#BeInspired Mondays with IK: Mind your Business

If you grew up in a “compound” (read face me I face you), you’ll understand that statement which says it takes a community to raise a child. If you can relate to this, I don’t need to explain further that any older person can discipline a child for doing wrong.

While this is true, what is also true is that there are some aunties & uncles (not relatives, but neighbours) that secretly wait for you to do something wrong so they can unleash all of their anger on you, maybe because you refused to take steal from your mother’s pot of soup and give them for lunch.

The good thing then was that after some time, your parents had to find out that this aunty’s discipline is not coming from a good place, but that of hatred and angst. So, one day, when one tries to join your parents in beating you, he or she will get a stern warning from your parents that they mind their business.

Most often than not, when someone tells you “mind your business”, they are actually telling you not to interfere in them, or other people’s business. But in this case, our parents were actually telling these aunties and uncles to focus on their own business as most times they have their own really challenging issues to deal with. This is another, more important meaning to that phrase.

One of the most popular conversations from Alice in Wonderland was between Alice and The Cheshire Cat.

Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
The Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.
Alice: I don’t much care where.
The Cheshire Cat: Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.
Alice: …So long as I get somewhere.
The Cheshire Cat: Oh, you’re sure to do that, if only you walk long enough.

The point is not just that you strive to take your mind off other people’s issues (where you have not been invited to contribute), but that you put your mind in your life and business and how you can get better.

This helps you to shut out unnecessary noise, look inward, and make your decision, and then your move.

Be not afraid of haters or the classical your village people, be more focused on your grind, believing that you’ll get to your desired end if you keep working.

Just keep minding your on business.