Start sleeping to stop failing

Failure has been given different meanings and interpretations by different people at different times and circumstances. It seems that failure is more visible than success. We worry about it, we try to avoid it, and we question ourselves, sometimes ruthlessly, whenever we realize we've failed. From the summary of how different philosophers have presented failure - failure is both good and bad, also both inevitable and avoidable. Some failures have even been called successes.

This is exemplified in the familiar story that the scientist who invented the electric light bulb after several failed attempts, came to know that these many paths could not lead to invention. Literally, "failure is the neglect or omission of an expected or required action". However, it depends on which expectation is omitted. Is it the omission of the desired goal, the failure to recognize the omission of set goals, or the inability to see failure as a form of success?

Recently, I had an eye-opening and interesting experience of "failure to recognize the omission of set goals". This was during the funeral ceremony of my respected elderly relative who lived with several famous chieftaincy and religious titles. We had an explosive crowd of guests to welcome with respect for our culture and traditions. There was endless planning and no professional project management. The constraints of time, budget and scope have proven themselves.

Throughout the three days preceding the event until D-Day, as a main stakeholder, I was involved in the planning, execution, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of activities of the event. Due to likely inexperience in handling such events and not prioritizing the need for quality sleep, I could barely get quality sleep. At times, particularly on the day of the event, my actions were filled with aggression, conflict and awkwardness, with the execution and coordination of activities becoming more difficult, more demanding and more exhausting in a way that I couldn't explain. All I could easily say was, "It's not easy at all."

The climax of the show took place the day after the event. I was in charge of the logistics of the return journeys of the customers, in particular the links with the airport according to the flight schedules. Excusably, as the day dawned and progressed, I was extremely exhausted and sleepy. A knock on the door of my hotel woke me up from an unplanned nap around noon. A maid had come for the routine cleaning of the room. I excused her for her duties and moved to my friend's hotel room next door. It was the last significant event I could remember until I woke up from a deep sleep late in the evening around 6 p.m.

My memory immediately sharpened with the recall of all things cancelled, including coordinating airport shuttles for departing guests, which at that time would result in missed flights. Did you oversleep for a timed event like going to exams, going to school, or catching a flight? It was the kind of unpleasant feeling I had. With tense anxiety, I rushed to my room and picked up my cell phone to embrace my shortcomings. I had several missed calls from guests and airport taxi drivers.

The first call I made revealed that the guest shuttle to the airport had thankfully been sorted out. Guests had connected to the drivers they were linked to when they arrived to fill the void created by their unanswered calls. Fortunately, I escaped the disaster of missed flights. My head became very clear, so that I could recognize omissions around events.

Suddenly, other executions and coordinations, including the correction of some previous omissions, became simpler and more fun. The unplanned quality sleep re-energized me and restored my brain functions of memory, reasoning and mood. It kept me from failing more and ultimately corrected my failure to acknowledge that I had failed!

Let's be deliberate in having quality sleep planned, not waiting for the unexpected to stop failing. I escaped the terrible consequences of an unplanned sleep; maybe not.

Let's remember that where you sleep, when you sleep, and how you sleep affect your mental health, physical well-being, and healthy lifestyle. We all need quality sleep to be more productive in our endeavors.

Do you need more information on the above topic? Are you looking for the best way to maintain quality sleep for overall well-being and a healthy life? Are you currently having difficulty sleeping? Remember that a doctor is an appropriate person to offer relevant advice for maintaining quality sleep and a solution to sleep difficulties. Would you like to contact sleep orthopedic consultant, Dr. Charles Uzodimma, please send your...