I want to be vulnerable and I hope my vulnerability will help someone. 

Please indulge me. 

Ok so here it goes. 

Growing up, I always assumed I was far from being called a smart child. I didn’t think I was good enough academically. I will tell you why.

As a secondary school student in Nigeria, I struggled with Mathematics and other subjects that had to do with numbers, as well as the core science subjects. Whenever we had to sit in class for any of these subjects, I would look for every reason to disappear, even though I knew that disappearing was not an option for me. My father worked with the Federal Ministry of Education. Most of my teachers knew or had heard about him. They knew his principles, values and standards regarding education. Any attempt from my end to miss those classes will be regarded as an abomination; especially my Math class! I had to learn to sit through the classes even when I couldn’t understand half of what was being taught. It made no sense to me! Physics was the worst of them all! 

I struggled a lot with the sciences; however, that was not my experience with  the non-science subjects. I loved my History and Literature classes. I also enjoyed my English language classes; learning when and how to use punctuation marks as well as the correct pronunciation of words,  understanding the different parts of speech and how they are relevant in sentences, writing essays and summaries – I loved every bit of it!  I also loved (and still love) to read, take notes and transfer my thoughts into my journals but somewhere in my mind, I agreed with myself that I was not a smart child because I did not excel in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and the rest of them. The sad part was, though I enjoyed the Arts, I did not put in the required efforts to excel in them because of my self-acclaimed title – Little Miss Dumb! I was fine with being average; sometimes below average. 

Our thoughts are powerful, I tell you! 

This mindset affected every other thing I did as a teenager. I always felt intimidated, I didn’t have confidence in myself and at some point, I struggled with low self esteem. Of course, those were internal struggles. No one around me had a clue. Most times, I preferred being alone, just to avoid any conversation or activity that would reveal how dumb I thought I was! Now, as a full-grown adult, I have mastered the art of enjoying my own company. The only difference is I don’t withdraw from the crowd due to lack of confidence any more; rather, I withdraw to regain strength and clarity (this is the part where my church folks will shout a loud Amen!).

Back to my story. 

Everything changed when I got into the university. I started reading the Bible to discover more about who God created me to be. I have always loved to read the Bible; however, my initial focus was on the do’s and don’ts of my Christian faith. This time, I decided to change my mindset and approach towards God’s Word. I also started reading books that gave me more insight and helped me become aware of my personality, my strengths, my abilities, my talents and a lot of other attributes that made me unique. I realized that my struggle in understanding science subjects wasn’t enough for me to be written off as a dumb student.

Gradually, my thoughts about who I was began to change. Though it looked like there was no defined career path for the course I chose to study in the university (whenever I asked for career advice regarding my course, all I heard was “you can work anywhere”),  I decided to give it my best shot and today, I dare say that I worked really hard as an undergraduate and my final result was excellent (another opportunity to shout a loud Amen)!

All I did was expose my mind to information that changed the initial thoughts I had about myself.

Hear what the Bible says:

“Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world BUT LET GOD TRANSFORM YOU INTO A NEW PERSON BY CHANGING THE WAY YOU THINK. Then you will learn God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

God’s will for us is good, pleasing and perfect and to enjoy this will, we need a continuous and consistent change in our mindset and our thought patterns; we need to be willing to learn, unlearn and relearn. 

A simple positive change in your mindset will make a huge difference in your life.

It will make a difference in your relationship with people.

It will make a difference in your attitude towards situations.

It will make a difference in your response to circumstances.

It will make a difference in your relationship with you! 

Yes it will! 

So, what is on your mind? What do you think about daily and what effect does it have on your life? 

Expose your mind to the transforming power of God’s Word and watch your life change for the best!