A Nigerian medical practitioner, Dr. Chigaemezu Edward, has encouraged Nigerian youths to follow the path of honour to achieve their aims, as that he said is the only way to help build a sustaining legacy.
He said, to achieve a lifetime goal, it is necessary to have a future plan, as he contended that “getting what you want takes planning. This goes for anything and everything. From getting a dream job, to moving to an apartment, plus others. No matter how simple a goal is, to reach it, you cannot avoid planning.”
Motivating the youth to be focused in pursuing their goals, Edward said, “Planning simply involves doing all it takes and taking all necessary steps to get to where you want to be or to arrive at your goal. Basically, it involves preparation, planning and due process.
“Planning ahead works all the time, because prepares you for the kind of future you want to have. For example, if you want to be an engineer, the first step to take would be to earn an engineering degree, you would have had to figure out what area of engineering you would want to focus on.
“Planning ahead works because: ‘Picturing your goals can motivate you and keep you focused; ‘Planning how to reach your goals helps you set priorities and stay organized; ‘Sometimes you need to do things in a certain order, so it is important to know where to start.”
Highlighting the essence of planning, the optometrist, sharing his own experience, said: “The importance of future planning cannot be overemphasized. In fact, it needs to be discussed more often than it is. When I decided that I wanted to be an optometrist, it meant that I would have to be in the science class in a secondary school, it meant that I would put all modalities in place to ensure that I get to my goal, and it worked.
“The good thing about future planning is that, it doesn’t end. As long as you are alive, there is something to plan towards and a goal to be achieved. Having achieved my goal to be an optometrist, I can’t say that the growth stops there. I have various future goals to reach some of which includes; being a lecturer, impacting lives and being a consultant in optometry. The journey to achieving these goals start with a plan. Once you’ve got a plan, you’re good to go.”