Inspired by: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”- Mahatma GANDHI

“Don’t wait for the system to change. BE the system that changes.”- Abundant Robert K. AWOLUGUTU

THE WAITING DISEASE
In Accra, people stand in a queue at a bus terminal. They complain bitterly about the filth and the perennial flooding in the city. Ironically, the same people are littering right there in the queue.

We all know the Ghanaian anthem: “The system is not working.” “Our leaders are corrupt.” “Our hospitals are graveyards.” “No jobs.”

This writer asks: Who is the system?
The system is YOU. The system is ME. We are, therefore, waiting for ourselves.

What if the change we are waiting for is actually waiting for us?

WHAT THE SYSTEM REALLY MEANS
The system is not a building in Accra, Kumasi, or Tamale. It is more than government.

The system is the sum of daily habits, attitudes, decisions, and choices of ordinary people multiplied at the national level.

In Singapore, the system works because the citizens take personal and environmental hygiene seriously. They simply don’t litter.

Rwanda became clean because every citizen became the sanitation system on Umuganda day. Let truth be spoken: Nations don’t change systems. People become new systems, and nations follow suit.

THE 3 LIES THAT KEEP US WAITING
“I’m too small to change anything.”

Little drops make a mighty ocean. Your office is your Ghana. Your shop is your Ghana. Your home is your Ghana. Do your work exceptionally well. Be the same person in private and in public. No double standards.

“When I get power or money, I will change.”

If you are corrupt with GHC100, you will be corrupt with GHC1,000,000. Power and money do not create you: they magnify who you already are. What ills do you see in others that should change? Address those ills in your own life today.

“Somebody else will do it.”

That somebody is waiting for somebody else to do it. The result? Stagnation. Break the cycle.

HOW TO BE THE SYSTEM – 5 PRACTICAL WAYS

Be the Honesty System:
Refuse to pay or take bribes. If you are a judge, deliver fair judgement.. If you are a teacher, mark honestly. No sex for grades. No cheating in exams. If you are a trader, sell honest weights.

Be The Excellence System: Let your work be world-class. Do your work as worship. No more “It will do.”

Be The Time System: Be time -conscious. There is nothing like “African Time” or “Ghanaian Time”. Attend meetings on time. Be punctual at work. Respect for time builds a working system.

Be The Cleanliness System: Don’t wait for zoomlion. Clean your surroundings – your gutters, your compound. If everyone sweeps 5 meters around them, Ghana can become Rwanda or Singapore.

Be The Solution System:
Stop complaining. Start building. Don’t be part of the problem, be part of the solution. Be a builder, not a complainer.

THE COST OF WAITING Vs THE REWARD OF BECOMING

Cost of Waiting: No progress. Blamers don’t build nations. We suffer brain drain because our best brains got tired of waiting.

Reward of Becoming
Self-respect. An improved you. You become a magnet for opportunities. People love to work with one who IS the system. You become a leader without a title.

CONCLUSION
Vision shows us where we are and where we want to be. Excellence shows us that our work should be world-class. Being the system shows us who we must become.

When we change, the system changes. Don’t curse the darkness. Light your candle. Don’t wait for the system to change. BE the system that changes.

Final thought: ”The future is not coming. The future is being built by those who refused to wait.”

More from the Author

1. “Don’t wait for the system to change. BE the system that changes.”
2. “Complainers wait for light. Builders become light.”
3. “You are not too small. You are the size of your obedience.”
4. “Every nation is just a collection of personal decisions.”
5. “Stop waiting for Ghana to change. Ghana is waiting for you.”
6. “The system will change when you become the change.”

Yours in inspiration,
Abundant Robert K. AWOLUGUTU
Writer and Author