You better recognize…
This famous quote, widely known for its affiliation with urban culture is used to relay the importance of realizing what is happening in real time. The recipients of these words are urged to process the underlying meaning within the message. Myself, I mostly use the phrase when talking to young people that are living a high risk lifestyle. In most cases they have shared in confidence a scenario that played out where they narrowly missed being apprehended by law enforcement. In my response to their stories I strongly suggest to them, that they ‘better recognize’:
- The serious consequences of their actions,
- The likelihood they will be apprehended if they attempt the offense again
- The chance of being able to maintain their lifestyle based on their current behaviour is slim or next to none
‘You better recognize’, is meant to be a rude awakening; it’s a call to perform an assessment, the first step in my 5A series. Many people in this high risk group haven’t pinpointed their life’s goals and it is an ominous task to do so because it is extremely difficult to have someone to stop and critically analyse their lives when they are living in a whirlwind. In the event that an intervention strategy resonates and the individual is willing to earnestly stop, look and listen to themselves, it is imperative they recognize where they are in life and ultimately see their trajectory. Exploring Interests, Skill Sets and Personality Traits is a great place to start for people who might not recognize who they truly are and who they unconsciously can become. A part of my program Take Back Your World Navigate Your Life includes locating oneself in the matrix and calculating the time and distance it will take to reach one’s goal. I call the exercise ‘Geography or Finding Yourself on the Map’. Self-recognition is a major component of the exercise. Recognition of the change process that takes place in the individual’s life is awesome to witness. Change earmarks growth.
Realizing not only how far it is to the destination but how far you have journeyed to get to where you are presently is equally important. Recognizing resiliency, strengths, resistance and persistence despite the plethora of obstacles a person has encountered and the fact that they are closer than they think to accomplish a goal, is nothing short of inspirational and empowering. People looking back at their lives in hindsight, see firsthand how well thought changes have impacted them. Recognizing how they’ve managed to change and what it took to do so is a recipe for future success.
Transitioning into the person you want to become doesn’t stop when you’ve met your goals. The fact that change is constant, demands we continue to develop and embellish our skills on an ongoing basis.
I suggest that people continually recognize change that they’ve made in their lives and use what they’ve learned to propel them further to accomplish their goals.
In conclusion, don’t be afraid to reward yourself when you’ve made good on scheduled change. Pat yourself on the back. You’ve earned it
Now that’s Real Talk