Latest News Editor's Choice


Opinion / Blogs

7 Life Changing Motivational Lessons From The Zimbabwe versus Senegal Afcon Match

21 Jan 2017 at 08:32hrs | Views
Number 1: You Can Clear It Off The Line!
After the otherwise impressive under-pressure goalkeeper failed to handle the ball, it looked certain to be a goal, however the impressive Zim defender Costa Nhamoinesu cleared it off the line! The ball was less than one second from being considered a goal, just one 3 more inches, it would have been inside the net! Time and time again, great warriors have made some heroic saves, where everyone had already concluded that it's goal. Many at times marriages, businesses, ministries and individual people's lives have been miraculously turned around by those who don't give. I have seen some dramatic last minute turnaround of situations which many people considered to be dead and buried. I have seen dry bones coming back to life just when everyone thought it was all over. I have seen lots of goals cleared off the line. I don't know what your situation is, but think about these things!

Number 2: The 21 Year Old Goal Keeper!
How on earth does a 21 year old get to play at one of the world's grandest stage? This kind of question has kept most people's talent from being exposed. We ask how will he do it, since he is so young? I know of many churches in which the pulpit is only reserved for those with white beards and big bellies, I know of companies who will not bother considering any advice from anyone except the top board of directors. Those that are new and those that are young are considered incapable, unknowledgeable and inexperienced. Young and inexperienced? They said that to David before he confronted Goliath, they said that to Tatenda the Zim 21 year old goalkeeper yet he saved the team from conceding a humiliating number of goals. The greatness of a man is never determined to his age, gender or background. Isn't it time to kiss our excuses goodbye and become heroic and iconic?

Number 3: The Musona Absence!
There comes a time when one of our most realible goal poachers is not available to help us in the game as planned. What happens then? Do we fold our arms and give that as an excuse of not getting the goals we so desired? Do we just sit in our second hand chairs sipping a glass of orange juice claiming the unavailability of our Musona cost us some points? Surely not. Champions not take or accept any excuses. We don't care if Musona is there or not there, we expect heroic performance from those on the field. Time and time again, I have seen some perfect plans go wrong, unexpected 'bad luck' beyond our control derailing us from our well articulated and outlined strategies. Yet, the truth of the matter is that, no one cares that Musona was injured, they expect results. No one cares if your perfect plan went wrong, we expect you to deliver favourable results against all odds. No one cares that you had a bad day or you have stress, you step into your work place you are expected to deliver what you get paid for! Time and time again heroes have produced stunning results against all odds, you should not be an exception. We want results, period. Did you read about a boy called David? Saul wanted the Philistines to kill him, so he asked David to bring for him 100 foreskins of the Philistines thinking that that David would be killed in battle. David was not impressed with just slaying the Philistines, he doubled the expected number. He slew 200 Philistines instead of the required 100. He doubled the challenge for himself so as to make the testimony double interesting1 Where are the heroes of our generation, who will use the ingredients of their great setbacks and use them to cook a more delicious testimony. Eish!!!

Number 4: The Disjointed Departments!
I don't believe that Zim has no quality players. The team has no quality players which can match the abundance of quality that the Senegalese team had, correct! However the team has immerse quality to do better than they did. The problem was not quality. The problem was that the defence, the midfield and the strike-force were not linking-up well. They were not playing as a solid unit. There is no single move which was built up from defence to midfield right up to the strikers. The success of a team inevitably depends on how compact all the departments are. If each department is living in isolation, then you get expect trouble to come knocking at your door sooner than later.

Number 5: Starting Strong!
They have told us that no matter how badly you have started, you can always recover. They have told us that you can recover from your past mistakes and make some Marvelous Comebacks from some Malicious Setbacks. All that is true, but I am a bit concerned that they have forgotten to tell us that it's also important to avoid conceding early goals just like Zimbabwe did in their previous two matchs. No one seems to care enough to remind us about the power of Starting Strong! The impression and impact in the first 3 months on your job, ministry or business may take the rest of your life to reverse! Start strong, concede no silly goals, make an emphatic statement with your spectacular acts heroism from the moment the whistle blows to start that match. Bring in your 'A Game', dazzle us and bewitch us with your unreasonable commitment to over delivering. Let perfection be your maximum standard and excellence your minimum. Begin strong mtshana!

Number 6: The Dangerous Costly Back-Passes!
"Vanity of vanities!" cries The Motivator. There is an evil I have seen under the sun amongst the sons of man; there are some who are so obsessed with making unnecessary back-passes. Zimbabwe warriors had too many of these back passes. The first goal Zimbabwe conceded was a result of any unnecessary back pass. There is no need for me to emphasize on this one. This world is full of panicking players who retreat where they should advance, they hold back where they should press forward, they pass the ball back instead of pressing on, they fear taking chances and keep on being stuck on the same place. They are afraid to try the untried. Take risks, get brilliant at being uncomfortable! Advance!

Number 7: The Enlightened Spectators!
Almost everyone was crying about the inclusion of the ineffective Matthew Rusike, it seems like the coach is the only one who didn't see anything wrong with this ineffective player. We have been told that we should concentrate on our dreams and not worry about what others say. They were right when they told us this. Sometimes I wish they had told us that the spectators often see mistakes we don't see as players and coaches.

Those who are on the stands, often have a better view of the match than us who are involved in the game. It's sometimes important to consider their advice.

@MthokozisiGwizi#TheMotivator gwizimotivator@yahoo.com



Source - Mthokozisi Gwizi
All articles and letters published on Bulawayo24 have been independently written by members of Bulawayo24's community. The views of users published on Bulawayo24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Bulawayo24. Bulawayo24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.