Adetuke Morgan: 7 Life Lessons I Learned from Assembling a Toy

So I spent approximately 2 hours setting up my little brother’s table football on Christmas Day. It was his Christmas present and I learnt so many lessons in the process which can be applicable to life.

Lesson 1:
You are given instructions for a reason so use them. If we didn’t have the instruction book, we would have done trial and error which would have doubled or tripled the set up time.
Life Lesson: The Word of God, that Job Manual, Textbooks, etc Whatever it is that you are into, there is a rulebook or set of guidelines for that industry, find it, understand it and use it.

Lesson 2:
Every piece that has been provided is necessary. In the box, there were so many nuts and bolts. I didn’t think we would use them all but we did. Each tiny piece had a crucial part to play.
Life Lesson: In life, every experience you go through is necessary for you to fulfill purpose, God let it happen because there is a skill you need to gain or person you need to meet that will help you in the future.

Lesson 3:
You have been given the necessary tools that would allow you achieve success. I was struggling to use the screw driver in my house but after searching the box the toy came in, I found an L shaped tool with 2 different ends that were made for the unique screws the toy came with.
Life Lesson: God has blessed you with talents. It is your job to make use of the gifts you’ve been given, develop them, monetize them, use them to make an impact.

Lesson 4:
You can’t do it alone, you need a team or sometimes just a partner. There were times I needed my brother to hold a particular piece in place or lift something in the setup process. As he is only 7 years old, he got tired a lot and wanted to move on to the next toy but I wasn’t going to let that happen because I knew if we left it for too long, the task wouldn’t be completed.
Life Lesson: You have to be extremely careful when building a team / choosing a partner. It’s got to be someone who’s patient, diligent, persistent, hard working, encouraging, someone with a follow through mentality who doesn’t give up easily.

Lesson 5:
It is okay to pause and refresh. When my brother & I got tired, we drank Ribena and it gave us the much needed boost to finish the task
Life Lesson: There is nothing wrong with taking a break, going on holiday, getting a massage or having a lie in. It allows you refuel so you come back to the project feeling a bit more energized. Just ensure you set goals you need to achieve before you take a break so it’s a reward for ticking a task off the checklist.

Lesson 6:
You might think you don’t have everything you need and you get distracted looking for what you think is necessary.
Life Lesson: Don’t waste your time doing that, God has blessed you with the gifts you need to achieve the purpose he set out for you.

Lesson 7:
Nothing lasts forever. Two days after Christmas I realised that one of the legs of the table was missing. It hurt me as I couldn’t believe my brother & his friends had destroyed something I put so much effort into building.
Life Lesson: Things fall apart and that is life. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Dust yourself up and start again.