultural software’.

Since we were all born completely immature I have wondered how some turned out more matured than others. Of course aside from individual choices, parenting is a very important reason. Like begets like. If the parents are relatively matured their children will almost certainly be relatively matured. And vice versa. A Child must necessarily look up to whoever raises him. The impatience, evident lack of self-control or extreme cowardice of parents (or foster parents) becomes a model for the child. This reality highlights the seriousness of parenting! Nevertheless, however you have been raised you can always make a choice to grow up! The first step is saying to yourself, ‘I, alone, have the responsibility for the outcome of my emotional growth.’

There is no way one can walk with God (not just attending church activities) and not steadily mature. No one should graduate from the school of maturing.

Ecc 4:13 .Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive counsel.

Growth. One of the most fascinating concepts in human experience. All human life began as unified cell at conception. And so we keep growing and growing. Biologically, we stop growing early--at end of adolescence. But growth possibilities in mind and spirit are unlimited.
Most times, growth in the mind and spirit is deliberate. This blog will continue to examine principles and processes of personal and organizational growth.
'In all of life, there are sequential stages of growth and development. A child learns to turn over, to sit up, to crawl, and then to walk and run. Each step is important and each one takes time. No step can be skipped. This is true in all phases of life.'--Stephen Covey.

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