" The fountain of content must spring up in the mind, and he who hath so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition, will waste his life in fruitless efforts and multiply the grief he purposes to remove." ? Samuel Johnson

The one person, who is of more importance to you than anyone else in the world, is just - YOU. And it is your conception of yourself that determines your relationship to life, and with everyone else with whom you come in contact.

What do you know about you? The real you, not just your physical body but your mind, consciousness and identity that no one else really knows. What do you know about life? The only thing that most of us really know is that we are alive; but what that life is many of us have not been able to discover.

Disposition as used by Samuel Johnson simply means the natural qualities of a person's character. Alan Jones once said that " one of our problems is that very few of us have developed any distinctive personal life. Everything about us seems secondhand" What is it about you that makes you different? What is it about your character that makes you stand out from the crowd? What principles do you live by that makes you unique? What are those things that make up your value system?

Are you a principled centered person or are you spouse centered, family centered, money centered, work centered, pleasure centered, possession centered, friend centered, enemy centered or self centered? Whatever is at the center of your life will be the source of your security, guidance, wisdom & power. Security and clear guidance brings true wisdom, and wisdom becomes the spark or catalyst to release and direct power.

Three factors namely: purpose, people and paradigm will go in a long way in determining the principles you have. Your natural qualities-your behavior and character are shaped and reshaped, formed and reformed, created and recreated by these factors.

PURPOSE

We must create a version of our present and future life. It will require spending serious time asking ourselves "Who do I really want to be and how do I get there?" This version and dream must be based on a genuine understanding of your own talents, skills and desires.

When you give yourself the freedom and permission to be true to yourself you come up with important principles that continually takes you towards fulfilling your true purposes.

Due to the fact that so many external influences confuse the pursuit of genuine purposes you must draw up principles that do not change regardless of these influences.

PEOPLE

The people factor is one that cannot be over-emphasized in the sense that we were born and we are still living in a world of people with various ideas, ideals and values.

Some people- friends, parents, bosses, co-workers ? may want to recreate you in their own image. They have preconceived ideas of who you should be, what you should be, what you should do and how you should love and all these affect the kind of principles you have about life.

You may allow yourself to be recreated in the image of someone else. The truth is you were already created in someone else's image, the image of God. Your task is to devote your life to making principles that authenticates your God-given self.

PARADIGM

Your paradigm or your pattern of doing things is a bye product of so many factors; such as your cultural and religious background.

The cultural practices and believes you know and sometimes participates in. your religious background ? your faith, believe and your understanding of several religious practices will go a long way in determining your paradigm.

Your paradigm is one of the factors that determines your principles and must be based on believes that are well established in your faith. Must be based on your relationship with God and not on a religion.

Realistic living is all about taking time to understand your disposition- the natural qualities of your person, with a view at examining what it is that your life is centered around and afterwards creating principles that will guide you to a life you want bearing at the back of your mind the roles played by these three factors ? purpose, people and paradigm.

Is your life based on correct principles that do not change, regardless of internal conditions, influences and circumstances? Are you guided by a compass, which enables you to see where you want to go and how you will get there? Does your judgment encompasses a broad spectrum of long-term consequences and reflects a wise balance and quiet assurance? Are you a self-aware, knowledgeable, proactive individual, largely unrestricted by the attitudes, behaviors and actions of others?

FROM: Bobola Oniwura

Bobola Oniwura is a student of architecture that believes in the development of a creative universal mind in every young person.