Your QUICK Guide to Unfamiliar Territory: launching ideas, switching careers, or embracing talents.

Hello Royalty!

The summary of this post would be “just do it.” But that’s an almost over flogged phrase, so let’s get into the details. And yes, HAPPY NEW MONTH!

Photo by afiq fatah on Unsplash

WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE? “There are so many singers.” “Many people have dance videos and dance classes.” “But do I need to go into farming. There are enough farms here.” “What else is there to invent?” “The best minds have taken over.” “I like catering, but it’s not the in-thing now.” “There are too many bloggers in the industry…” My take? Shush ? While counting the number of kings in the planet, someone else just got enthroned. You make a difference and YOU MATTER.
Stop counting. Go figure! ❤️

January, 2019.

The quote above is an Instagram caption I wrote in January, 2019. Recently, I started thinking along these lines. Based on conversations and observations I had during the lockdown, I noticed some trends among people, and I thought it was interesting how silent, yet prevalent this trend is. It is the inability to switch things up, the decision to stick to the status quo, to place a limit on ourselves, and to wonder how much of a difference our voices will ever make. It is easy to shrink as long as it is comfortable.

Here’s a scenario. Meet Jemimah. Jemimah is a young lady with dreams of an ideal life someday in her future. Jemimah is who you would call multi-talented: she plays two instruments, sings well, writes well, and dances well too. Jemimah is also excellent at Math. Now, everyone else sees the more obvious side of Jemimah – the music guru – and everyone believes she’ll make a great impact in the music industry. Jemimah thinks so too, and she has been working to make it happen. But here’s MATH – dangling in her face every now and then. Jemimah constantly has ideas of what to do with her mathematical skills, but there are a few questions which constantly stop her in her tracks: “what’s the connection between math and music?” “will everyone think I’m confused?” “how do I embrace or publicize this part of me?”

Are you Jemimah?

Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

Transitions and flexibility are a part of life. We are constantly moving from one thing to another. We will continually discover different parts of ourselves when we commit to learning. These discoveries could launch us into a higher version of ourselves in our familiar fields or it could also launch us into a higher version of ourselves by charting an entirely new path for us. In Luke 5:33-39, the Pharisees questioned Jesus about why his disciples never fasted. Verses 36-39 reads,

“And he gave them this illustration: ‘No one rips up a new garment to make patches for an old, worn-out one. If you tear up the new to make a patch for the old, it will not match the old garment. And who pours new wine into an old wineskin? If someone did, the old wineskin would burst and the new wine would be lost. Yet you say, ‘The old ways are better,’ and you refuse to even taste the new that I bring.’ New wine must always be poured into new wineskins.”

LUKE 5:36-39 TPT

The popular interpretation of this verse is that Jesus paralleled the old and new wineskins with old traditions and new testament Christianity. In actual fact, when there becomes a total switch from the old to the new, the new many eventually become rigid like the old used to be. What the Pharisees lacked was a flexibility – a willingness to be transformed and transitioned according to what God was doing at the time. Jesus, for example, was first identified as the carpenter’s son. It took some flexibility for certain people to accept him as the Messiah. Those who refused had not brought themselves to know him in his revealed identity.

Is the old always better?

Few Biblical and Contemporary Examples:

  • King David: shepherd before he became king.
  • Ruth: widow before she became landowner.
  • Stephen King: janitor at a high school before he became one of the greatest writers today.
  • Vera Wang: figure skater and journalist before becoming a fashion icon at 40.
  • Jeff Bezos: career in Computer Science on Wall Street before e-commerce.

When discovering parts of yourself, how do you build new wine skins effectively?

  1. Embrace your present self: do not despise where you are and who you are now. Yes, accept your need to launch into the unknown, be happy with your growth process, and refuse to disregard the known. There will be habits you need to keep, and there will be qualities in this phase that you need for the next phase.
  2. Don’t dwell on past successes: if you are switching careers, this is highly important. Moving from e-commerce to the medical industry would mean “forgetting” how great e-commerce was. When you refuse to do so, you run the risk of complacency which ultimately hinders your chances of success in this new field.
  3. Learn: If you are willing to start a YouTube channel and you plan to have it big someday, then commit to knowing the tricks of the trade. Yes, you will not know all the tricks in a single day, month, or year, but do not get started without the learning process. Read articles, watch videos, ask questions, develop schedules, etc. Commit yourself to learning and never find yourself in that position where you think you know it all.
  4. Believe in yourself: this reechoes the quote above from January 2019. You need to believe in the fact that you matter. I believe there is nothing like an oversaturated industry. If it’s your place to be and if you commit to the required work, there will surely be a space for you. I also believe there is nothing such as an irrelevant field. When someone points an industry to you as irrelevant, they are probably lying. Certain jobs and careers may be dwindling as time goes on, but there is always a way to evolve in the industry itself. Think about typewriters and laptops for example. Certain careers have become extinct, but the industry itself keeps evolving. Know yourself, believe in yourself, and chart a path for yourself.
  5. Involve others: No, I don’t mean “tell everyone about your transitions.” But it hurts to do anything alone. Much more, it’s boring. Reach out to trusted people, bounce ideas with a friend, and ask someone to pray with you. It’s really no fun alone.
  6. Trust God: this is the most important point. We serve a God who sees ahead. Sometimes, he pushes us into absolutely unfamiliar territories. Other times, he stays in our familiar territory and shows us unusual methods. In trusting him, we enable ourselves for a growth that is certain. It may not be easy, but it will happen.

Remember this: you are blooming and becoming – you are not all that you will be yet. Yes, even now while you are growing, you are blooming. Even now, as you uncover awesomeness in your being, embrace it. You are not confused; you are amazing. Take the limits off.

I found a podcast episode that also echoes these thoughts. It’s short, sweet, and exemplary. Listen below:

Goodbye Royalty,

With Overflowing Love,

Alexandra Zion.

About the author
Christocentric. Academic. Writer. Poet

One Comment

  1. Is it too late to say Happy new month??
    Confession: this platform and I have a very interesting relationship- every time I read a post, is just when I need it (not just at the period the post was made). I was actually talking to myself along these lines today and it’s just so refreshing to see those thoughts in writing. Inasmuch as in the moments when we’re in the unfamiliar territories, we might not be willing to embrace these things, it helps to remember that as believers, we’re always led. Looking at patterns in life where unlikely things come together in the most random of ways help as well. Thank you, Alexandra❤️

Comments are closed.

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