The power of the alternative path

by Livy-Elcon Emereonye

In an emergency, the value of the ‘exit route’ which is an alternative path would be appreciated by anyone who found and used it. This same value can also be discovered and appreciated when any alternative path is put into use – maximum use.

An alternative primarily is a possibility of choice between at least two things or courses of action. A path is a way or track laid down for walking or made by continual treading. It can mean the course or direction in which a person or thing is moving; a course of action or way of achieving a specified result. In this context, other words for path include route, track, or way.

In a simple term, the alternative path is an existing path that is not regularly used because there is a more accepted path or another easier route that is commonly used. It can be left to waste away or depreciate in value – and it may not be used unless the other better path gets bad or closed.

At every point in time and indeed in every place, there are many alternative paths in our lives that have neither been discovered nor used because we are very comfortable in our comfort zones. We tend to use the popular highway, following the crowd and doing what every other person is doing. To look good and be endorsed by others, we love to conform to the status quo. But conformists rarely beat history. To do something new and make an impact, there may be the need to do what others are not doing, and this may include treading the path not popularly used.

There are opportunities – many great ones – before us that lay waste because we refused to look around and see things differently. We dread change and love not to dare but until we dare, we may not know our might – and without stretching our might we will not get different better results. It is by trying that we can succeed and set new records. Therefore, dare to be different.

The life of exploration, with its inherent dangers, opens the doors of adventure and discovery, and every discovery has ways of designing a glorious destiny especially if it is something that has great value and touches the lives of many people. Developing the ability to see things differently would harness the capacity to change things for better.

Whatever the calling and the circumstance, nature has a way of pushing us out, sometimes to experience harsh realities and to taste the other side of life that we move in search of a greener pasture even in a desert.

When the inevitable happens, we look for ways to be more resourceful and productive. In the process, we may stumble into something new that if properly explored can bring about a total turn around with great outcome. You will see different colours of different intensity when you look deep even at a dot. Great preservation factors are discovered through a critical pry and probe. Rare discoveries are often made when all hope seems to have gone and there is no alternative to choose from. But the beauty of survival is that when pushed to the wall and there seems to be no exit route, we must discover a way of escape!

The world is not only big enough for all to operate optimally without silly competition but it is indeed full of opportunities which only those that earnestly task themselves searching for them can see. However, to make a mark, what is seen or discovered must be put into maximum use for optimal results. Task your senses and get value from your discovery.

Just the same way necessity becomes the mother of invention, scarcity promotes prudence. The hard way is valued most at hard times. Those in tight conditions have ways of doing the unimaginable that can question the laws of nature.

When faced with challenges – tough challenges – we have ways of getting the best of ourselves. Yes, harsh realities somehow come along with the power to harness our potential.

Even a tongue of a dimmed light is appreciated the most in the midst of deep darkness. Every solution is valued when faced with an insurmountable problem. The flickers of hope seem loudest with anticipation of a feasible, workable solution that comes with the exploration of the alternative route.

One of the things that define human beings is the experience of problems, and there is strength and excitement that come along with problem solving. In an attempt to solve problems, many options could be discovered and such discovery if harnessed can bring about uncommon breakthroughs. A sudden crash, an unexpected problem with inherent pains can lead to sudden or accidental life changing discovery.

At your spare time, probably a quiet time, probe into what can cause one to look for and use the alternative route. If you are at that point now, what alternative route will you use? What are the advantages of this alternative path?

Commercial commuters know the importance of alternative routes very well. During gridlock or heavy traffic jams they seek and use alternative routes to meet targets. They can stop at nothing to use any available route to get to their destination even if it entails putting up with deliberate threats and dangers. What matters most to them is results – timely results.

When it seems that every other thing has been lost and life gets devastated, the alternative path can come to the rescue with new ideas and hope and properly used, such can be one of the greatest opportunities of a lifetime. Just develop the courage and the thick skin to persevere and you will discover at the end that the alternative path is indeed a special path for greatness.

Yes, when one door closes, another one will open so don’t be afraid to start all over again. Use the alternative path and continue the journey. Learn from your mistakes and the mistakes of others and move on. What you encounter where you are coming from, if put into good use, will help you a lot to get to where you are going in time without many flaws and falls but where they are inevitable, rise up, and continue. It is not over until the last breath.

The most inspiring stories come from those who saw failure as a factor for success and thereafter embraced all odds to excel in their chosen endeavours. People can as well read your story and learn from it if you choose to because the ball is in your court. The determinant factor is the willingness not to give up no matter the challenge and the determination to succeed – and succeed real good – at all cost. Pay the price and you will get the prize.