Abraham Lincoln said that the best way to predict the future is to create it. I believe that this means that when you want something for yourself the best way to get it is to you is to create an environment through preparation and seeking the opportunity when it presents itself. Zain Asher in her Ted talk emphasises two things, one is to trust your struggle and two that in order to be successful you don’t need to take anything away from anyone else.
Expounding on the first, it means owning and believing in your current hardships as imperative steps towards your success. In loose translation, trusting your struggle as per the title of this article. In today’s generation many young people especially those in their early 20s are affected by untrue notions that they must be successful and have life figured when still so young. I for the longest time had been guilty of thinking like this and many times I still am.. Jobless and waiting for graduation earlier this year was one of the most trying moments in my life. This is because the wait was not part of my ‘perfect’ plan, I was to be working as I waited to go for my Masters in Law. However, none of this came through and I was devastated. I was forced to take a hard look at my life and realise that I had indeed done my part and that my current predicament was not my future but a struggling point as I step into what is meant to be mine.
The second part of the Ted talk speaks to the element of having faith that each and every one of us should have when progressing in life. I say this because it infers that we all have something that is ours and that there is no need to take it from another or compete for it. It almost suggests having blind faith towards goals and ambitions, with the belief that what is yours will come to you. After numerous rejections and no call backs from my job hunt, this talk reminded me that what was mine was going to eventually find me and that my lack of prospects was simply my struggle but not a reflection of what would be my future.
Young people need to understand that nothing comes easy and that what is yours will find you so long as you do your part. In that, opportunity must be met with preparation. More so, competing or comparing yourself with another can bring about fears and insecurities that hold you back. In short, this Ted talk helps young people to believe in better things to come and that current struggles are part of the journey to success.
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