NIGERIA: Get up, World Moms, Aisha’s Talking to YOU!

NIGERIA: Get up, World Moms, Aisha’s Talking to YOU!

World Mom, Aisha Yesufu in Nigeria, has an incredible amount of drive. From humble beginnings, she worked hard at her education and it became her family’s ticket to a better life. We’ve had the chance to join her virtually on World Moms Blog’s panel at the World Bank on the right to a universal education in April, and she is truly, an inspiration.

Just in time for International Day of the Girl on Sunday, get ready, women and girls everywhere, to reach your goals and make things happen!…

If you want to reach your goals, start a business, or start doing anything else for that matter, it has to start in your mind. You have to believe in yourself. You have to believe that you can do it, and this is where most times we have a problem. We start something without actually believing that we can do it. Sometimes we just start certain things without truly believing in ourselves.

We are either pressured into doing it, or doing it because others are doing it; and its expected of us. We start never truly believing in ourselves. You just go ahead to start something, and even you, yourself, are not sure you can do it. You don’t believe you can do it and along the way things begin to fall apart and you begin to blame external forces.

There are no external forces affecting us. The problem is our mindset. What is your mindset when you are about to start? That is something that we can change.

Other times we never start something because in our minds we do not think we are worthy of it or capable of it.

You have to realise your mind does not know the difference between reality and what is not real. Let me give an example. You are just sitting down having a nice time and all of a sudden you hear bad news. You know what happens when we hear  bad news? Everything changes, and we begin to cry or scream or feel sad. Your whole body, your whole mind, everything changes. What happened? It’s only that the news got to you!

2015 WMB Quote Aisha Yesufu

You don’t even know if what you just learned is true or not. Have you confirmed the bad news? Fact checked it yet? No! You just heard the news and that’s it. That’s the mind. It does not ask for confirmation whether the news is true or not, it goes into the mode it’s fed. That means your mind does not know the difference between truth and a lie. It is reactionary.

If you have continously been told you would amount to nothing all your life and you feed your mind that same notion, well, then, guess what? You may think this is true about yourself! You have to free yourself from the shackles of mental bondage.

You can always trick your mind. For example, you can tell your mind you are the greatest business person in the world. In fact you are at par with Dangote, a billionaire and businessman in my home country of Nigeria. Your mind doesn’t know whether it’s the truth, or not. It’s going to accept it, but the thing you need to do now is to begin to do what smart business people do. I listened to Dangote once on a live interview on TV sometime in 2001 or 2002, and he said he goes to work around 9am and doesn’t close before 9pm.

For me that was a wake up call. I had one of my “Aha!” moments then. When I first saw him I thought, “If only God will bless me the way he has blessed this man.” And when I heard he works 12 hours a day, for me, that was a wake up call.

If you trick your mind into thinking that you are among the ranks of the leaders, and you begin to work as they do, you may begin to set bigger goals for yourself. You can run with the best of them, but you have to BELIEVE it.

When you are trying something new with the mindset of negativity, it could impede your progress.  At that point, you may not want to even bother starting. It failed before it took off because it failed in your mind, if you did not have the right mindset. But I believe this thinking can be changed.

Aisha on Megaphone 600

World Mom, Aisha Yesufu, speaks out in Abuja on August 17, 2015 against anti-corruption in Nigeria.

Business and goal setting starts in your mind and you need a lot of patience. Business needs patience, patience and more patience. There is nothing like overnight success.

It’s a whole lot of hard work starting something new and having the right mindset. Persevering, focusing on what you are doing. Setting goals and moving on. This does not come easy, but I believe if you keep going that is what leads to that “overnight ” success that a lot of people see. Our mindset is very important and often times when you talk to people the mindset is just not positive. We are looking at our past and looking at who we were and not who we could be.

Where I grew up, we didn’t have anybody. We were born into less privileged homes. It didn’t matter. Whether you are a billionaire; the child of a billionaire; the child of struggling parents making ends meet or from a rich neighbourhood or the slums; it doesn’t really matter. It’s your mindset that matters and determines who you are at the end of the day.

If you don’t believe you are a star you can never be a star. If you don’t believe you are a success you can never be a success.
You can never be greater than your mind.

You have to set your mind higher. Give it goals. Give it targets. Give your mind something to work on. Trick yourself into thinking positively. It doesn’t know the difference between truth and a lie. Tell your mind a good lie.  “You are a big time business person.” “You are a billionaire.” “You are on Forbes list.”  Let your unconscious mind even when you are sleeping work on that.

