Make prudent choices for better future — Evangelist
Evangelist John Franklin Tamakloe of the Church of Christ has counselled the youth to be prudent in the choices they make in order to enjoy a fruitful life.
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He said instead of grumbling, murmuring and chasing non-existent jobs which would only lead to the destruction of an otherwise promising future, they should pursue education, skills acquisition and seek opportunities to add value to themselves so they could be productive.
Evangelist Tamakloe gave the advice as a keynote speaker at a one-day youth forum in Tema last Monday. More than 2,500 youth from various congregations of the Church of Christ in the Greater Accra Region attended the forum.
The forum, the 54th in the series of biannual Youth Day celebrations of the church, was hosted by the Tema Community 2 congregation on the theme: “Decisions Determine Destinies”.
Decisions are key
Evangelist Tamakloe pointed out that decision making was an every minute task required of everybody, with future consequences for the individual, the community, the church and nation.
“The direction your life will take is determined by the choices and decisions you make today, what tomorrow will be is determined by today. So the decisions and choices you make, they are the reflections of your life,” he said.
He said the world presented many daily choices and it was for the individual to decipher which ones were critical decisions to make and which ones were not, so that precious time was not wasted on non-essentials.
“Very often, we find ourselves chasing non-essential matters leaving behind the important things for our lives and as a result, we have a mediocre life, unfulfilling life and unsuccessful life.”
Participants
The participants, who included civil/public servants, teachers, nurses, graduates, undergraduates, SHS/JHS and technical students, artisans, apprentices, pensioners and children, were mentored on topics such as creating multiple income sources; exploring employment/entrepreneurship opportunities; preparing for the job market; how to win customers and keep them for life, and how to survive pension.
When career choices conflict with parents’
Dr Michael T. Anim of the University of Cape Coast Medical School, counselled that in most cases when parents insisted on particular academic or career options for children, they did so on the assumption that they wanted the best for them.
He said, however, that if any child was very convinced that another option was more suitable, it may require other people to intervene on his/her behalf, adding that
“good communication skill is, therefore, required to talk with the parents, not anger or aggression.”
Asked if it is a good practice to combine work and schooling, Dr Anim said no blanket answer was the solution as different people might face different challenges.
Dr Anim said many people who had succeeded in life did so by dint of hard work and urged the youth not to be afraid to embrace diligent work.