IT IS A NEW YEAR, AND SO WHAT?

We have started a new year and like every year, it is a tradition to set goals and make new year’s resolutions. It is more of a tradition now than anything else really, but the truth is, it is no different than any other day.

Like every other day in the previous year, nothing changes unless you have prepared for that change; there is no way to guarantee your future than being prepared today.

So, we are in the New Year 2021 and so what? What is different from the last year? Many of us wore the same clothes on the December 31st 2020 to the January 1st 2021, many of us speak the same way, many of us do the same things and react the same way as we did. We are still in the middle of a global pandemic and an economic crisis; we are still in shock of the losses that we have sustained. Apart from a change in the calendar which happens every single day, what is unique about 2021?

I believe that no woman/man can wake up one morning and have a complete change in habit, attitude, lifestyle etc. The best that can happen is the realisation and a deep desire to change, then the action to change follows through; this is a simple philosophy.

If change does not happen overnight, then what does “New year, new me” means? Well, my interpretation is simple; to position myself better than I did before, so I can take advantage of the opportunities that may come my way and become a better version of myself than I was yesterday.

Though I believe that change starts internally, I also know deep within my heart that this will take time. Therefore with this realisation, I understand that it is no longer enough to pray for a new anointing, set new resolutions/goals but to actively breakdown my resolutions into daily actionable targets and work deliberately to achieve these daily targets.

Nonetheless, I prefer to continue working on goals I have set into the future until I can mark them off or no longer consider them viable before setting new ones or make new resolutions; Yes, that means I do not set new goals/resolutions every December 31st. I mean what will I accomplished if every year I make new resolutions without an audit of where I am with the previous ones or a reason other than “it is the new year” to set them.

It is this shared understanding that change does not happen overnight but comes through deliberate daily actions to be better that should be embodied in all of us. Otherwise, we will find ourselves caught up in a tradition that lasts only for a night; New year, new me!

So yes, this is a new year but so what? What have you done, say, or how have you prepared to make your situation and that of your community/society better?