Life is a journey

Life is a journey
Welcome to your Team Musiala Blog! Our first article for our Team Musiala Foundation blog is a great opportunity to get straight into our tagline:

Let’s unpack what’s in there. Two important words: dream and journey.


Of course, the dream, one’s vision, comes first. So: Where do you want to go? Where do you see yourself? Getting caught in the demands of our daily lives such as school, work, homework, household, training amongst other things can leave us in a position where we do not make time to stop for even just 10 minutes to consider: What is my dream?
Regardless of how big or far away a dream seems to be: Be brave and “dare to dream”. Then the journey to your dream can begin.
After all, before we pack our suitcase for a trip or holiday, we do take the time to dream, think and plan where we would like to go. Just throwing things chaotically into our suitcase first and then wonder “Ok, where are we travelling to?” Is perhaps rather unhelpful.
So when it comes to holiday planning, we do make a point of setting time aside to consider: “What interests me? What would I like to experience? Would I like to have a beach holiday? Or would I prefer to go on a hike?” And we pack our suitcase in line with the destination we decided on. After all – no one wants to go hiking in a swimming costume.

Well, life is a journey too. A life journey. And before you can pack for this life journey, it is helpful to set some time aside and ask oneself:
What is my dream? What are the smaller goals on the way there?
Some already know early on, what their dream or goal(s) are. Some find out later. But most people know what they enjoy and what they are interested in, what they are passionate about.
No matter in which category you may fall, you can always set small goals, which then can lead to other goals and decisions. Micro journeys.
It is much easier to pack your suitcase for the life journey, if you are clear on what you dream or your goal is.
Life is a journey
But what does the luggage for the life journey look like? Where can you buy it? The good news is: most things needed for this life journey are characteristics and skills, which you can reflect on and actively acquire over time. Roughly summarised, luggage for the life journey falls into 3 main categories:
Skills, values and attitude.
- Skills: These are generally divided into hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are capabilities and skill sets which can be learned. They are easy to measure and tangible. For example, if the dream is to be a civil engineer, then it is important to focus oneself in the first instance especially on maths and physics. The next step is to attain more tangible knowledge and pass an exam in engineering at university. Or if the dream is to become a professional footballer, then the focus is on constantly and every day improving various aspects such as endurance but also technical abilities such as dribbling or being competent also with your “weaker” foot. Nothing is possible without these hard skills.
Soft skills, on the other hand, include methodological, social and personal competences. At our Team Musiala Foundation, we divide those into “values” and “growth mindset”.
- Values: can guide and help us to establish priorities at work, school or in life. Values define what is important to you and influence how we lead and live our lives. They form the foundation of our beliefs and convictions and as such influence our decisions, actions and behaviours.
- Growth mindset is an important part of resilience – the ability to deal with problems, challenges or disappointments. A growth mindset allows us to see challenges as opportunities for personal growth – instead of labelling them as insurmountable obstacles.
Precisely these soft skills form the core of our Team Musiala Programme and courses. Every young person needs these in their “luggage” for their life journey, in order to be able to look positively into the future and achieve their dreams.

