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“I wonder how you are able to combine your various assignments as a farmer, a Pastor, a Writer, an activist, a motivational speaker, a Teacher and a Chief participating actively in local matters … and yet make a mark in them all?”, my Kabiyesi, The Oluyin of Iyin Ekiti, Oba (Justice) John Ademola Ajakaiye sometimes ago. once asked me during the launching of our Garri Processing Centre a few years ago.
My honest response was, “Kabiyesi, I don’t know myself. It is a mystery because I just see myself accomplishing these feats seamlessly and without being tired and without any conflict whatsoever”.
Recently, I decided to probe into my mode of operations. And I made some discoveries. My first discovery was that I had some consistent daily operational cycles that are most probably responsible for my ability to accomplish many things almost at the same time. Let me share some of these:
I sleep around 9pm. If am not sick or on prescription that extends my sleep, I must wake up between 12.30 and 1 am. On waking up, I pray, I read or write books, meditate etc. Between 4-6am, I go back to bed not really sleeping but relaxing my brain after those tedious exercises. By 6 am. My family members gather for family which, of necessity, I must Pastor. Between 7am and 8 a.m., I take my breakfast and am off to the farm. By 1pm, am back home, take my lunch, relax, (if sleep knocks the door, I take an hour or two nap), then at 4pm (if not on a church fellowship day) I would be back at the farm. Between 6pm-7pm. I am back home.
“At 61 years of age, if you operate these crowded working life, how then do you manage your health?” This is surely the question that will come to your mind.
In the first place I don’t believe that hard work kills. Instead, I believe hard work prolongs life because a diligent worker exercises himself mentally, physically, spiritually and intellectually which makes his total being to be consistently active. Creativity also drives away boredom and keeps one on the alert always because there are always things to do.
I take my health as seriously as I take my work. Let me shed more lights on how I manage my health.
Armed with a digital bp checker which was made a gift to me by a caring relative, I check my bp by myself almost every day or at least once every other day. My established and consistent average reading is 117/84.
Secondly, I have access to three medical facilities: a private Doctor, an official Doctor and Government hospitals where I do religiously go for routine annual medical check-ups.
Thirdly having been diagnosed as having bp from the age of 45 years, I stick religiously to my daily dose of anti-bp prescriptions. Even though am a Pastor, I DON’T FAITH IT. No. That will be like putting God to the test. I have known the truth from my medical report so the truth should set me free!
Fourthly, I am a man so close to nature. I dwell in a well planted garden that supplies me with all that nature offers, oxygen and with the cultivation of vegetables, assorted fruits like oranges, guava, coconuts, pineapples, pawpaw, watermelon, cucumber, etc, I have all that nature offers for one to live a healthy life. Except on very few occasions when I feel like buying red-meat for a change, I am personally responsible for rearing the meat my family consumes (chickens, turkeys, snails, catfish, goats, etc. I produce the garri, yams, tomatoes, etc and now we’ve started milling our own palm-oil within our own compound.
Fifthly, even though I don’t pattern myself after athletes, I do mild exercise as my body tells me to do as and when it does so.
Whatever is left unearned in terms of needed mineral supplements is taken care of by a daily dose of either Wellman or Reload mulitivitamin suppliments.
More importantly, no matter how crowded my work schedule might be, I make it a point of duty to listen to my body and follow whatever message it passes to me at any point in time. For instance, whenever I noticed that I am experiencing some stress, I stopped all my work-related activities and rested for as long as my body tells me to. When crowded church activities were overwhelming and taking its toll heavily on my health, I voluntarily stepped down and limited myself to what I can do at my own pace and that my age and body can cope effectively with.
I had used Drivers earlier in my life but I discovered that 80 per cent of them were actually avoidable burdens rather than assets. With drivers, you enjoy no privacy. They gossip a lot. They give spread false and dangerous information about you, especially on financial matters, many of them bring their domestic burdens upon you, some are so dangerous that you hardly can take a nap while they are driving you without running into a ditch or some are outright thieves looking for an opportunity to strike you where it pains most. When I summed all these together, I decided to drive myself at my own pace and time. If I have a long journey to make, I will deliberately split such journeys into two instead of one day. For instance, driving to Lagos from Ekiti, I book 2 days. After two hours of consistent driving, I will either check into an hotel or a private setting and enjoy the rest of the day resting. The following day, I continue with my journey. Sometimes, during driving, fatigue might sight in, when this happens. I do not hesitate to look for a safe place eg., not too far from police check points (not too close either), filling station or a public place where food vendors do their businesses, park my vehicle, relax my seat and go for a sleep. I won’t proceed on such journey until my body tells me, “go”. My maximum speed limit is 110km/h. My average speed is 90km/hr. It may take me longer to reach my destination but I get there relax. While driving, if I noticed that vehicles are too many around me, I reduce my speed to allow them all overtake me. This way I am the owner of both sides of the road that I occupy at any particular point in time!
My farming business is taken as a past-time activity. I pay people to do the real work, unless where they leave the work midstream and I can do something to save the situation. I only supervise. To reduce the tendency of disappointments that would lead me to over-labouring myself, I chose mechanization. For instance, if a Sprayer stops mid-way to spray my farm and it must be accomplished immediately, before you knew it, I pick up my electric pump which requires no manual pumping, to do the work in no time and put the enemy to shame. Instead of carrying 16 litre-full load, I carry 10 litres at a time. My ultimate goal is to make all my farms tractorable and OWN the tractors and other implements myself so I will not be frustrated depending upon others.
While in paid employment with a reputable international organization, I was following my body's dictate. We had 60 years retirement age but I targeted retiring at 45 which for reasons ranging from paying children’s school fees, lack of adequate savings to start my own business and other unforeseeable uncertainties, I tarried till I was 51 years before calling it quit. My experience as a paid employee is that it is better to retire early to create a business of your own than for one’s life to be limited to employers stipends. Stipends in the sense that responsibilities are always 50 times higher than actual incomes. All that salary earners depend upon is loan upon loans which renders him or her poor on exit. So it is better to find one’s feet before the so-called official retirement age knocks at one’s door.
Above all, dear readers, having taking all these steps towards managing my health, I pray to God and depend upon Him for longevity and a life spent in excellent health. Surprisingly, Dr. Jesus responds almost once every year by examining me, treating whatever needed to be treated and gives me my latest medical results in my dreams which have always been an excellent one as is always revealed by the various annual medical reports I receive after conducting my routine medical checks!
Even though I am advancing in calendar age, I feel youthful spirituality and medically! A few years back, we did a medical check on REAL AGE compared to my calendar age. My result was that I was 7 years younger than my calendar age! Who knows, I might even be 10 years or more younger today! All these are the Lord's doings, despite what Nigeria offers us, and I am grateful to Him.
Do I have no worry at all? What would have troubled me at all in life is lack of adequate funds to carry out my projects. What do I do? I go borrow money to the limit of my ability to pay which sometimes puts pressure on my family during repayment. Thank God for that ‘borrowing’ channel. It is the bridge between financial poverty and financial prosperity. I am praying and working hard to cross the inevitable bridge. The day I do, which God willing I know I shall do, the day I am relieved of all my burdens. In the meantime, I cast the burden upon my God. So I am not troubled by it at all for I know it is a passing phase In my life.
So, you can see that that though I am busy, I don't neglect my health one bit. Maybe, my readers can learn one or two things from my approach to work and health balance. God bless you.
I cherish and practise the rule of work-life balance.
