Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is a mystery, you are left with today which is a present you can give your future. -My Path Guide
A new year comes with an opportunity for us to start again. For some of us, the year might have been a little below our expectations but we have another chance for us to rewrite our own history. These are 14 resolutions we should consider making in order for us to reposition ourselves to obtain the best for what the new year has to offer.
1. Never compare myself to others
Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy. -Norman Vincent Peale
A grave and costly mistake anyone can ever make is to compare himself/herself to another human being. God created all of us for different purposes. We might look the same, but we are not the same. We all have different tracks set before us to run. Comparing ourselves to others will eventually lead to frustration because it will only show our inadequacies (Read Putting your self on the Fast Track Part 1).
Comparison brings about jealousy. Instead of comparing ourselves to others, we should focus more on developing ourselves. We most times confuse imitation and comparison. Imitation is not comparison. Imitation is using the success principles an already successful individual used. There is something successful people do differently that makes them successful and likewise unsuccessful people. You can imitate the habits of an already successful individual while acknowledging your own strengths, weakness and abilities.
2. Never blame others for my problems
Experience is not what happens to you; it's what you do with what happens to you. -Aldous Huxley
Someone might have falsely advised you on an action or you may have followed someone's path which eventually resulted to a problem. The truth remains that you were the one who took the final action. That final decision on that situation was made by you. Someone might have initialized the move but you took the final touch; the final act in creating the problem was carried out by you.
The first important step to any solution is acknowledging the problem. The shorter the time it takes for us to admit that we created the problem either directly or indirectly, the faster we are able to solve the problem. Solving problems, particularly the ones we created, builds our confidence and gives us courage to solve more problems.
3. Never procrastinate
Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later. -Og Mandino
Procrastination is an enemy of success. It is a virus which eats up the future. Time wasted is gone forever. Nothing you can do can bring back wasted time. The one thing you can still do is to make a decision to never procrastinate again and to be discipline. Discipline is sacrificing good for the best. The opposite of discipline is indulgence which is sacrificing the future for the pleasures of the moment.
Part of the resolution we should consider making is to develop the habit of acting when it matters. I strongly believe in this statement: "where there if life, there is hope" and l also believe you can recover all what you have previously lost due to procrastination. A way to recover is to stop procrastinating. A method of stopping it is for us to always think deeply about the negative impact of not carrying out our actions and asking oneself this question: "Is it worth sacrificing the pleasure of the moment for the future".
4. Invest more in myself
By three methods we may learn wisdom: First by reflection,which is the noblest; Second by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest. -Confucius
The key to personal improvement is knowledge. The Bible talks about people dying for lack of knowledge. The difference between an employer and an employee is the knowledge possessed by the two individuals. For us to experience any significant growth more than we experienced in the previous year in any area of our life; our finances, promotion at work, relationship with family and society e.t.c, we have to increase our knowledge.
We should make a conscious decision to increase our knowledge. The importance of increasing our knowledge is uncountable; the more you know, the more you earn. One method of increasing our knowledge is by reading educational books. We should develop an habit of reading for at least fifteen minutes per day (15minutes).
5. Always surround myself with people who add value to me
Guide your heart with all diligence for out of it flows the issues of life. -Proverbs
Nothing corrupt good manners than bad company. The kind of people we spend our time with determines the kind of person we will eventually be. A bird if it stays on the ground for so long with chickens will loose its sense of flight.
They best way for us to position ourselves for success in this new year is for us to surround ourselves with people who have already achieved success in our respective field. Habits can easily rub-off. When you spend time with them, you learn their habits and thinking pattern.
6. Listen more, talk less
Information is not knowledge. -Albert Einstein
Before talking, we should always ask ourselves these questions:
- Of what importance is what am about to say?
- How would people react to what am about to say?
- Will what I say question my integrity?
When we listen more during a conversation, we create an impression that we are understanding, caring and that we are sensitive to what the other individual is saying thus making the other individual feel more comfortable talking to us. Listening skill is very essential in families, organizations (for more, Read the 7 habits of highly effective people).
7. Buy less, save more
If saving money is wrong,I don't want to be right. -William Shatner
The importance of saving cannot be over emphasized. No matter our income, we should develop an habit of saving. It is advised by experts to save 10% of our income as a sacred financial seed. It shouldn't be spent on consumables, even at our girlfriend's, boyfriend's (husband or wife) gun point (Read 7 Business Facts You Were Not Taught In School).
