Lending each other an eye

Bankole Adedeji
| credits: File copy

Sacrifice is not immortality. When you hear the word ‘sacrifice’ you are probably scared, thinking something will be stolen from you, that you will lose something you value and can’t live without. Sacrifice,  to some people,  connotes loss. But, sacrifices, require the freewill to give up something you love and cherish with a view to having a positive impact on others.  What sacrifice have you made recently?

I receive hundreds of updates across my numerous social media platforms daily and I see some people making sacrifices online. I have seen young Nigerians mentoring their peers and even elderly ones while sharing their knowledge in broad areas of human endeavours. I have seen people share the good and the bad aspects of their life experiences just to give someone a glimpse of hope.

I have seen how gestures on various social networking sites go the extra mile to save a life. Retweets and status updates for people in dire need of help during emergencies abound while such updates put a smile on someone’s face on the long run.

What can you say about your social media activities? Your sojourn in social media world should involve sparing some time to make one sacrifice or the other. That’s why the world ‘share’ is common on most platforms. To share something you value is a sacrifice.

Some months ago, I decided to unfollow a close relation on Twitter. When he discovered I’d un-followed him, he approached me,  seeking to ascertain the reasons behind my action. Without any restraint or feeling of guilt, I said it to his face that he hadn’t made any positive contribution to me via social media. He was quiet for a while. He felt bad about it. I decided to follow back last weekend and I told him it wouldn’t be difficult to unfollow him again.

The fact is that the social media world is a dynamic one. We are all connected one way or another. It is a network; remember? Your updates can influence someone’s mood. Your update is a catalyst. It stirs up reactions. What do you intend to share on your update now?

Some people do take their time to get the right content they would share. That is a sacrifice. They take time to research; some have sleepless nights just to influence their world. Some people sacrificed their time just to share their knowledge and experience. I sometimes wish the social media sphere was a place where everyone could positively influence the other person.

People often forget that whatever they post online will be there for life. Recently, I audited my social media activities and was surprised to find some things I did years back. Take a careful look at what you have done on social media recently and check how influential you have been.

Making a meaningful impact on social media requires a relentless sacrifice from you. Here are my suggestions:

Believe in yourself

The spiritual activist, author and lecturer, Marianne Williamson,  said in her famous quote, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” That says it all. Whenever you get messages from your online followers, endeavour to share good and meaningful contents with them. Be free. Be unique. Be yourself.

Are you a learner?

I’m connected to people I learn from. Picking knowledge from different people and hearing their views makes you a well of knowledge people can fetch from. If all of us can make sacrifices to find meaningful materials and share them on social media, I can see a social world full of people who are willing to learn and share their knowledge as well.

Your time is not wasted

When people tweet at popular Twitter handles such as @Gidi_Traffic to make an enquiry, if there is a retweet, take time to see if you can be of help. Recently,  someone tweeted, asking for a doctor in a govternment hospital. From the content and tone of the message, I sensed it was urgent. I sent her my friend’s contact – a doctor in a government hospital.

 A day later, she tweeted at me. She thanked me, saying that I helped save her daughter’s life. It was a sacrifice I had to make when it wasn’t convenient. Spare a minute or two to reply an anonymous message on your social media timeline. It’s all about sacrificing what you have for someone or something.

It’s high time you changed the way you update your timeline with stuffs. Change your social media attitude. Remember, a bad attitude is like a flat tyre. You can’t get very far until you change it. Get up. Move forward. Sacrifice your time and thoughts.