The Gift of Blindness

After listening to Cohbams Asuquo give this talk at a TEDx session, I realized I needed this gift. Now, not physically as you may mischieviously think but psychologically. He talked about going to the mall to get something with his wife and having exactly what he wanted in mind, because he was blind he couldn't afford the luxury of checking out and buying other things but his wife on the other hand wanted this, that and so on. He then made an application to our everyday lives with this illustration by which I could totally relate to.  How many times had I wanted to work at something, to focus on just one thing and gotten distracted by so many other things that probably weren't even worth it in the long run?
Many a times, we get carried away by things that we know deep down we do not need but just succumb to for sheer pleasure. We need to understand the necessity of being blind to certain things, certain voices, certain pleasures and side attractions if we really want to achieve our visions and goals in life. In this social media age, we're constantly bombarded with a whole lot of information that could really be blinding.
We need to learn to sieve this information, not everything applies to you, not everything is necessary for you, not everything works for you. Take what is necessary for where you're headed and move on because the moment you begin to take in anything and everything, you'd make decisions that could veer you in the wrong direction as regards where you're headed. For instance, if my goal was to be a Nobel Laureate of literature someday, I would have to find out about someone like Prof. Wole Soyinka, follow him on Instagram, Twitter and other social media platforms. I'd read his books, try to know him in the best possible way I can, attend book launches of writers and so on because every little bit of information counts. Learn from him through his posts, updates and so on. It wouldn't make sense if I started paying more attention to someone like Wizkid for example cause I'm not looking for a Grammy award but a Nobel prize. Interesting as Wizkid's timeline and updates might be, I have to be blinded to it cause he's not a replica of what I want to be in the next ten years. This could work for someone who wants to be a music superstar in the nearest future. Now I could check out his timeline if I needed some sort of information for say a book but it would be in passing while am still aiming at my target. Who makes up the larger part of your social media, who do you give the most of your 'eartime' as Fela Durotoye puts it? Or are you one of those who think social media is just for fun? Who are you following on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook? Do they make you want to get out of bed in the morning and work at your dreams or do they make you remain in bed till 12pm waiting for life to happen? You gotta make the most of whatever you have in your hands. Some people spend money on data without getting any returns, while some spend money on data and get times three of what they spent on the same phone. It all depends on how and what you see yourself becoming.
So now you see why the gift of blindness is necessary. Learn to shut your senses, your ears, eyes and mouth gates to the things that you do not need. What you hear, see and say subconsciously rule your thoughts/mind, you have to monitor these things carefully if you're really serious about making your dreams a reality. Of course, it requires hard work, nothing good comes easy they say. Cultivate the habit of being blind to the irrelevant.

"Focus in a sense is blindness"- Cohbams Asuquo