Get the most of your solitude

Get the most of your solitude

By Jean Ricot Dormeus

One of the greatest artists of the 20th century, Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, distinguished himself by his technical mastery and his creativity. His universal influence flows from art pieces such as Guernica and the cubism movement. Picasso associated his outstanding achievements with solitude by saying, “Without great solitude, no serious work is possible”. 

Like a seed germinates isolated in the soil, great successes incubate in creative solitude. Like Picasso, you can lay a rock solid foundation for your life if you use your solitude to study, practice or master a skill and to envision how best your future can turn.

Almost everyone has private moments. Countless bodies shun these solitude periods. However, numerous souls, including great visionaries and world innovators, embrace them as a godsend. Well used solitude helps to refresh and re-energize your brain. You process knowledge more efficiently, especially after learning or working in a group setting. Filter solitude of its boredom shade or its scary shadow and you get an excellent fertilizer of ideas and generator of expertise.

Use your precious time of solitude to develop yourself and prepare for challenges ahead. Plan some bold initiative. See how you can encourage and assist someone. Solitude helps you to channel the water of your thoughts to irrigate the valley of your responsibilities at work, at home and in your community. 

How long should you engage in solitude? It depends on your circumstances; preferably in moderation. Most importantly, altruism should remain at the center of your engagement, because you improve yourself to serve others better and make a difference around you. This approach will cause you to make the most of your solitude.

Jean Ricot Dormeus

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Check out my book “Land of Dormant Dreams - A walk into the Future” for more tips on developing self and nation.

Keep your goals in sight

Keep your goals in sight

By Jean Ricot Dormeus

Italian football manager Paolo Di Canio once pointed out, “It’s just a couple of posts and a crossbar, but for a footballer, it’s paradise”. All the beauty and excitement of the football game sums up in getting the ball pass the goal line. Goals make champions of good teams such as Brazil and award players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi or Neymar with golden ball trophies. Like sports, every activity or initiative in life, consciously or not, aims at the finish line, a reward or a feeling. Knowing the goal and its value in advance helps in getting organized, staying motivated and focused.

How would you identify success without a goal? Or are you in the business of aiming at nothing lest you get disappointed? The best secret to achieving anything important in life hides in designing a goal before you start implementing your project. Not only a goal equips you with landmarks or progress markers, but also it mobilizes your energy and brainpower in the pursuit of your journey. 

The hare lost sight of the goal and spent time relaxing and savoring overconfidence. The turtle kept moving slowing but consistently toward the goal. Guess who won? When you lose sight of the goal, your talents, your comparative advantages and your self-confidence get wasted. Consequently, you may still believe you are winning when in reality the race award ceremony is already done.

Setting goals takes early thinking and preparation. If you let your impulsivity loose and have no goal in sight, you run the risk of engaging in conflicting projects, thus neutralizing your efforts. Therefore, you must know why you do what you do. This simple notion spells control over your life and maximizes your chances of success. Keep your goals in sight.

Jean Ricot Dormeus

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Check out my book “Land of Dormant Dreams - A Walk into the Future” for more tips on developing self and nation.

Ensure proper healing

Ensure proper healing

By Jean Ricot Dormeus

Several decades ago, my dad was surprised to see a stubborn wound on his right leg. In the beginning, he attributed it to his farming activities and expected it to heal soonest. However, the injury played the yo-yo with him for a long while. At some point, He made up his mind to get rid of the intermittent wound and sought treatment. He got properly diagnosed and the injury finally healed following assiduous efforts and adequate remedy. Can healing take place as a matter of course? Not as often as you would wish.

Most disruptions of the body and the mind, breaches in relationships or career failures require a conscious decision to start healing. If you value the philosophy “ignore it and it will go away”, then you are in for a brutal awakening. Your disturbance will either deteriorate or come and go until you invest some thought and effort into it. When nature does not work its miracles in time, it’s time to take healing seriously.

