Fides Media Living the Faith
By Amarachi Okpunobi
Two years ago, towards the year’s end, one night I sat down with my pen and book playing some motivational instrumentals from my phone to help me focus. But before I wrote an alphabet on that book, I closed my eyes and prayed for divine direction. Slowly, but carefully, I began to unveil my wishes and plan for 2018 on fresh page of the book. I wrote personal, social, spiritual, career, academic plans and at the end I added miscellaneous plans. That is, some plan Bs of the main plan, just to avoid a titanic sink in my life. I also added my skill plans and wrote down some characters I wanted to quit. It was really interesting doing that because previous years I would only sit and reflect on my life of the past year and just determine what I would like to become the coming year. I would say then, “uwa bu ihe chi fotara”, that is the future determines itself. But no, last year, I decided to be more personal to my person. I made plans and laid my foundation on them.
After writing my plans, the night before the first day of last year, I took the book and the pen with me to church. I kept reading, making corrections and adding more wishes to my plans.
Just few minutes to 2018, I knelt down and presented my plans to God asking for divine blessings and grace over all that I have written so I could achieve them. In the morning, I went home and was extremely happy. I felt a feeling of difference. Afterwards I began to work towards the actualisation of my plans. As the year rolled by, I would look at the book happily with a feeling of fulfilment and tick a bold good mark. I kept doing this till the year came to its end and I was fortunate enough to accomplish some of the plans I made.
The above plans I made and accomplished are what I call my New Year resolutions. You may decide to just call it wishes or plans, what really matters is that you make out something out of the year.
Whenever a new year begins, there are new hopes made, new anticipations foreseen, new opportunities seen and new fear condenses. The fear of keeping to ones plans, the fear of failing in the year, the fear of challenges, even the fear of dying in the year. Sometimes one becomes reluctant to make plans because one believes that what the future holds is the best.
The intriguing thing about writing a resolutions or drawing plans is that one does that by oneself, therefore one can make changes along the way. Your resolutions are not law, they aren’t rigid, you can make and unmake them. You decide what they become.
So what are your resolutions? To remain the way you were the previous year or make a change in your life? To rewrite the wrongs you did last year or wallow in darkness for the New Year. Have you personalised your life for this year? Have you decided that electing a good leader for Nigeria is not ‘their duty’ but ‘our duty’? Have you also decided that you will get your PVC and vote for a better Nigeria? Make also the decision that your vote is going to count for 2019 and quit selling your vote? Your personal resolutions, what really are they? To run against red light or one way during rush hours and cause a horrible traffic jam? To give a very big good mark to living a life full of lies or be truthful to God and even to yourself?
What are you social resolutions, to make new friends and have defined relationships? To be in a night club every Friday and go for pool party every Saturday till the year ends? To sell your worth and get the latest fashion or become a fraud to ride the latest 2019 model of cars? Your spiritual resolutions, to be closer to God and His people or get lost like the prodigal son? Have you also decided to add a new leaf in your chosen career or forever remain at level 1? Your academics or educational plan, have you vehemently refused to build up but give your students outdated information? Quit feeding your students trash with that lesson note that had lasted for ten years. The world is growing and moving digital rapidly, move with it! Get new knowledge and get updated, do not lag behind. Professorship does not necessarily mean being a good teacher, so get updated.
What are in your miscellaneous? If you must write a resolution, you must not forget your miscellaneous. They are as important as the main plan. Your skills? Have you resolved to gain a skill and improve yourself or take to the streets because of our country’s endless strike and unemployment?
The places you failed in your life last year can only be changed and be amended if you resolve to do so. Your life this year can only be better if you take your life as your life. Your life is not their business, it is your business, it is your life.
Last year was just too great for me because my resolutions worked for me and I worked for them too. I accomplished them and they made me feel accomplished.
If you do not believe in making resolutions because of not reaching them, here is what you can do; just make wishes and try making them realities. You can just draw a life plan, then start the foundation and build your life on then and make amazing freestyles towards actualising them and thank me later. Make out something great in your life this year and be happy you did.
Happy New Year pals! May 2019 be good for you and I. Enjoy!