Count Your Blessings

"Count your blessings, name them one by one

Count your blessings, see what God has done

Cooooount your blessings, name them one by one

And it will surprise you what the Lord has done"

One of my favorite hymns in Sunday School when I was younger, the song above captures the essence of what the first strategy to getting happiness and keeping it is.

The problem is that a lot of us fail to see the blessings right under our very noses. Material wealth does not count as the true blessings of life. Cliche I know but nevertheless true.

I have always suspected that I would be a prime candidate for a mid-life crisis when I hit my forties. If I haven't published that book, become President of Nigeria or led a 10-year campaign to make Nigeria the hottest tourist destination in Africa, I will probably go out and dye my hair, get another tattoo or buy a Jaguar.

So I want to get into the habit of counting my blessings as I go along now so that I keep sight of the really important things in life.

- A wonderful wife who loves me and would do anything for me. (I would too)

- Parents who just cant stop being your parents and everything synonymous with that.

- Siblings who make me revert to being the "baby of the house" persona whenever I am with them

- Good health. (could do with a little less gut and more exercise)

- The ability to communicate with anyone around the world almost instantaneously! (Try living in Aotearoa to appreciate this one!)

- Residence in a country that emphasizes work-life balance

- Friends that inspire me and who, after talking to them, always make me strive to be better than I was. (this one's for you Kene)

- A boss who genuinely makes working that much less seem like working and sincerely wants to see you reach your potential

- A community of Nigerians where I can go and speak Yoruba and bitch about how bad things are back home

- Reaching Week 13 and relinquishing full time cooking duties and celebrating a 1 in almost 4500 chance of that scary whatsathingy-called that people are afraid of. Not that I was ever worried about it.

So go ahead people, count the blessings. It doesn't have to be the really big stuff but just from the last week. And you will see how much you have going for you!