Introduction
Imagine having to be a victim of EVERY virus, bacteria, fungus, airborne ailment, water ailments, and all there is. What a calamity it would be! What this means is that the human immunity system was created to GUARD a man otherwise we will be in a world of perpetual infirmity.
That’s the same reality in operation internally with respect to spiritual, intellectual, mental and emotional things.
Emotional Immunity is a skill of Emotional Intelligence that suggests that you as an individual MUST achieve personal mastery by creating thresholds or limits to how high and low you would allow your emotions run and be expressed.
The most potent aspect of life is Emotional Balance. You may agree that if you are not emotionally stable, you won’t make any progress in any other area of life: spiritually, physically, intellectually, et al.
Alleviating stress boosts your mood and immunity, while transforming depression into happiness enhances your equanimity and vibrant health.
First and foremost, man is a spiritual being; however, because we operate on earth in flesh and heart, we are predominantly governed by our Emotions.
The state of your mind is absolutely governed by the emotional part of you. It is the emotional part that makes you submit to the leadership of the spiritual. It is the emotional part of you that makes you submit to the intellectual and physical goals you set.
Every decision you make in life is because of a feeling or experience go through. You choose to be kind and continuously kind because of emotional decisions you have made. You choose to be firm because of emotional decisions from life’s experiences that you have had.
Why Emotional Immunity
- Life is a battleground. To fight fair, be firm
- Your ambitions in life cannot be achieved without a fight. Your full person must be on the forefront of this fight: emotions first
- You need people on the road to success but while managing people fairly, there are people who must not accompany you on the sojourn
- There are humans who are less emotional adequate and whose personalities are a danger to you in person. You must determine in advance to take actions that will accommodate them as humans but shut out their VENOM to your emotions. Guard your emotions with utmost priority
- You are responsible to PROTECT yourself from ALL EMOTIONAL HARM and position yourself under EMOTIONAL STRENGTH
Developing Emotional Immunity
- Celebrate your Strengths and Replay your Antecedent Victories
- Accommodate your Weaknesses and allow yourself develop them gradually
- Accept that it is your PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY to allow another person trigger ill emotions in you. No one has that capacity without your CONSENT
- Recall the MAJOR reactions that have triggered your most ill emotions and determine specific actions you MUST take to stay on top of them
- Make efforts to reconcile your personal values with your relationship with your Deity (God)
When I moved to Abuja in 2011, my profile changed. It looks to me that Abuja is the fulfilment of my vision board. This is because the exact imagination I have of my ideal environment manifested with my arrival into the FCT so I was not in the forefront of seeing lads and ladies indulge in hard substances anymore. Rather, I began to assume that the spate of abuse was non-existent in the spacious and beautiful city of Abuja. How wrong I was!
As my work expanded and my results began to manifest, I began to receive calls from quarters that indicated to me I was just being called back by the memories I left in Lagos. Not a few! Many parents who were stupefied by the behaviours of their sons; employers who liked the results of their staff but who needed them to be delivered from the curse of these substances; all these people started calling me. When we founded our radio programme called SERENITY LOUNGE, the calls exploded. More people now knew there was a source for help to arrest their own probelm.
NO CITY IS IMMUNE FROM THIS SCOURGE. DRUG INTAKE IS RAVAGING OUR LAND. AND MOST OF US PAY A BLIND EYE TO THIS. THIS ISSUE IS NOT FOR THE POOR ALONE. IT IS A UNIVERSAL CRISIS THAT CUTS ACROSS STRATA, STATUS & AGE.
I wish I had a very foolproof counsel to give, but I don’t. However, I believe in the following:
– There is need for LOCAL RESEARCH BASED RESULTS for us to identify the MOTIVATION for this hike in the intake of these substances. It is not enough to assume that it is because of economic meltdown or because of peer pressures or because of the cravings for these pleasures. We have borrowed too much foreign data to the extent that we are more confused about fixing this issue.
– There is need for affected parents to seek help. If an adult recognizes that he needs help with overcoming this addiction, then we have begun the process of recovery.
– There is need for the government across all levels to be sincere about this fight. From the ward level to the federal level, we need concerted efforts of being open, being proactive and being futuristic about this challenge. It is a great fight.
– There is need for the entire land to seek God again. God, in His infinite mercies, will touch the hearts of every addict so that they begin to see reasons why they should seek help. Our religious bodies and leaders should invest time to teach this subject in churches, mosques, shrines, etc. The more we emphasize on recovery and future impact, the better our results. The LESS we judge and castigate these addicts, the better for us all. JUDGMENT FAILS MORE THAN 90% OF THE TIME. LOVE WINS MORE THAN 100% OF THE TIME.
Ultimately, I usually like to say this: if you close your eyes to this challenge, remember that you have no control over the future of whom your child or sibling will befriend, work with or even get intimate with. Perhaps, this fight is why no addict will approach your family members and by chance, someone you saved from this scourge will save someone in your family who may have died from this scourge. We all belong to the same Source.
Samuel Babatunde Obafemi is a Therapist, Businessman and President of Sam Obafemi Behavioural Change Academy (SOBCA). He is also the Owner of #TheSerenityPlace. To connect with him, follow his daily Facebook Live or IGTV series titled #DiaryofaCoach on @sobafemi send him an email at coachsam@sobcaonline.com