Usually, you discern an alert to your life disruptions through pain, discomfort or embarrassment. An unattended alert from the cause leads to the worsening of the effect. Even when you deal timely with the alert, healing may be slow in showing up. So goes the saying “trouble comes riding a horse and leaves walking”. The sooner you address your issues, the less delayed are your desired results.

Paying timely attention takes you halfway through. You need effective diagnosis, remedy and procedure to get through. In many cases, seeking professional advice will form the backbone of your healing strategy. In all cases, educating yourself about your issues will enhance your sense of control and keep you on the right path.

Noticing abnormalities in your life? Ensure proper healing soonest.

Jean Ricot Dormeus

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Check out my book “Land of Dormant Dreams - A Walk into the Future” for more tips on developing self and nation.

Look beyond your loss

Look beyond your loss

By Jean Ricot Dormeus

A few months ago, while enjoying a breezy Sunday morning, I played one tennis set with an opponent known for his consistency. I lost the first game for no apparent reason. The loss disturbed me and kept me thinking as the set progressed. While I lingered in this frame of mind, my opponent took advantage and was leading 4 games to one at some point. Then I decided to let go of my losses, regain my focus, and guess what? I captured 5 games in a row to win the set. 

We all face situations of loss at some point in our life. Are you bogged down in a loss rut? Stop wasting precious energy and time. Your loss is likely to consume your attention and become a source of distraction in your life. Your capacity to deliver great results might diminish as you experience fear, sadness or anger. The time you take to perform simple tasks may extend and you risk to engage in self-doubt. Lingering on your loss works as a trap.

Prompt recovery from losses offers a bridge to experience, growth and resilience. All the more reason to look beyond the somber occurrences. Sunlight comes after the darkness of the night, fair weather after the storm and Sunday resurrection after Friday crucifixion. This life cycle offers hope and empowers you to press on toward your dreams and goals.

No matter how good you are in life or in our field, you will incur loss. Likewise, no matter how devastating your losses, you can bounce back as long as you embrace hope. Instead of dwelling on yesterday’s loss, focus on today’s opportunities and tomorrow's promise. This change in focus opens up the way to success and great achievements. Therefore, look promptly beyond your loss.

Jean Ricot Dormeus

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Check out my book “Land of Dormant Dreams - A Walk into the Future” for more tips on developing self and nation.

Make pain work for you

Make pain work for you

By Jean Ricot Dormeus

The story of Ashlyn Blocker of California points to the value of pain in our lives. One day, 13 year old Ashlyn who could not feel pain dipped her right hand into a boiling pot of ramen noodles to retrieve a spoon. She got burned without feeling anything. Her mother had to take care of the burn on the hand of the happy child and to remain vigilant to prevent further occurrences. Some pain would have helped Ashlyn to prevent cuts, burns and other injuries. 

Pain protects us as a good ally, setting off an alarm to withdraw from danger or rectify a harmful situation. The noise of a fire alarm may be annoying, but it helps us to take measures to prevent a fire.

Pain also performs the function of progress indicator. When we begin exercising for a marathon, we run out of breath quickly. We build resistance to the pain by taking some extra steps despite our discomfort. The same goes for the habit of reading. In short, the longer it takes to feel unbearable pain when we practice a skill, the more advanced we have become in our field. 

Unnecessary pain should be avoided though. Masochism or gratification from pain elevates no one to heroism. If a social environment becomes irremediably toxic to the point of inducing continuing useless suffering, then the time has come to consider your options and sign up for better company or network. Likewise, you benefit from the habit of not inflicting pain on other people.

Understanding pain is crucial to managing it. Are you trying to shun pain at all costs? Then how will you reach the top of the ladder or the summit of the mountain? Make pain work for you.

Jean Ricot Dormeus

If this blog post resonates with you, share it with your network.

Check out my book “Land of Dormant Dreams - A Walk into the Future” for more tips on developing self and nation.