WMB 2015 Achieve Your Goals

Our mindset is of such utmost importance and most often we neglect it. We don’t work on it. There is a need for us to work on our mindset to project ourself mentally where we want to be before we begin to work on that.
Some use Affirmation like repeating to yourself…

I AM THE GREATEST BUSINESS PERSON. I AM THE GREATEST TEACHER. I AM THE GREATEST ASTRONAUT. I AM THE GREATEST CHEF. I AM THE GREATEST POLITICAL LEADER. I AM THE GREATEST MUSICIAN. I AM THE GREATEST FRIEND. I AM THE GREATEST PEACEKEEPER. I AM THE GREATEST HUMANITARIAN.

You can keep saying that repeatedly so it becomes engraved in your mind. Whatever you want to be, you need to let your mind know.

Once you have a positive mindset and believe you CAN, you can start thinking about setting goals to achieve something in your heart. Something that you would ordinarily look at as impossible, but because of your mindset you don’t see the impossibility. You see the POSSIBILITY. You just strike out the ‘im’ and you move on.

Have a positive mindset. Believe you can do it. Why not you? Why can’t you achieve it? If people are achieving it why not you? The difference between the achiever and the non achiever is the MINDSET. Go get ’em, World Moms!

This is an original post to World Moms Blog by contributor Aisha Yesufu in Nigeria.

Photo credit of Aisha to the author. Images to World Moms Blog. 

PHILIPPINES: How Childbirth Can Change Your Life

PHILIPPINES: How Childbirth Can Change Your Life

WMB MKB graphic 500

The initial signs of labor — you already know them by now, if you’re a non-first-time mom like me. You know what to do and what to expect so you stay calm and maybe even continue going about the usual events of your day.

Then labor progresses and you feel that it might be a good idea to get to the hospital or clinic or birthing center or wherever it is you’ve decided to give birth. For those who choose home birth, you don’t even have to leave your home.

You let the process of labor continue naturally and try to remember to take deep breaths. You focus on the beauty of childbirth, the miracle that is taking place right this very minute inside your body.

You think of the life that you’re bringing into the world — a whole new being, separate from you yet very much a part of you. This baby — your baby — will be a part of your heart and mind for a very long time, until you are called to leave this world for good.

It may be a cliché but it is oh so true: being pregnant, giving birth, becoming a mother… all of it changes you. When you are finally able to push your baby out (or he or she is taken out of you if you deliver via caesarean section), you marvel at how this tiny, wailing little person can bring about different emotions in you all at the same time.

The strongest response of all?

Love.

An overflowing gush of love for your baby. Most likely every mother has felt it, whether she’s given birth for the first time or the fifth time. This is my child, my precious child, and oh how I love her! I would do anything for her!

And that’s the beauty of childbirth, my friends. It allows us to see beyond ourselves. It reminds us of the importance of living for others, especially the child who has been “given” to us for a special purpose.

As a mother of three, I can testify to how the birth of each of my children, and the events afterwards, profoundly changed me. Each birth, each child, each situation is unique and I know I am blessed and have learned a lot from all my experiences combined.

My children were born in different countries — two were born in the national hospital of Timor Leste (East Timor) and one was born here in the Philippines. They each have memorable birth stories. I rejoice because despite the challenges my husband and I faced after each of our kids were born, all three of them are healthy and happy now.

Sadly, this isn’t the case for many mothers all over the world. Thousands of moms have lost their children to infection and disease. In their case, childbirth did change them but not in the way they imagined it to.

But what if you and I could help make childbirth a more positive and safe experience for mothers? What if we could help women see the beauty of it all, so that they could really say “Childbirth has changed me for the better”?

Well, you know what? We can certainly do so through organizations like Cleanbirth.org, which aims to help provide clean birth kits, and train nurses and volunteers about maternal health. We can also just “be there” for a fellow mom who needs extra support pre, during and post childbirth (especially post childbirth!). We can do simple things like ask how she’s doing, or offer to watch the baby so she can take that shower she’s been longing to have, or maybe even just say, “Hey, I’m praying for you. You and your baby are in my thoughts.”

We can do all of these because, at the end of the day, I believe that of all the changes childbirth can bring about in your life, this one could be the most profound:

Once you become a mother — whether or not your child lives or dies — you’ll forever be connected to other mothers.

