NEW YEAR...NEW START

With 14 days into the New Year, I believe it is still relevant to continue the common trend of “niceties” and good wishes for the New Year.   So here goes, “I genuinely hope 2013 will not only be a good year, but a year of positive change.”  For some, 2013 has started on a positive note, while others still struggle to let go of the previous year. Be that as it may, we all have a chance to survive and make something of this year.

 As the trend continues, we are all subjected to a particular question: “what are your New’ Year’s Resolutions?”   “What do you hope to achieve this year? “While many of us simply give a brief response as a means to meet the status quo and give the impression that our lives have direction, I took time to actually think about this question- to really think deeply about it.

We are often told that a new year gives us a chance to start over again. We are led to believe that it’s an easy exercise- where you simply flip the page and rewrite the chapter. But is it really this easy? Is it as simple as the experts make it seem?  I ask these questions because, I believe in the theory of New Year’s resolutions and it continues to work for me.

I believe in setting goals- goals that you hope to achieve by December 2013.  And as it appears, I have written on the importance of setting goals in my previous blog posts and I believe this topic is still as relevant in 2013.  I have spent days thinking about which direction I want my life to take in  2013; I have thought about what I hope to achieve- be it the amount of money I plan to save, the kind of friend I hope to be or even where I hope to see my career go. And the efforts of those days were delicately written down to ensure that the goals were binding.  I took it a step further and decided on action plans to execute my goals and set time frames. And as I continue planning for 2013 and putting plans in action, I cannot ignore the fact that many other people might not be as fortunate.

Many people suffered the tragic events of 2012- strikes, unemployment, below par matric results, failure and many other sad things. Some of our friends lost loved ones, and others suffered accidents.  2012 was honestly a bad year for some people and we cannot ignore the damage it caused. As 2013 picks up momentum, I realise that a lot of my friends still struggle to let go of the mistakes of the previous year and as a result fail to cease the opportunities the New Year has to offer. They torture themselves for their failures made in 2012 and constantly remain prisoners of their thoughts.  They fail to see the opportunity to start afresh, to let go of those goals we thought were important and to set better and bigger goals. They struggle to let go of the pain 2012 brought into their lives and give 2013 a chance to heal their pain.

 Starting afresh is not about forgetting the past, but accepting the things you no longer have control over and embracing those you can change. I believe that setting resolutions is not about looking smart in front of your family and friends or giving people the impression that your life is perfect. New Year resolutions for me are about setting a bench mark for your life-a standard that you can measure how well you are doing or how you can improve. It is about trying new things- doing things that make you a better person.

I believe in setting a theme for the year ahead, a theme that will give your life direction and meaning. My theme for 2013 is to begin my journey from being good to becoming great.  This theme guides and inspires me to give my best in all that I do and I believe setting your own individual theme will do the same for you. This is a chance to rewrite your mistakes of the previous year; a chance to initiate positive change in your personal life.

As 2013 quickly picks up momentum towards December, let us jump on the train and begin our journey to a better life. A resolution is a simple guide that gives you a reason to get up and do something meaningful- whether you hope to save money, change your attitude, touch lives- give it your absolute all because the reward will be worth it.

All the best for 2013 and to making this the best year.