Nigerians would say, “follow who know road”, Cameroonians will say “are you the first to discover it?”(I know that is a question, not a statement, but that’s how my country works), while a proper English man would say, “no need re-inventing the wheel”.
Often times in life, we have that urge to be a groundbreaker in our different spheres, succeed in doing what someone has never done before. We want to be the person whose footprint is marked in the sands of time because we did something no one else ever did before. But that will not always be the case.
It’s not by chance that we have the “re-inventing wheel” expression that has existed long enough before you and I came along. Truth is, there really is nothing new under the sun. We just take things which already exist and build on them. You can’t possibly re-invent fire, you just figure out other ways to strike it on. This is also known as re-expression.
Many of us have a hard time forging ahead in our dreams, passions and heart desires because we tell ourselves there is nothing new about this, someone else has already done this before, so what difference could I ever make? the French will say “cesse de te mettre les batons dans les roues”. which I find funny because our main analogy is about the wheel and all.
Many of the things or questions which seem new to the world, I am ready to bet were thought of by many others before us, but they probably didn’t have the platform we have to express their ideas, so their ideas died at that level.
But today, people with different platforms have the opportunity of sharing their ideas on a broader scale and the ideas will carry their names. This should never stop you from doing you, because you know what? The things you say might not be groundbreaking, but it will be surprising to see how many people in your life and the lives of others find your answers enlightening and ground breaking to them.
Do not fall in the trap of remaining paralysed by the feeling of being irrelevant since you are not doing anything new. Freely re-express and let it embrace your reality. Trust the potential embedded in you, because that potential whispers, “I will touch the lives of many who had not been touched by the groundbreaker who came before now.” Let it speak and express itself through you, and what’s that thing they say about audacity? It has wits, power and magic. Be audacious today.
The things you say might not be groundbreaking, but it will be surprising to see how many people in your life and the lives of others find your answers enlightening and ground breaking to them.
I’ like that, thank you.