The opportunity that a holiday gives is so vast when it comes to improving one’s self but it is a pity that many refuse to tap into this outlet and rather focus on intangible and immaterial things. A holiday means free time that is, more leisure hours. To very many people, this is the case as they mainly play away the time, watch films or do some other pleasanter activity. This in fact is not bad judging from the amount of work that one has done before being granted that break yet it in itself is a wastage of time that could be used for activities aimed at improving one’s value or worth. These activities do not necessarily have to be boring and energy taxing; they could be enjoyed and made worth the time with the advantage that you have learned more and are perhaps a better person. Since, life is a never-ending continuous learning field, it is necessary to always stay ahead and you can only do that if you will. Sounds boring? That’s if you make it so.
Value is synonymous to worth and this implies that improving your value is improving your worth that is, your self-worth. It is defined as the degree of importance given to something which in this case will be someone and worth is the value of something and in this case, someone. In the world today, a person worth is determined by so many things but all of it equals the same respect for that person by others and respect of that person by himself. A professor in the abstract sense is respected by many not because they know him personally but because of the rank of professorship that designates his person. It is the same for a doctor, a lawyer, a writer or even more so, a student. The very act of improving one’s knowledge and in extension character is the very act of improving one’s self worth and in extension value. Remember that the true meaning of education is not gotten from the four walls of a building but from the four winds that make up life. Life in fact is a classroom that offers an infinite amount of courses, the question that just have to be asked is which of these courses will I want to do to improve myself.
Improving one’s self improves one’s education. Education are facts, skills or ideas that have been learned either formally or informally. The truth is that informal education forms the bulk of our education experience in life. We have only tried to reduce the number of surprises and heartaches by tailoring educational experience which then gives the formal form of education. Learning to better your cooking, reading more books, taking an online course on a completely different subject than the one you do or on the one you do; all of these things is educating one’s self. You learn more and become better; you become a master and an expert in the field; you become a connoisseur of knowledge who people look to give an insight into that activity because you are educated in that field. One should understand that the very act of improving one’s self is the very act of learning and that learning is not stereotyped to one field but expands into infinite others; it takes many forms and shapes which implies that there are infinite subjects to study and infinite opportunities to do them.
Your self-esteem is very much improved by the very act of learning. While many are intricately shy, it doesn’t necessarily mean they have a low self-esteem. So many people who have taken time out to improve on themselves have a very high regard of themselves shy or not. When you take time out to improve yourself, you sharpen your esteem blade. You know what you know, are sure of what you know, are proud of what you know and can essentially defend what you know when called upon to do it at any given time. Improving your value is improving or boosting your confidence. In essence, it is standing more strongly on the muddy banks of life. It gives you the opportunity of knowing more about life, the opportunity of voicing your opinions on any topic related to what you know without appearing dull or ignorant. All of this makes the confidence one has in one’s abilities to shoot up. You are assured of your expertise in that area of knowledge and your self-esteem in general improved because of that confidence. In a world where having a low self-esteem is tantamount to being insignificant, you can do a lot by building the confidence you have in yourself and in your abilities. Improving your self-value makes you more appreciative of the person you have become; it makes you love yourself more; it makes you proud of yourself and makes you confident when you are in a sphere that requires what you know.
The worth of a person is how valuable that person is to others that is, those that do the valuing. Improving one’s value improves one’s education; it improves one’s self-esteem all in all to improve one’s worth. Respect they say is reciprocal but we know that in the truest of sense, respect is not reciprocal at least in quantity if even in quality. One is regarded higher with the amount of education he or she has been able to garner over the years. One becomes more valuable to others when it is found out that he or she possesses a skill that is necessary for a particular activity. A professor of mathematics is very much valuable to those in the field of mathematics and an improved and educated chef is very much valuable to everyone who eats including the professor of mathematics. The issue of who is more valued is not being discussed here but the amount of value that is attached to those that have set themselves on the path of increasing their self-worth. This would then imply that the comparison should be between the professor of mathematics and a master’s degree holder in that field or that expert chef and an amateur.
It is necessary to understand that Rome was not built in a day; that it takes time to build one’s self to the level of being an expert but it also takes discipline and dedication. The expert chef will in greater probability have taken time out to improve his value by learning more about the field he is that is, cooking. It will be better if the amateur spends time to in improving himself or herself so that his or her worth in the eyes of those with the power of valuing is increased. While it is necessary not to be moved by the opinions of people, it is also necessary to be distinguished in what one does. The holiday is to set about improving yourself so as to be better equipped for battling life’s challenges. Your self-worth and worth amongst members of society should improve during the period of break. The break affords you enough time to do that without any hindrance. You are able to work freely under no pressure and to learn freely without being badgered by something else.
Working without pressure is good but to effectively and efficiently add value to yourself, you must put yourself a bit of pressure. Not one that taxes you but that allows you to view the activity as very important. The most important thing is to first decide on improving yourself, then pick a subject that must very well interest you. Lack of interest is enough to destroy what little progress you might have made. All the materials that you use will be tailored to meet this subject you have chosen to study and then the pressure comes in trying to infuse discipline into keeping up with it. Deciding to improve yourself is easy enough but keeping with it when you are distracted by many of life’s side distractions: movies, games, family (not a distraction though but can be effective in reducing your productivity), gossips, social media et cetera. In order to at least help keep you disciplined, you must pick a subject you are interested in.
This will have you looking deep into yourself for something you love. Perhaps, it could be an advanced study of what you do normally or a side hobby that you have secretly or openly being in love with. You pick that topic and then allocate your time to meet its necessities. Try to keep up pressure on yourself so as to have discipline. Many of us keep us with deadlines because of the presence of the boss and the fear of losing the job. This type of pressure might be excessive considering that it is the holiday but it must be remembered that since you have taken it as important to improve yourself, then you must walk the talk. How to do it?
Firstly, establish a working space. This means that you set a place at home that is designated as your office. You keep it organized and professional. You keep out distractions from this part of the home and dedicate it to the use of learning that subject of life and for that alone. It implies that you in a way replicate the working environment and keep the rules that are applicable to the office to this place. This will help you psychologically in a way to believe that you are being serious with what you are doing or about to do.
Secondly, set up a working schedule and stick to the goals outlined for yourself. Schedules are important as they help to arrange your time to the activities you have. Setting up a schedule helps you to know and keep in mind how much time you are dedicating to improving yourself. Goals should also be outlined. What are your aims for this program? What do you want to really achieve? These things should be spelt out so as not allow for laxity and a lowering of scale of what one could actually achieve.
Last but not the least, you have to check on yourself. How much am I improving? Am I disciplined enough? Do I keep to the schedule I have outlined? Am I achieving my outlined goals? All of these questions are to help keep in touch with the reality of your situation. Asking them regularly will help you know how far you have gone and how farther you still have to reach.
Any break, holiday like this of the covid-19 crisis is an opportunity to improve sporadically. If you can give more time to improving your self-worth and education, you improve the confidence you have in yourself and remember that besides pride, loyalty, discipline, heart and mind, confidence is the key to all the locks; the words of Joe Paterno.
Grillo Adedolapo
akanmuoladimejigrillo@gmail.com