MY NEW YEAR GIFT TO YOU: A CANDID ADVICE

I do not have any new yew year resolutions or any bad habit to break, nevertheless, I have plans. I have goals to achieve before the end of this year.

   Dear reader, what are your plans? So many people live their lives as they see it. Every day, they wake up and set out for the day just like that. With no plans: no ambition for the day. When asked what their plans are, they give answers like, “Well, I just live each day as it comes.” I used to be like that before. However, I realized overtime that when you live like that, you just have to accept whatever you see. I know there are certain circumstances we cannot control, nevertheless, having a plan makes it easier for you to live each day with a sense of direction, knowing where you are going to and what to expect by the end of the day.  So each day, you live with the goal of moving a step closer to achieving your plan for the year.

   Goal setting is a key to achieving your goals. You may not be able to achieve everything, but you can achieve some or most of it and if possible everything. The importance of goal setting in our daily lives cannot be over emphasized as even the Bible in Habbakuk 2:2 says,

                          “And the Lord answered me and said, write the vision and 
                            make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.”

You need to have a plan for your life starting from today, so much so that whoever walks into your life gets acquainted with it and runs with it, i.e walks/works with you in that direction . This is why it is so important to mind the kind of people you surround yourself with as they have a lot to contribute to whether or not you will achieve your goals. A lot of people are so lost and confused about life, and that’s usually because they don’t have a goal. The equation is like this:

Goals + plans + execution = realization/achievement

You may have a good job or business that earns you a lot of income, enough to feed and clothe, but still feel empty. This is because there is more to life than just eating and wearing clothes.

   Goal setting helps you in different ways. One of the most important was is, it helps you set your priorities right. For instance, if it’s necessary to buy that new shoe or hand bag, if you must take that trip, etc. every day, you need to focus on how your plans for the day moves you an inch closer to the big picture. By goal setting, one can analyz one’s needs by drawing a scale of preference, starting from the most important to the least. Hence, you have a perspective as to what your anticipations are and how you will go about achieving them.

	Take a test       Ask a friend or a relative, “what are your plans for the year?”

 

You will be shocked at some of the answers you’ll get.

    It’s a new year, many have entered in anticipation of what the year will bring to them. Truth is, it is not about what the year has to offer, but what you are bringing into the year. It’s about the plans you have put in place to achieve in the year. The year is not going to live itself. You and I are the ones who will live in the year. Hence, the ball is in our courts. It is our responsibility to decide what to do and what not to do to make it a great year.

This is my new year gift to you. A candid advice. Have a plan. Set your goals!