First Gentleman with Wilson Orhiunu
Email: babawill2000@gmail.com Twitter: @Babawilly
The earth has been doing a fair bit of revolving around the sun and we are all back to where we started; which is January. That means for some, it is time to make a list of New Year Resolutions. These are things which we hope to achieve that will make us better or at least feel so.
There is a high failure rate with making these New Year resolutions but we can increase the chance of success by doing things differently. What follows are some principles I believe and which may work for you.
Think about success
‘As a man thinks in his heart, so is he’ is a well- known verse of scripture found in Proverbs 23:7. This could be interpreted as meaning thoughts become realities. What we think about has a way of showing up in our lives. I have had recent experience with this principle. On the 28th of December we sat down as a family to watch a film at home. After going through a few options we settled on The Hurt Locker, a 2008 movie that won 6 Oscars including one for the Best Director category. It is the story of Bomb disposal experts working in Iraq and it dramatized the agonies of doing such a job. The next day, 29th December 2014 I bought the I newspaper and on page 25 I saw an article on Abdul Ghafoor Afghanyar, an Afghan specialist in disarming Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). In the last five years he had disarmed six thousand road side bombs and six car bombs.
It seemed ‘strange’ that I should be reading an article about a topic I thought about after watching a film. One could say it was plain coincidence and that I was only draw to the article because my interest in the subject matter had been stimulated by the film. That is true. Many can relate to how you notice a particular brand of car on the roads the day after buying that same brand of car.
However I have had many examples in the past that have taught me that thoughts are attractive things. They draw situations into our lives. The same might be said of education for once you learn about a topic, you begin to think and talk about it and soon begin to recognise signs of it where ever you go. Hills and mountains are a good example. It you think about mountains long enough you will soon find yourself on top one.
To apply this to New Year resolutions, we need to think about what we have resolved to do. That could be stimulated through reading about it, watching documentaries or joining a group of like- minded people.
Love those who are successful in what you wish to be successful in
Hating or talking bad about people who have achieved a goal you wish to achieve has a way of driving that goal further from you.(Hate not the mentors). If for example you wish to lose weight this year, you would need to learn from someone who has lost weight or who looks after their body well.
Now if you call all fit people ‘exercise fanatics’ it would be difficult for you to learn what they do right. It is easier to learn from those we love and speak well. The same applied to those who wish to improve their financial state yet call every rich person a thief. There are skill sets that successful people have and anyone wishing to improve himself will do well to learn from those who have already ‘invented the wheel of fortune’.
Flee from your partners in crime
It goes without saying that if you hang out with ostriches you would not be flying anywhere. Your friends and family did not sign up to your list of resolutions so do not expect them to change in order to accommodate you. You are on your own. If you want to cut out the Ganja in 2015, just stop going to your dealer’s house. Some friends will laugh at your plans and pull out their stop watch as they wait to see you fail.
Seek new friends
Most groups are highly selective about who they let in. They are scared of slipping back to where you are coming from. So don’t fly over to Usain Bolt and tell him you want to start training with him as part of your ‘weight loss 2015 programme’. He does not want to train with you. Neither would Warren Buffet want to hang out with you because you have resolved to improve how you handle your finances. Just watch their videos on YouTube and seek friends at your own level; out of shape but willing to give fitness a go.
Write the vision and make it plain
Write your New Year resolutions out on a list and stick copies around the house. Wisdom is needed however. Use coded language for you questionable habits as the lady of the house might not be too pleased with – will stop visiting prostitutes in 2015- stuck to the fridge.
Seeing the list daily will help to remind one to take those daily steps required for success. Also be very clear as to why you want to achieve things. Why do you want to stop smoking? Why do you want to make more money? Why do you want to stop visiting the Ashewo Hotel?
Be stubborn and persistent
Read a few autobiographies of persistent people who you like. You could even have a mascot to represent stubbornness. The goat is called a stubborn animal so a toy goat in the corner of your room may help remind you to be stubborn. You might want to try goat meat pepper soup every weekend if you are not into mascots. Try anything that floats your boat.
