Goal Setting: Essentials 6
Good morning. This is Leading Right and I am Abiodun Fijabi.
My secondary school days were very eventful. Acting was one of those activities that made so much fun. My school had a good run in drama, staging productions after productions of reputable authors like William Shakespeare, Wole Soyinka, Ola Rotimi and Ngugi Wa Thiongo.
I can never forget an experience I had at the very first rehearsal of the epic court scene of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. I was to play the Portia, the disguised judge adjudicating between the shrewd Jewish merchant – Shylock and his amiable competitor – Antonio. Shylock was demanding a pound of Antonio’s flesh for failure to pay back a loan he took for a friend. The highpoint of the scene was the long monologue by Portia appealing to Shylock for mercy. I was to read this monologue to the admiration of packed school hall that had gathered to watch our first rehearsal. I cleared my throat and went to work. I conjured a Victorian diction that was both strange to me and the audience. I struggled and stumbled through the monologue. It was drab and uninspiring, but I was satisfied I had done justice to the part. Wasn’t I to play Portia? Was I not acting?
I was surprised when our English teacher doubling as director let out a scream; “What do you think you are doing?” “Acting, of course.” I said that under my breadth, still wondering what I had done wrong. Her next question jolted me out of my daze. “Tell me whose lines you think you are reading?” This teacher must be out of her senses, I thought. I said in a mixture of fear and surprise, “William Shakespeare.”
She smiled back and said, “I thought you would say that.” I had my first smile too. But before I could open my mouth too wide, she dropped the clinger: “Those words were written by Shakespeare alright, but they are yours now. Read them like they are yours. You must own your lines if you want to be a good actor. Those lines must become yours before you can deliver them with a passion.”
Days later, I delivered the same monologue with diction and gestures that were typically mine and it felt so good.
The same must apply to your goals. You should feel free to glean ideas from others. Every great leader does. But the resulting goals must be yours – reflecting your values and your personality. They must be personal with the ownership yours.
When next you are stating your goals, imagine the words of my English teacher: “Own your lines.” I do every time.
My secondary school days were very eventful. Acting was one of those activities that made so much fun. My school had a good run in drama, staging productions after productions of reputable authors like William Shakespeare, Wole Soyinka, Ola Rotimi and Ngugi Wa Thiongo.
I can never forget an experience I had at the very first rehearsal of the epic court scene of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. I was to play the Portia, the disguised judge adjudicating between the shrewd Jewish merchant – Shylock and his amiable competitor – Antonio. Shylock was demanding a pound of Antonio’s flesh for failure to pay back a loan he took for a friend. The highpoint of the scene was the long monologue by Portia appealing to Shylock for mercy. I was to read this monologue to the admiration of packed school hall that had gathered to watch our first rehearsal. I cleared my throat and went to work. I conjured a Victorian diction that was both strange to me and the audience. I struggled and stumbled through the monologue. It was drab and uninspiring, but I was satisfied I had done justice to the part. Wasn’t I to play Portia? Was I not acting?
I was surprised when our English teacher doubling as director let out a scream; “What do you think you are doing?” “Acting, of course.” I said that under my breadth, still wondering what I had done wrong. Her next question jolted me out of my daze. “Tell me whose lines you think you are reading?” This teacher must be out of her senses, I thought. I said in a mixture of fear and surprise, “William Shakespeare.”
She smiled back and said, “I thought you would say that.” I had my first smile too. But before I could open my mouth too wide, she dropped the clinger: “Those words were written by Shakespeare alright, but they are yours now. Read them like they are yours. You must own your lines if you want to be a good actor. Those lines must become yours before you can deliver them with a passion.”
Days later, I delivered the same monologue with diction and gestures that were typically mine and it felt so good.
The same must apply to your goals. You should feel free to glean ideas from others. Every great leader does. But the resulting goals must be yours – reflecting your values and your personality. They must be personal with the ownership yours.
When next you are stating your goals, imagine the words of my English teacher: “Own your lines.” I do every time.
posted by Abiodun Fijabi at 2:30 PM
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