Own Your Season.

I have written here before that living in the present is the best way to live. Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is not assured and today is all we have. All these quotes ring true but why do they often sound like just nice lines. Statements like that have latent power that I know nothing about because my endless worries and anxieties have blocked me from activating it in my life. With time I’ve stopped being too hard on myself and started walking step by step towards being present.

The good book has a line that reads, “Occupy till I come.” I think it was Jesus telling his disciples to fill their space and maximize their time on earth by doing the Lord’s bidding fully. This seems to be a contradiction when you are on the fourth floor. I smelled destiny like the rain yet the unknown is all I could see when I turned 40. How can we occupy a space we feel ill-equipped to maneuver? When Jesus told his disciples to occupy, he had been with them almost daily for three years guiding and teaching them on how to spread the gospel. When he left them, they did not disappoint.

First-half hang-ups, trappings of power and success worked against me because I realized that I got addicted to projects, tasks, seeking and following pin locations to arrive at specific accomplishments. When I arrived at one destination, I quickly input a new destination and off we go.

Sometimes I’m finding myself talking first-half speak. Defining myself with my titles and accomplishments. Trying to sound clever and occupied kumbe I’m empty inside. That has been serious malware for me. It has taken almost five years to start getting comfortable maintaining shalap when in the midst of hard-talking, serious, project-oriented folks. Though I still find myself blabbering sometimes just to fit in.

My halftime buddy Rosa helped me realize that I should move from occupying my space to owning my season. I picked that up from a loose chat last weekend. Based on the Bible line quoted above, I’ve been working on occupying but I find owning more powerful. When you own your season, it’s yours. You can do anything you want with it. You have full control to decide what will happen there. It’s like owning a shamba. You can do as you please with the boundaries of that piece of land. Imagine how much you will benefit if you maximize it with some good crop or animal husbandry. Better still, what if you managed to build some nice houses for rent or sale?

I’m now having to reprogram myself by looking inward. You cannot embrace your season fully if you are always looking out for the next thing or wallowing in the past. I’m hoping to adopt the 10: 80: 10 ratios. I should look back 10% of the time, stare keenly 80% at my present and look mbele 10% of my time. Folks we have all heard opportunities come to the prepared. I believe only by owning our season, will we be well prepared because we will be engaging in stuff whose time is now.

Throughout my halftime transition, I have bumped into people and opportunities that benefited me. I believe I was living 10: 80: 10 in my first half to a large extent and that has helped me now as I move to my new season. For instance, I was the golf captain of Limuru Country Club in 2012. Since then I’ve been wondering why I was captain. There must be a reason since it’s not like I was looking for it. That has nagged me all this time. The year after I joined Kenya Golf Union in an attempt to run away from being a Club Director at Limuru. Now here I am leading the Union.

When I had my epiphany moment in 2017 and confirmed my future is talking, I froze soon after in disbelief. The answer to my five-year question of why I was captain was revealed. The good Lord above opened doors to serve that I had not knocked on so as to prepare me for public service. I rehearsed on the mic every week for two years at Limuru doing club presentations not knowing this was training for my second half. It went one up from club administration of the game of golf to the national level. Again something I accepted cluelessly and reluctantly.

As I approach the end of my term at the helm of the union later this year, I’m glad that I owned this space. I’m convinced this is further preparation for my next calling. Folks, if we immerse ourselves in the job at hand, we automatically reap the benefit of being prepared well for our next assignment. Success at halftime is like a BOGOF (Buy One Get One Free). If you own your transition fully then it’s almost a given that you’ll have a significant second half. The BOGOF deal gets better if you had a good first half.

For my readers who are not at halftime yet, let this be encouragement for you not only to occupy but own your current season so that when halftime checks in, you will have an easier transition into the second half. For my fourth floor and above readers, we are here now. Nothing we can do about the past. Let’s own the season we are in 80% and more. Remember to move with the 80% from halftime into your new season. That will ensure almost 100% success in your second half.