17: Acknowledge the Cradles

When someone begins a journey to achieve some goal or the other, those who will eventually succeed are those who travel light. When I say ‘travel light’ I mean carrying the least amount of luggage possible.

When you see mountain climbers hang precariously from a cliff with several types of light equipment hooked to their jackets, you may be thinking they are carrying too many things. However if you probe deeply you will be surprised to discover that no one tries to ‘travel light’ as much as climbers. They can carry as many as twelve items but you can be sure that every one of those items is critical to the success of the trip

No matter how heavy these necessary things are, the climber will never hesitate to carry them. You may never see them with a microwave oven but be sure they have tins of sardine somewhere in their backpacks. You may never see them with the complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica but you can be sure they have their compass with them. These things are critical for the climber.

A clear analogy to this is the significance of acknowledging the roles certain persons or institutions have played in your life. Many people tend to feel this is unnecessary, a distraction and a waste of their time, ‘luggage’ which would slow down their fast track through life. They believe whatever success they enjoy can be traced back to their own efforts alone. No one should share the spotlight with them.

They never acknowledge the father that gave them life nor the mother who nursed them.

Their teachers who taught them are ignored, their fellow students who helped them on the way are despised, their co-workers and bosses who supported them are treated as trash.

I read an article recently that talked about the mistakes many organizations make when they hire a ‘star’ from another company. The star comes in and finds that he cannot accurately re-ignite the magic that made him shine like it did where he was coming from. She finds that many of the things that helped her to succeed were a fall out of the kind of people she was working with. Am I saying one person cannot make a difference? No, I’m just trying to locate that difference in a specific context. That context says that ‘those we are with help us to perform badly or well in addition to our personal abilities.’

A star cannot shine in isolation, if it has no solar system in which to shine then it will not shine. The fact remains that other people are very important to your success. The sooner you acknowledge and recognize them, the greater your success will be. For a newly hired star to shine, he needs to build new social ties that will make him or her effective at what he does.

When you acknowledge the cradles that rock(ed) you, you unleash a heavenly force that makes your work easier. Do you praise those who have blessed you both publicly and privately? Have you shared the spoils of victory with the men who followed you to battle? Have you taken a gift to the woman who carried you for 9 months? Have you done the same for the husband, friend or colleague who always seems to be there for you even when you sometimes are not there for them?

Life is so short that every day needs to be lived like it was your last. Acknowledge the cradles that rocked you before they ask you to do so. It is so sad to hear when someone has to ask you to acknowledge their contribution to your life or for affirmation. I agree that there are many people who will claim to have had a hand in your success even when you both know it’s a lie. This article was not written for such people. They are leeches not ladders.

I am talking about those whom your heart knows without a doubt, have helped make you better. For these people you have to be proactive, you have to scan the environment to create ‘acknowledgement sessions’. For them an out of the blues ‘thank you for just being you’ is music to the ears.

Affirm them and they will keep affirming you, ignore them and they will silently withdraw from you. They are only human you know.

An African proverb posits that “the river that forgets its source will soon dry up”. Don’t let your river dry up friend. Reach out to your cradles and they will keep rocking your world for the better.