C

ulture. Convention. The way of doing things. Do we ever stop to question the things that we do routinely? Why do you all Christians like saying “Hallelujah”? What does it mean anyway? Why is it that in some cultures, you have to jump the broom or do some other ritual at a wedding? Why is it that we sing our national anthems at “special” occasions? Do we ever stop to consider the reason behind our actions? Perhaps the greatest question in this train of thought is this: Why is it that we all think that the next step after school is to get a job? Why is it that a large percentage of us are stuck literally moments after “finishing” schooling? I will tell you why: it is because of our trust in culture and convention. We do that because we do not know any better. We trust our cultures so much so that we do not even question them years after things have changed.

An Invitation to Be a Rebel

I invite you today to question every culture that you are faced with. It is not a sin to question culture. Questioning culture only makes you to be enlightened and more informed. [ictt-tweet-inline]When you have clarity of why you do the things that you do, then you also get inspiration and motivation to do it.[/ictt-tweet-inline] That is the essence of purpose. Would you believe it that joblessness is now a culture??? In other words, people are “jobless” because they do not question the culture of joblessness! They blindly trust it! There is someone so mightily talented, healthy, creative, innovative and just as powerful as any crown of creation that God made that is stuck because “that is how things are”. Just the fact that your brother or sister ahead of you “finished school” (don’t get me started with the mindset of finishing school) and is stuck and jobless does not mean that you should accept that as your fate too. Stop all the traffic and think and question that culture!

Welcome To Trust

The reason why I need us to change our thinking is so that you can re-direct ourselves to have a different “source” of our thoughts. That source is within you and has been benignly telling you what steps you need to take. Unfortunately for the both of you (you and the source), you have not trusted that “source” because it is not “tried and tested” just like your culture is. This is what I mean. When it comes to careers, you have been schooled that you should “finish school” and then start looking for jobs. You have also been conditioned to think that once you get that job, you ought to start accumulating wealth so as you can grow up Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. All along, there is a gentle voice, an instinct even that has been telling you something different. This gentle voice has been telling you to do the unconventional, contrary to what culture is expecting of you. But you have so far refused to listen. You are afraid and scared because what the gentle voice is suggesting is not what is popular day culture or the way things are done. So you must drop your resumes all around looking for jobs as you silence that inner voice with your mistrust.

The Lie

The greatest lie in this way of doing things is that once you are “ready”, (read, once you have made enough money), you can now start listening to that inner voice and do its bidding. The lie goes further to state that you need money (some people call it capital) in order to fund that which the gentle voice is suggesting that you do. Do you know why this is the greatest lie? It is because [ictt-tweet-inline]You will never have enough money to start trusting your instincts of purpose! [/ictt-tweet-inline]If anything, if you ask anyone who is employed, they will tell you that their current salary does not have the capacity to take care of all their goals for the next ten years! And yet, the instinct is being ignored as we speak. The mistrust pervades the day. The internal spark that you have is dulled each waking day because you are adamant that you should take a well-worn and known path.

Learning To Trust

You know, the interesting thing about our lives is that the greatness that we have is hidden within us. That greatness speaks to us each day, nudging us through our ideas and our emotions. But we choose not to trust these ideas and emotions. For example, I could have an idea to write about this article. Just the fact that the idea was revealed to me is reason enough for me to trust it. Where else do you think that idea came from if not from the Divine? Look at it this way: I did not have that idea before the idea came right? So why in the world would that idea pop up in my mind in the first place? Isn’t it so that I could trust it and start running with it? We need to learn to trust what comes from our inner self, what comes from our instincts and what comes from our mind deliberations.

Why We should Trust our Instincts

Perhaps, the reason why Myles Munroe says that the richest place is the graveyard is because people do not trust their instinct, talents and gifts that lie within them. Instead, they choose to trust what has been “tried and tested” over the years. Well, the tried and tested is not working en-mass. This is what I mean. If it is the culture of career development, you and I know that the present job market does not serve everyone. And yet everyone is gifted and talented! I submit to you that the only path that is available to feed everyone is the path of purpose. I can take a school dropout who has purpose and convert him or her into a world-changer if they are willing to unlearn the culture and take trust their inner creative force. We should trust it because we all have it. I have been guilty of this mistrust that I am talking about, but I will talk about more of it in the next article. Stay tuned.