You probably know I am in Lagos to have fun, catch up with family and friends and do some field work and pilot projects for my non-profit- thanks to all who made it possible.
I want to share with you some pictures and some feedback from different people we talked to.
One thing I love about us Africans is our hospitality and how we don’t try to be too proper and politically correct. Every group I talked to was full of people considerably older than me, and they didn’t put up any ego or anything, they listened to me, appreciated my time, were very candid about their thoughts- for example one man interrupted me in a loud voice and told me to stop speaking fast and like an American and bring it down to their level LOL. It was said in love though so I just smiled and talked slowly and with a thicker Naija accent.
The other told me to sit down because I was one of them and didn’t have to stand up to talk at them LOL
Another one told me that he wasn’t satisfied with how I talked about stress and its impact on our health and some things to add next time LOL
All the groups gave me a gift at the end. One group- the institute of town planners- gave me some Adire cloth that I plan to sew a dress out of; another – the igbo community towns members- took my handbag and computer to the car for me, and walked me to the car. It is called ‘i duje mmadu’ in Igbo which mean to escort. Another group – the union of artisans such as carpenters, plumbers, painters etc- bought us some drinks. I felt at home and I really connected with all the groups I talked to and left praying they take our message to heart so they don’t have to die like many of their members have from stroke, heart attacks, diabetes, etc
Through the way they asked questions, voiced their opinions and concerns I could tell they were really engaging with the issue. All the groups I have talked with have had many members die from chronic diseases especially those relating to complications from hypertension. That just shows you how big the problem of non-communicable diseases is in Nigeria among every age group. At the end of the day I was grateful I got to do my part by educating them and hopeful that it goes a long way.
I have also gotten some discouragement- I called a media personality who wanted to find out more about what we do and she told me how anybody could do what we could do and its not that much of a big deal LOL. Obviously I was a bit sad then I brushed it off.
Just chipping that in to tell you there will always be roadblocks to whatever ever you set out to do- but now I am learning to reduce the time I spend reacting emotionally to nonsense. Brush it off, move on and too bad for the people who don’t come along with you.
I have also been reading the book- Psychocybernetics. It is an amazing book by a surgeon on your power of imagination to get you good results out of life.
One practical thing I have taken out of it is to worry constructively- instead of worrying about things that could go wrong, I go to bed making a choice to ‘worry’- imagine all the good things I hope for my future. Try it:)
Lagos with all its craziness is a good opportunity to practice this since at first I was so frustrated at the intermittent power, expensive internet, poor customer service and those pesky little things. But now I have adjusted, stopped getting upset by the things I can’t change and am loving my life and my time here. Personal development works everywhere:)
What have you been up to?
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Street-side convos 