Misguided

At the starting of every man life lies two paths, right and wrong. Most people start on the right path because of good parenting, while some don’t, not a fault on their part, and while growing up some continue in the right path while some deviate due to one reason or the other. But it doesn’t just stop there, even after starting on the right path and refusing to deviate at the early stage, at some junctions in life you still see the wrong path surfacing and probably more enticing and harder to resist than when they were much younger, now there’s the fight against smoking, there’s the fight against becoming a drunk, there’s the fight against joining a gang or a cult group, usually when there’s a lot of benefits attached to it and at this point making a mistake is usually more detrimental to their success in life and sometimes gets them a devastating end, not one they planned for. Now we would admit that there are some who were shown the right way but decided to go the wrong way, a devastating end is not prayed for but is usually what they get.

As we all know or have witnessed or have even probably experienced parents leaving their children in the hands of a guardian at school, and even grown-ups seeking after a guardian or counselor for advice on matters that pertain to life. Now apart from seeking advice from a legal counselor who is bound by oath and the law to give the best opinion in every case, some people do see advice from friends or sometimes the friend might just say his opinion even when not verbally asked for. Now for the legal counselor, except if you didn’t present the case to him well, he almost always gives a good advice, I said almost because he is human, so where his opinion will lead you all depends on how you follow it. The delicate issue is on the part of “friend’s advice”, the result of his opinion depends on what kind of friend he is. If you surround yourself with criminals you can’t expect a good advice, except if he’s a criminal with good moral standards, which is almost never possible, you’d probably find 1 in every 1000 criminal. If they are drunkards, they’ll give a drunkards advise, if they are prostitutes, they’ll give advice based on their lifestyle. They tell you to quit that job and do something else that’s clearly not profitable, they tell you to leave that girlfriend/boyfriend who is trying to help you make something out of your life just based on their likes and dislikes. But don’t get me wrong, I didn’t say they have no morals, I didn’t say stigmatize them, they are humans, with rights, I’m just saying is that where you get all of your advice? Are they your major friends? Are they your confidant? Are those the kind of people you run to when you’re at a crossroad? When the wrong path resurfaces? There’s the saying “show me your friend and I’ll tell you who you are”, believe me it’s possible to have bad friends and be a good person, but are you willing to take that risk? With your life? Just one life? Definitely not. They are bound to get in into trouble one day, and that day might be the day that determines your success in life, and the mistake of that day may hunt you for the rest of your life, you may never recover from it, your life as you know it might end, but as I said in another article, you are in control of your life, in control of your decisions, you don’t have to be friends with a bad person because it makes you cool and you want to be cool just like everyone else, at the end of the day it will be you and you alone living with the consequences of that one bad decision. Don’t let anyone talk you into taking a wrong decision when you can clearly see that it’s a bad idea. I know nobody is perfect, we are bound to make mistakes, but those mistake can be minimal if you listen to the right counsel and choose to do the right thing and stop “best friending” ourselves in the wrong direction. There are unavoidable mistakes, yes, they happen but quickly pick yourself up and move on, but when you keep using that as an excuse to make more bad decisions, a sad end is lurking around the corner. But at every turn in life decide to go in the right direction, seek good and Godly counsel, do not forsake counsel, you want to be alone and take decisions alone, well you don’t have ultimate knowledge you will make terrible mistakes, you want to be with your friends, but mum is warning against that friend but you don’t want to look bad because he’s the coolest in school, you went out one day and met a new friend and someone who knows his/her history tells you to stay away you then pick a fight with the good and honest one, that’s not good. Giving a wrong counsel or adhering to one sometimes affects only you and sometimes, it turns the you into a nuisance which becomes a cancer to others. It could be your kids, spouse or friends. So watch it!

Crossroads will always come, whether you’re just starting to make it or you’ve made it, who you go to for counsels is what matters, do you seek after the same person whose opinion has always gotten you into trouble? or does a friend give you a good counsel and you disagree and go the wrong way? There are implications for every wrong turn, in the nearest future or the long term, and they in one way or the other define your personality and plays an important role in your success in life

Determine today to always as much as possible firstly make good friends, then seek after good counsel and be ready to adhere not disagreeing because it wasn’t what you expected, you don’t have all knowledge, you are definitely not an expert in every field, so when you’re faced with any challenge, even if it’s your field but you’re not sure on what to do, seek after good counsel. Refuse to be misguided and do not misguide others! What goes around comes around.