“This experience is better than I was expecting,” said one of the participants of the just ended Araba Africa Easter Ladies’ camp to Akosombo.
This trip that I almost cancelled. This trip, that I almost gave up on.
At the time I published my penultimate blog on March 17, 2021, I was experiencing some challenges regarding the trip I was planning. But I was resolute that if it took just me and my sister, we would still make the trip.
My famous quote in that blog was, “it takes a lot to persevere. Let it also take a lot for you to be discouraged”
And it indeed took me a lot to persevere.
I knew that with the COVID-19 pandemic still hovering around, people were not travelling much. I knew that, and somehow, I still wanted to succeed at this. Two weeks to the trip, and we had no one signed up. I was extremely concerned and anxious.
I wondered if my marketing sucked, so I paid for a marketing course and armed myself with tools to go out and conquer the battle. I even ran a social media ad through the travel and tour agency I was working with.
I was terribly disturbed.
My sub-heading
Because you see, when you mix your passion with your purpose, there is a strong desire to help others and a strong will from you to succeed at what you do. I was at the brink of cancelling the trip.
I had two people who had promised to sign up and every time they would ask, how many people do you have? My answer would sometimes be four, other times, two, other times six. Depending on who was giving me the slightest flicker of hope.
But you see, we made it and it was amazing. I would never have known what the outcome would be if I had given up.
And now I have insights to share with you from the sessions we had during the ladies’ camp — the one that almost died.
One thing that struck me during our conversation on the first day was, the importance of the perspective we maintain in any given situation. Truth be told, we all have challenges or obstacles in life and how we choose to see the obstacle or what we do with the obstacle, makes all the difference.
Often, we look at our obstacles as impenetrable hindrances, but when we view them differently, we can see that some obstacles propel us to certain points in our lives, that would have been impossible to achieve without the obstacle.
How we see an obstacle makes the difference between whether we overcome the obstacle, or the obstacle overcomes us.
Another thing that this experience taught me is that when we feel unmotivated, it is good to have what is called the ‘motivational starter pack’ to bring us back to being motivated.
The little things we do to encourage ourselves when we feel discouraged are our motivational starter packs. One of the things I did was to speak to a trusted a friend who encouraged me. Yours could be, listening to the tunes that rejuvenate your spirit, taking a walk on the beach, or going to the gym. That way, we can quickly snap out of the bad mood.
In one of our sessions, we simplified the issue of passion and purpose. Our conclusion was that it makes perfect sense to balance your passion and purpose, because your passions are the things, that fuel you up and your purpose, is that which fuels or impacts others. In that sense, you cannot just give to others without giving to yourself, and you will also not feel fulfilled if you just give to yourself and not support others.
With all the lessons learnt and the added advantage of the morning yoga and meditation, the party on the Dodi Cruise (It was amazing eeeerrrhh), Shai Hills excursion, and the networks established, our first ladies’ camp was exceptionally successful, all the ladies totally enjoyed it and we joyfully look forward to the next.
The next one will be in December, remember to book in advance to save your slot.
Go out and be great.