By SYCORAX TIYESA NDHLOVU –

If youths cannot invest in their time, life can miserably be unbearable when they grow up into adulthood.
It is from such a background that youths should invest more in good behaviour and sound education during such an age to make their future bright and enjoyable.
Each of the current adults and senior citizens were also youths before.
Each of such people, to some extent, achieved their own objectives; and also made their own mistakes.
But the truth is that no person on Earth has never made a mistake. All of us made; and are still making various mistakes of different magnitudes and effects.
What worries one in such a phenomenon of life is the type of mistakes one makes; and how frequent such mistakes are made; and of what effects on one’s life.
Regrettably, most of us who are facing serious socio-economic challenges in our lives made some relatively serious mistakes during our youthful ages.
It is such devastating experiences and reflections on our past as it affects our present that most parents, guardians and other adults advise youths to be careful in life; and avoid the mistakes such people made when they were youths.
Youth delinquency such as early marriages, beer drinking, drug abuse, absenteeism from school, poor performance in school, prostitution, criminality and many vices might lead some youths, if not most of them into untold misery in their respective old ages.
Avoiding such youth delinquency mistakes when you are still young is investing in your youthful age; and inviting a bright future for your life.
Remember that, in life, the situation never gets worse. It is you who makes it worse through what you choose and do.
Therefore, investing in youthful age demands sacrifice and self-discipline.
One can argue that investing in youthful age entails sacrifice and self-discipline because such an age is full of fantasy, anxieties, adventures and scientific and unscientific experiments.
Investing in youthful age also requires being respectful to parents, guardians and teachers while being receptive to their respective guidance and advice.
Above all, each youth needs to be focused on what one wants to be like in future.
Do you want to be a life-long hard core criminal or prostitute? Do you want to be among the poorest of the poor in your local community? Do you want to lead a successful, happy Christian life?
Life is take your pick from among many choices: good and bad ones! You will be what you want to be depending on what you do now.
If one doesn’t invest heavily in youthful age, one might harvest the opposite of what one wants to be like in future.
Ecclesiastes 12.1 (NIV) says to the youths: “Remember your Creator in the days of your youths before the days of trouble come; and the years approach when you will say ‘I find no pleasure in them’…”
Therefore, youths are advised to buy strong and effective brakes to reduce on the number of mistakes they make, of what type and how frequent such mistakes come.
Each youth should avoid making mistakes which have sustainable negative effects on his or her life.
To avoid youths being the opposite of what they want to be like in future, youths need parents’,  guardians’ and society’s guidance and advice. Parents’ and guardians guidance and advice is like a torch to show each youth what to choose, where to go and why.
Therefore, although some child rights’ activists raised eye-brows when our current Pope said children should be disciplined, Proverbs 13: 24 clearly states that he who spares the rod hates his son; but he who loves his son is careful to discipline him.
This Biblical guidance urges parents, guardians and society at large to discipline children and youths whenever they go astray as doing so is showing genuine love for them to grow into responsible citizens with high Christian values.
A P Peirira in ‘Success in 30 Days’ advices us that one cannot make progress in life with a baggage of negative practices on his or her back. For each youth to achieve his or her personal career goal and success in life, one needs to shed off one’s social vices and illegalities.
For each youth to make positive progress in life, one should know his or her own negative and positive sides. Reduce on the negatives; and increase on your positives for you to have a successful career and be a responsible citizen in future.
To achieve this, youths need the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse them of any evil; and prevent them from any temptation at all times.
They also need the torch of Jesus Christ to guide them; and show them the bad and the good things as they grow into adulthood.
Additionally, parents, guardians, local community members and civil society organisations have a great role to play in moulding youths to be responsible future citizens and leaders.
Avoid doing things that will make you regret during your old age. Prepare a fertile ground for your career growth and successful life now and in future.
Your successful career in one of the vocations, professions or business depends on what you invest in during your youth; and how you manage such an investment at the same age.
As a result, youths are highly advised to make use of their youthful age for their bright future.
Peer pressure can be positive or negative.
Pray to God to guide you which peer pressure is beneficial to successful career advancement and sustainable happiness in your future life and which one is not.
Invest in socially acceptable behaviour with high Christian values.
Invest in sound academic and professional achievements that will see you in successful vocational and or professional career.
Your sacrifice and investment in good conduct will pay you dividends now and in future.
Always rejoice in exemplary, socially and culturally acceptable conduct.
Avoid short-cuts to success and joy. Sweat for you to find a stream of milk and honey flowing to your life now and in your future.
Always praise the Lord; and clap hands for Jesus Christ for having served and saved your life up today for you to get such a message for your bright future.
The author is a trainer and career coach. Contact: Cell: 0976/0977 450151, E-mail: sycoraxtndhlovu@yahoo.co.uk