8. Forgive more, love more
I have decided to stick with love. Hate is to great a burden to bear. -Martin Luther King, Jr
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Not forgiving holds us back and prevents us from enjoying the present. Holding on to past grudges limits our experience of future happiness and uses up more of our mental resources. Not forgiving ourselves prevents us from maximizing our full potential. When we forgive, we are not helping the person we forgave; we are actually helping ourselves.
Throughout my life in this world, I have discovered that forgiveness is the final form of love. The measurement of how much you love someone is how quick you are able to forgive them. There is no love without forgiveness and there is no forgiveness without love. To forgive is to set a prisoner free only to discover that the prisoner was you (Read Leadership Capacity ( Secrets of Every Successful Leader).
9. Contribute to our society
All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope. -Winston Churchill
A simple act of kindness goes a long way in both the lives of the receiver and the helper. Through simple acts, lives have been changed and destinies discovered. Not all problems in the society will be solved by government. Great men like Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Mahatma Gandhi and the list continues all discovered their destiny by showing little acts of kindness to the society.
Purpose is discovered in contribution. There is a void in the human heart that can only be filled when contributing. Life's deepest joy is experienced when we contribute and see the impact our contribution makes even if it is only one life. Contribution gives us psychological energy and confidence to carryout our other life duties.
10. Have some me time for reflection
I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity. -Albert Einstein
We often get carried away by the activities and events happening around us that we fail to check up on the activities occurring at the most important venue to us; our life. Time waits for nobody. Time. is the greatest asset in the world. Improper use of time can result to future sorrow (Read 5 Little Things That Take You The Extra Mile).
Reflection allows to tap into our hidden potential. Creating time for reflection enables us to be able to assess our performance and make necessary corrections where necessary towards a successful. It enables us to tap into one of the greatest creative tool which is our mind.
11. Spend quality time with loved ones
In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. -Albert Schweitzer
Our loved ones are important part of our lives. We often get so wrapped up with so much activities that we miss out in one of the most important aspect of our life: our loved ones. We spend so much physical and mental energy trying to complete all the tasks on our ever increasing Todo list which eventually leads to us wearing out. Spending quality time with our loved ones help us renew our energy by enabling us to tap into another form of energy in our body; our emotional energy.
A way of increasing the quality time we spend with our loved ones is by setting priority and scheduling. We can set priorities to separate the urgent from the important therefore attending to the important. Another way of solving this is by fixing a regular time in which we spend with your loved ones.
12. Stay Healthy
Physical fitness is not one of the most important keys to healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity. -John F. Kennedy
The greatest source of happiness thus not come from our relationship with other people; it comes from our relationship with ourselves. No one can enjoy the fullness of life without good health. Our health affects our relationships, happiness, career and so on. Without good health, life can loose its meaning.
Part of maintaining good health is by taking proper diet, exercising and resting. Our health needs might vary for different individuals and lifestyles. The health need for a model might differ from the health need of a sport person. It is better to consult a doctor for more advice on your health.
13. Pray and meditate and give thanks more
Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right. -Abraham Lincoln
Take a deep breath; breathe in and then breathe out. How difficult was that? If you experienced no difficulty in doing that, that is sufficient for you to give thanks to God. If you can read this post, it's sufficient for you to give thanks to God for your sight. The greatest gift is the gift of life. When there is life, there is still an opportunity to a better job, a finer house, beautiful children...God gave us this gift for free. He only demands one thing from us which is a good relationship with him.
One of the ways in which we can build a better relationship with God is by communing with him through prayer and meditation. We can lodge our requests to God when we pray. God isn't human who gets tired of listening to us or who listens to us without being able to help us. God is able to help us with all his riches and glory. All he wants us to cast all our care upon him because he loves us (Read Experiencing God's hand in your Life).
14. Review my resolution at regular intervals
Everyday is a new beginning take a deep breath and start again. -Anonymous
There is a painful gap between possessing great potential and actually realizing a life of greatness and contribution. That great gap is our consistency. Consistency and time perseveres than talent and passion. Trees rarely fall at the first strike. Most times, you have to sharpen your saw and then try again. No good thing comes easily; you have to fight for it.
We should always perform a review on our resolution at regular intervals to check our progress. We can make the review monthly, quarterly or at any desired time of your choice. If we fail in one aspect, we shouldn't let it prevent us from carrying on. Famous inventor Thomas Edison who failed thousands of times when inventing the electric bulb but he just saw his failure as another reason why that his method won't work. Winners don't quit and no quitter has ever one at least for now. Finally ending by the words of Ralph Blunt; Nothing is predestined. The obstacles of the past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings.
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What other resolution are you considering to make? Leave it in the comment section. We love hearing from you.
