A Cold Lesson on the Power of Preparation

In the first 25 years of my life, I never had to check the weather. Growing up and living in Nigeria meant two major seasons – rainy and dry - and even the dry season would bring some rain in some regions of the country. I’m not sure I can explain how, but most of us would look at the clouds and make fairly accurate guesses about whether to take an umbrella. If the rain ever caught you without one, then that’s just what it is: to be waited out or to be run through. Regardless, nobody was preoccupied with the weather, and with no historical tendency toward vicious storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc., nobody prepared for them.

I started graduate school towards the end of summer 2019 and did well to get myself a portable umbrella. I figured it could permanently sit in the right-side compartment of my backpack regardless of the weather forecast. So, through the summer and most of the fall, I had no use for weather forecasts. One sunny afternoon in late fall, I got dressed for class and, given what felt like amazing weather, decided on a light, casual attire. It was so warm out that I dressed in a short-sleeved blouse, a denim mini-skirt, and slip-ons with my signature turban framing a well-made-up face. It was one of those evenings when you feel a heightened awareness of your beauty and indulge yourself with selfies and videos as you walk down the street.

A few hours later, I would be feeling anything but pretty as my shoulders quaked in the night cold. During my train ride to Lorton, the weather had plummeted, and it was nearly freezing by the time I got to the bus station. Unfortunately, a delay on the rails meant I missed the bus, and I would have to wait about 30 minutes for the next one. The wind howled, sending gusts of icy air into my pores. I sat on with my thighs in direct contact with the ice-cold metal bench. I rubbed my arms, shook my legs, and contorted my face in agony, all the while receiving glances from people who glared at me gloatingly. Their looks said it, “Didn’t you check the weather?” It was apparent that I was the only one who didn’t. Other people wore scarves, pants, boots, and other clothing, revealing that the cold night didn’t take them by surprise. I learned a hard lesson that night, and it was not just to check the weather on a daily basis (which I have never forgotten since then), but also to be mindful of the principle of preparation.

One of the most blatant disparities between my undergrad experience in Nigeria and my graduate school experience in the US is how I prepare for classes. In Nigeria, the norm was to study in response to new knowledge obtained from a lecture. Conversely, I now have to study to prepare for new knowledge to be covered in a class. The dividends are worlds apart, and I can confidently say that preparation sets me up for a more immersive and engaging learning experience. Preparation opens us up to dimensions of growth beyond our immediate capacities in that you are more likely to unearth deeper insights when you proactively ready your mind for engagement on a subject.

On a broader note, many of us struggle to stay afloat in academics and careers because of the exaggerated sense of stability that prevents us from preparing for dynamism. We see this at play in lay-offs that affect redundant personnel. We observe this in failed examinations resulting from a changed testing system. We experience it in the sudden lag that occurs in our performances when we are thrust into more sophisticated challenges than we envisage. Heck! This is one of the most salient points that the COVID-19 pandemic has made. Prior to this occurrence, contingency planning, continuity plans, crisis management, and other proactive strategic tools were largely viewed as the prerogative of large enterprises with larger risk profiles stemming from their economies of scale. The result today is chaos in the face of a reality which, quite frankly, has always been a possibility and is only unprecedented in its magnitude.

To be prepared is to explore possibilities before they crystallize into being and, as such, to ready probable responses to situations. It is to improve agility and resilience – two attributes that are required to survive and thrive in all facets of life. We must always bear in mind that just because something has never happened does not mean it will never happen. To be prepared is to enhance competence, which is at the core of excellence. We cannot leave performance to chance or expect changes to conform to our expectations. We must prepare for meetings with opportunities and disregard the status quo as standard. We must shun laziness, ego, and anything that threatens the maximization of the present time. More importantly, we must not cower in the face of work; it is on the back of diligence that distinction is carved into being.