It is yet another new year of our lives and aren’t we so grateful? The new year always starts with a pure type of energy of hope and serenity where we think anything is possible, every goal is achievable, every wrong is forgivable and every moment of our past is far out of reach. Over the years, we get caught up in the enthusiasm and make resolutions that are basically baseless solutions. When this occurs over a considerable number of years, we tend to walk into the new year with a kind of indifference that scoffs at the whole idea of making resolutions.
The fact that you failed in your business approach doesn’t mean the whole business thingy is useless. The fact that you suck at fishing doesn’t mean those who fish are wasting their time. The fact that you made resolutions in the past that changed nothing doesn’t mean resolutions change nothing. You simply need to change your approach rather than decimate the whole idea.
The questions we need to ask ourselves are,
- how are we going to be consistent?
- how are we going to keep that same energy till the end of the year?
- how are we going to actually do what we know we should do?
1. Clear Objectives
More often than not, we focus on the struggle rather than the objective. If you want to go the gym, what is your objective? The vaguer your objectives, the more likely you are to fall along the line. When you ask people what they want to do this year, they say basically the same things from the past 4 or more years; get closer to God, pray more, exercise more, eat well, save more money, get organized, live life to the fullest etc. These are extremely vague. After you have identified these vague objectives, clarify them the more by asking two simple questions; why? and how?
Save more money.
Why? I want to purchase a new LG phone. (amount = 750-1000 Ghana cedis)
How? Save 100 cedis for 10 months.
Save 25 cedis each week.
Save 4 cedis a day
Once the objective is clear and explicit, accountability is possible. Once you don’t know what the end result must look like, you wouldn’t be able to track your progress properly. If you don’t know where your destination is, you’d never know how far you are from there.
2. Accountability
In order to be consistent, we need to be disciplined. In order to be disciplined, we need to be accountable. Of course, we all know that it takes discipline, but we struggle with discipline all year long because of, perhaps, this one missing ingredient; accountability. Want to save more money? Then you should be able to review how much you spent every month. Once you keep a gradual track of your progress, you find new momentum to continue. If you first of all know how much you spend, then you can choose to either compromise your expenses or earn more. Once you have a goal, you need to have a plan.
See! Everybody wants to save money, even the richest man in the world. There are several ways of saving money. Find out which one best fits your situation and break it down to an everyday lifestyle. Once you know you have to save 4 cedis today, you can at least make it a point to. There are times when you’d fail, no doubt. But at least, you’re well aware of it. There’s nothing worse than failing and not being aware because there’s no accountability. There is a need to review your life on the daily. Every day is a new day to be better than yesterday. But remember that it’s only possible with accountability. It is highly recommended that you have a friend or partner who holds you accountable for your actions.
3. Time Allocation
One factor that is most essential determines whether something is achievable or not is TIME. Everything is possible, but some things become impossible when time is not on our side. In other words, what makes the impossible possible is time. Time is the x factor. Everything is possible with time. Therefore, your time allocation will determine whether your set goal is achievable or not.
Once you get the time factor wrong, your set goals become unrealistic. On the other hand, where there is no time allocation – what you’d do every day, every 2 weeks, every month etc – the goal becomes “immortal” and is never achieved. Even with goals concerning behaviours which must last a lifetime, time allocation is very essential;
Want to spend more time with your spouse?
Why? To have a more intimate relationship and communicate better as a couple.
How? Go on a trip to resorts in the locality.
Time allocation: Every last weekend of the month.
Progress takes a long time to materialise suddenly. Realise that you’d need more time than you think you would. Even in matters of faith. At the end of the day, it wouldn’t be able about how long it took, it would be about how long it lasts. Take your time and establish something concrete that will stand the test of time rather than riding on the illusion of progress in taking less time and seeing everything fall into shambles later. Choose deeper roots first; taller trees will follow.
I love you ❤
