NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

The end of a year and the start of another. For most people, it is quite the big deal crossing over to the new year. For others, it is just the end of the calendar, no much significance for them.

For most people, the end of the year acts as a moment of reflection. I personally view the end of the year as a time when I can truly gauge myself. I analyze the goals I had set for the year, the targets I had put for myself and look at what I have done in the year and what I can do better in the next. Thus, as the year 2022 comes to a close, my final target was to highlight on the importance of new year’s resolutions, not just in general, but on a few chosen subjects, and on myself in a very personal scope.

When most people hear of New Year’s resolutions, what comes to mind is a bunch of written targets which by the second or third month will be long forgotten, only to be remembered as the year comes to an end. This is because when most people set the resolutions, they are more often than not very unrealistic, unattainable and to put it blatantly, wishful thinking. However, to fix this perspective, I would love for you to picture the everyday to-do lists and schedules that you create on the daily to help you through your day. As you come up with these schedules, you often have a clear-cut plan of how you will carry out each of the activities up until you complete them. You should do the same. Here is a brief guide on how to make resolutions that you will look back to at the end of next year and say you achieved your goals.

1. Practicality. Your resolutions should first of all be practical. As you come up with them, look at where you are at, and how attainable and realistic the goals are. You cannot say that your resolution is making 10 Million Kenyan Shillings while your stable stream of income is Ksh 2,000 in a month. Be practical. Set resolutions that are not out of this world and simply fictional.
2. The means. This is the most important part of your resolutions. It is the back-bone of your resolutions. This entails a thorough plan on how you will attain each of the resolutions. This simply involves you having a sit-down with yourself and writing down, below each of your resolutions how you will achieve each of the resolutions. For example, your resolution is starting a small scale mitumba business. You can write where the capital will come from, the specific location and how to acquire the location, where and how you will get the stock for your business, how you will account for your profits, any payment plans and any other necessary information surrounding it.

As the popular saying goes, failure to plan is planning to fail.

So, as you write down the resolutions, do include a thorough plan on how you will work your way through the resolutions.

• Implementation. Finally, do not just write down your resolutions and sit on them. Work towards them. You can break them down into stages, and at the end of each stage you can celebrate the small win for motivation. You could also place them or hang them somewhere where you can frequently see them and motivate yourself to attain them. Each day, make sure you do something, however small towards attaining the said goals.

I can assure you, you will attain most of your goals this way.

A very good friend of mine told me he uses the resolutions as a means of keeping him grounded. You can easily get caught up in the mess that is life and have so much on your plate that you may get overwhelmed. Resolutions and goals can help you handle things, one at a time.

I believe resolutions do not have to be something huge, major or spontaneous. They do not have to be money-oriented, or career-grounded. They can also touch on your personal life, on how you relate with people, on your mental health and on how you handle situations. However, do not limit yourself. After all, the sky should always be the limit, as long as you have a ladder high enough to reach the stars, or are willing to build one.

It is that time of the year when everyone is celebrating their achievements and toasting towards them. You may feel like you have not done much when you look at the things your friends and family have attained. However, I am sure there is some level of change and of growth that you have acquired which you did not have last year. Personally, my emotional intelligence has grown so much and that has to be my biggest flex this year. I have handled some very trying situations, that previously would have thrown me in a spiral or have had me in tears with so much grace that I shocked myself. That in itself, is a tick off my resolutions list for 2022. So congratulations to myself.

Be kind to yourself even as you look back at the year and plan on the next. Remember, where you are is okay, and whatever you are planning is okay too. It does not need to be grand or elegant. Baby steps and you will for sure get there.

Finally, as you continue with the festivities and as you start the new year, all the very best. May the new year be accompanied with prosperity, favor, grace, blessings, limitless success and unmatched growth. May we come back next year, same time and same place, full of gratitude for the growth we shall have experienced.

A very blessed 2023 from the Darkheartemoji🖤👸🏾 to you.