And that, to me, is a beautiful thing indeed.

To support safer births for the mothers of Laos in Asia, you can donate to Cleanbirth.org, share this post, and/or join in the Twitter conversation on maternal health tomorrow, February 6th with World Moms Blog, Multicultural Kid Blogs and Girls Globe from 1-2pm EST.

Cleanbirth Donation Button

This is an original post by Tina Santiago-Rodriquez of the Philippines of “Truly Rich Mom”. 

Photo credit to Cleanbirth.org.

Tina Santiago-Rodriguez (Philippines)

Tina Santiago-Rodriguez is a wife and homeschool mom by vocation, a licensed physical therapist by education and currently the managing editor of Mustard, a Catholic children's magazine published by Shepherd's Voice Publications in the Philippines, by profession. She has been writing passionately since her primary school years in Brunei, and contributes regularly to several Philippine and foreign-based online and print publications. She also does sideline editing and scriptwriting jobs, when she has the time. Find out more about Tina through her personal blogs: Truly Rich Mom and Teacher Mama Tina.

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World Tour: Gender Roles, Mr. Mom and Ms. Dad

World Tour: Gender Roles, Mr. Mom and Ms. Dad

Welcome to “World Tour” where we feature a guest post from around the world, here, at World Moms Blog.  Today, we’re in the USA and talking gender roles with father, Scott, from the blog, Three Five Zero. 

There was a time in America when the color of your skin determined which schools you could go to, where you sat on a city bus and what careers you could choose, among many other things.  That time long ago passed.

There was a time in America when your gender determined whether or not you could vote, among other things.  That time long ago passed.

There is still a large part of our population that believes that only certain genders of parents can do certain things, and that some genders can’t do some things at all.  Only Dads can be little league coaches.  Only Moms can go bra and panty shopping.  Dads can’t soothe babies.  Moms can’t do their own home improvements.  I really want this time to pass.

 

Scott ThreeFiveZero Rigdon and Family

 

I happen to be a single dad, and because I am a single dad, I learned to do things I never imagined I would need to do.  Bras and panties, for example.  I’m an expert, and I don’t really care who dislikes my presence in those departments in the clothing stores.  My kid needs them.

I used to be very self conscious in those situations.  Not anymore…  I go get what I need, and I don’t even pay attention to who else is there, or whether or not they notice me.  Just like picking up a gallon of milk.

I know lots of single moms, too.  Want to meet guys?  Go to your favorite home improvement store.  Men are likely to offer you help whether you need it or not.  I’m happy to help anyone who asks for help.  I won’t offer help based on any assumptions about what tasks your gender makes you capable, or incapable, of.  I’ll assume you know what milk you’re buying, too, whether you’re male or female.  If you don’t ask for my help, I’ll assume you’re able to paint your kid’s bedroom all by yourself.

This list of examples could go on and on and on.  In fact, I hope you’ll leave comments regarding your (least?) favorite story about something another parent assumed you couldn’t do just because you were Mom or Dad.  I’ll chuckle along with you, and if the story is topped with enough sexism, I’ll get just as annoyed as you were when it happened.

When my kids are grown, I hope that all of these archaic stereotypes have long passed.  I hope that they raise kids in a family unit of some sort, but if either of them ends up raising kids on their own, Grandpa Scott will be there to hack away at those gender biases and stereotypes, along with any that might still exist about what grandparents can or can’t do!

Family comes in all shapes and sizes.  Do kids need both male and female influences?  I absolutely believe they do.  If you’re a good parent, you’ll make good choices about who those influences will be, and it will all work out just fine in the end.  It doesn’t matter whether you’re Dad or Mom.  Good parents do whatever their kids need them to.  Period.

Help me out?  The next time you see a single mom or a single dad, look at them differently.  Think about any assumptions you had about him or her the moment you saw them.  Then erase those assumptions from your thought process forever.  Look at him or her as a parent, and only a parent, and assume he or she is a very good one unless you know otherwise.

Do you have a favorite story about something another parent assumed you couldn’t do just because you were Mom or Dad?

This is an original post to World Moms Blog. Scott is a single dad.  He didn’t plan it that way, but he did rise to the occasion.  You can find Scott blogging at www.ThreeFiveZero.com

 Photo credit to the author. 

 

World Moms Blog

World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children. World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.

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