How can young people build a better country, you might ask? After all, the culture does not give the young such power. Well, I will concede that culture is a limiting factor — but, only a limiting factor — it does not have to be a complete barrier.
Young people can — and should — take a more active role in the development of their country, but that must start with self.
So, what can you do, beginning in the here and now, to create a better Zimbabwe, a country that you can be justly proud of?
You can start by defining what kind of society you want to live in, what kind of country that you, can leave to your children and grandchildren.
And, you need to decide what kind of person you want or need to be in that society. This means that you need to clearly define “you”.
Don’t wait for things to happen, or for others to do things for you. Identify what needs to be done, and then do it. Start small — you should aspire to reach for the stars, but take that journey one step at a time, one challenge at a time. Is there a problem in your community that has bugged you for some time? The government’s slow or non-performing about picking up trash?
Well, quit complaining about it; get a group of your friends together and start a volunteer project to “clean up your neighbourhood”.
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Keep Reading
Never stop learning. Don’t restrict your learning to the classroom, textbooks, or what teachers have told you. Read widely; question every assumption, and put every theory to the test. Reach out to the broader world and see what it has to offer.
Don’t fear failure. I read somewhere recently that “fear; is an acronym for Forget Everything and Run.” Well, drop that habit, and stop running. My definition of success is “a string of failures that you survive and learn from.” If you’ve never failed at anything, you’ve probably not learned anything new. Remember, it’s not how many times you fall down that matters, but how many times you get back up.
Develop tolerance. The world is a diverse place, and so are the countries in it. A tolerant society, one that values every member and gives each member the opportunity to contribute to its development, will prosper.
Intolerant societies might do well in the short term, and I have my doubts about that actually, but in the end will fail and fail miserably.
Go beyond the surface. This is related somewhat to my injunction to keep learning, but it’s important enough that I highlight it.
Develop the habit of educating yourself on the nuances of situations and people, and avoid the dangerous habit of judging merely on surface appearances, incomplete information, or sound bites.
Maintain a positive attitude. If you’re an optimist, sometimes you’ll be wrong, but, if you’re a pessimist, you’ll always be right. Look for the positive side of a situation, and take advantage of it.
Sometimes, things that we think are negative, if viewed properly, can work out to our advantage.
Put your focus on the things that really matter. I have noticed that politics dominates every conversation.
It’s as if nothing else matters. I know that political decisions can affect our lives — bad economic decisions can raise prices, drive away investment, cost jobs — but, it’s really the day-to-day personal decisions we all make that truly determine our lives.
