A Message by FEMI ADESINA, DMD/Deputy Editor-in-Chief, The Sun Newspapers, & President, Nigerian Guild of Editors, to all Youths

CHOICES OVER CHANCES

A presentation by FEMI ADESINA, DMD/Deputy Editor-in-Chief, The Sun Newspapers, & President, Nigerian Guild of Editors, on November 14, 2013 at DoTheDream Leadership and Youth Development Summit, in Lagos

A.  Introduction

What do we mean by choices and chances?  And why must we opt for one over the other?  And which one should we give preference to, and why?

By choice, we mean the act of selection between two or more options.  Synonyms for choice are: alternative, option, preference, selections etc.

What is chance?  Something that happens unpredictably without discernible human intention or plan.  Other synonyms for chance are: luck, probability, accidental, coincidental, gamble, risk, etc.

Which then should we base our lives on between choice and chance?  The 3C’s of life are choices, chances, changes.

B.   Choice, a lifelong affair

All through life, we will have to make choices: between darkness and light, evil and good, being crooked or straight, honest or dubious, faithful or perfidious, failure or success, righteousness and unrighteousness etc.  There is no time we will ever get to a point when we say we are free from choices.  It is a lifelong affair.

Titus 2:11,12

According to Aristotle, “Excellence is never an accident.  It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution.  It represents the wise choice of many alternatives – choice, not chance, determines you destiny.”

Your destiny, not only in this life, but also in the life to come, can be determined by the choices you make.  So, make wise choices.

Let us see what other people have said about choices:

Ralph Waldo Emerson:   “Shallow men believe in luck or in circumstance.  Strong men believe in cause and effect.”

Bryce Courtenay:    “Sometimes the slightest things change the directions of our lives, the merest breath of a circumstance, a random moment that connects like a meteorite striking the earth. Lives have swivelled and changed direction on the strength of a chance remark.”

Jean Nidtech:  “It’s choice, not chance, that determines your destiny.”

Anonymous:   “God gave us two gifts, one is choice, second is chance…  The choice of a good life and the chance to make it the best.”

C: Making right choices

i.                  Be a person of conviction, not a reed tossed to and fro, stick

to your convictions once you are convinced it is right.

ii.           Be a person of faith.  The opposite of faith is fear.  Be

courageous and depend on God.

iii.         Trust your gut feelings or sixth sense. The tortoise does not

make progress except it sticks out its neck.

iv.         Beware of scoffers.  They can pump you with unbelief.

v.           Even if a decision is tough or difficult, take it, as long as it is

the right one.

vi.         It’s up to you, not fate.  Don’t hide under the umbrella of

fate to take wrong decisions, or to do nothing.

vii.       Feed positive things into your mind.

viii.     Surround yourself with people who can add value to your

Life.

ix.         Don’t be rash.

x.           Dare to stand alone!  Avoid herd instinct.

Final words

Remember, all through life, you will have to make choices.  Matt 7:13-14 “… wide is the gate that leads to destruction, narrow is the road that leads to life.”

The choices you make have not only consequences for this life, but also for the life to come.  Don’t leave your life to chance, to luck or gamble.  Rather, take good decisions, make good choices, and you will be happy in this life, and in the life to come.

Thank you.