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NEW YEAR, NEW YOU?

27/12/2019 23:20:00 By Nathi Gule

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The year is almost over and soon it will be time for those New Year’s Resolutions. The frenzy over the much-hyped Christmas has died down and now reality is sinking in.

Some people are counting the cost for just one commercialised day (which when not caught up in consumerism should be an affordable day) and may well count the expenses through the next three months. Many will be wishing they could have done better. But as the saying goes, there is no use crying over spilt milk. What has happened has happened and it’s important to focus on the present and the future.

Memories were created with that cost as we said goodbye to this decade and do not beat yourself up if you ended up over spending this festive. Prepare to use the upcoming quiet season to reflect and rebuild yourself for a great year ahead. Well it will only be a quiet season after New Year’s eve though, because Tuesday brings another festivity if you intend going out.

crossover

Though you have a choice. You could still go out but spend within a budget. Or simply crossover in church, where the only budget you will need will be transport and an offering yet the rewards will be far greater and safer than any crossover congregation of people.

It is common around the first week of January, which is in just four days time, that people start posting things like it’s a new year, new me. Some people look at the entry into a new year as a time to redefine themselves into a new version of themselves.

They cut off old habits and adopt new ones. Some cut off old friends. It is common to hear people saying so and so will remain in the last year I am not carrying them over to the new year.

It is all well and good. But nothing in this world has ever been built without consistency. So instead of every year coming up with a new version of yourself, how about this year building on the version that you have already? Instead of new year, new me, perhaps we should be thinking around consistency.

Cooking a great meal is one that requires a lot of patience. Cooking is like the journey of life. For the best meal to happen you blend a lot of ingredients on the pot rather than throwing away those that may not taste the way you wish them to.

resolutions

Apparently, according to behavioural scientists on average, only 8 per cent of people actually keep their New Year’s resolutions. That is quite a tiny number. They note that each and every January many people make pie-in-the-sky goals for the new year ahead. Only to give up come February. This is why they suggest that the best month to join a gym is February… when it’s probably empty.

Last year on this topic I suggested that the best month to make any resolution is when you feel ready to keep it. It may even be in April. You need not be pressured by a calendar. After all this calendar is just a piece of paper. What counts is your will to deliver on the resolutions.
According to a feature on uncluttered simplicity, rather than viewing resolutions as a yearly occurrence, imagine each day is January 1st. Let each day be a new beginning towards the lighter, cleaner, more organized life you imagine yourself living.

When you experience setbacks (and you will), don’t spend unnecessary energy dwelling on them. Beating yourself up for your perceived failures will not help you succeed.

Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back on the proverbial horse. If it helps, you can even say “I forgive you” out loud to yourself.
“Why commit to a now-or-never list of New Year’s resolutions? When each day offers a new beginning,”. -Uncluttered Simplicity.
But the new year does offer an exciting chance to embark on some of the things that you have been putting off for a while. For example self-development is a new year’s resolution that you can never go wrong with.

Enrolling

Enrolling for an online course to better yourself and adopt new skills is something that is worth pursuing as you start the year. The start of a new year is usually quiet, the beats of the amapiano songs have died down at this time and the reality of life is all that remains.
One needs to use this time to reflect, self-introspect and see where and what new realistic goals they can set for themselves for the rest of the year.

Thankfully many churches also embark on 21 days of prayer and fasting at this time. This is a good quiet space to be able to renew your focus and set the tone for the rest of the year. While the country maybe faced with challenges economically, it is what we are able to do within our small spaces that makes the difference. And the sum of what we are able to do in those small spaces translates to the bigger picture.

Goal-setting, and self-imposed deadlines can help keep us focused and active.
Unfortunately, it’s far too easy to get caught up in the excitement of New Year’s and go overboard by setting grandiose unrealistic goals for yourself.

I asked a mentor of mine advice on how to have a great year ahead. He shared this, “focus on growth daily. No matter how small. You will be amazed what you will achieve in the long-term.”
Wishing you a great year ahead!