It was a very hot afternoon on that fateful day, and I sat in the open field relaxing under the shade of a big mango tree because I needed a dose of fresh air. The field had just been cleared the previous day with the grasses now half-dried littered on the ground. Then I noticed something, two birds would intermittently fly down from a nearby orange tree, pack some of the grasses, and flew up again. This they did severally not minding my presence there. It was a very beautiful scene to behold, and I watched with keen interest and much fascination. What were these birds doing? They were actually gathering grasses for nesting.
What is Nesting?
Nesting is a common natural behavior in animals. Nesting refers to an instinct or urges in pregnant animals to prepare a comfortable and safe environment for the upcoming newborns. It is a behavior found in a variety of animals such as birds, dogs, mice, pigs, fishes, etc., and has scientifically been linked to an increase or surge in Estradiol, (E2). It is also interesting to know that even humans also nest. During pregnancy, there is an overwhelming desire to make the home neat and ready for the new baby. This urge to clean and organize the home during pregnancy is nesting, and it is at its peak in the later weeks prior to delivery.
Narrowing it down to our everyday living, every human being is pregnant with ideas. Ideas are conceived based on prevailing challenges and experiences of life. It is a popular saying that ideas rule the world. And so to ensure the fluidity of life there is a need for us to conceive smart ideas for solutions to life challenges. So nesting your dreams is all about doing everything possible to nurture your ideas into dreams. You must give your ideas feathers in order for you to fly high and achieve those lofty dreams. Dream in this regard is any aspiration, goal, aim, vision, or idea. The words ideas and dreams are used interchangeably to mean the same thing in this post.
For instance, taking a proper look at nesting in birds, the process involves egg-laying, incubation, and hatching of eggs. Dreams are like eggs and it takes proper nesting to hatch them. With proper nesting, you can hatch your dreams into a successful reality. You can nest and hatch your ideas into a successful enterprise. In other words nesting, your dreams are more or less a springboard for success in any area of interest be it education, research, science and technology, business, etc. It is the launch pad to the realm of greatness. And for you to access the threshold of success you must conceive ideas and nurture them into dreams. Nesting your dreams consists of five steps; these five steps are mutually dependent on one another.
Critical Thinking
The first step is critical thinking. Ideas begin with thinking. The second step is conception. To conceive ideas you must ask yourself some heart probing questions, like what is my objective or aim in this situation? What challenges am I likely to encounter? What is the way forward? How do I achieve this aim? These critical questions will generate ideas. Once you conceive the ideas, the third step is to aspire. Aspiration is very crucial in nesting your dreams as you must take utmost care of your ideas. Your aspiration determines what you will do with these ideas.
Dreams like eggs are very delicate and fragile and so you need to protect them, that is the major purpose of nesting. Make effort to protect your ideas or dreams, or they become someone’s ideas. The fourth stage is for you to act. You need action to make your dream come through. The nesting process is a period of action. You must take necessary, and proactive measures to hatch your dreams into reality. Finally, having done everything you must dare to succeed.
Nesting your dreams requires Creativity
To cap it all there are virtues you must exhibit to make nesting your dreams a success. One of them is creativity. Nesting your dreams requires a high level of creativity. You must be creative, and like one of my colleagues would say you must think out of the box. Another virtue you must exhibit is warmth, once you conceive the idea you must love it with passion, be excited about your idea and do everything to protect and make sure it sees the light of the day.
Patience is also very important in nesting your dreams. The hen takes approximately three weeks to incubate and hatch her eggs. Throughout this period she patiently sits on her eggs till the day they hatch into chicks. In some cases, nesting might take longer because some dreams might require a longer period of time to hatch into reality. So, you must be patient enough as your dreams might fizzle away if you don’t get it right. Remember, nesting your dreams is a springboard for success in any pursuit of life. In summary, you must think, conceive, aspire, act, and dare to succeed.