It is hilarious how there is
always so much hype about the New Year. Everyone is talking about new
beginnings. Social media goes nuts with messages like, ‘2014 is my year of
excellence!’ This can easily be interchanged to be the ‘year of grace/blessing/overcoming/overachieving.’
There is something about all
those messages that carries an element of falsity. I feel like it is almost as
if people think that because it is a New Year all their problems are going to
magically disappear. Yes, it is a New Year and yes, you have a new start but I
have found that if you go into the New Year thinking that all the issues you
had in the past are all going to just miraculously fade away, it won’t. At
least it won’t just because it is a New Year. There is need
for personal reflection and growth for any change to happen.
I find that people also seem to
look at the previous year with disappointment thinking about what didn’t happen
or with regret at what happened. All the experiences you have gone through in
the last year have happened for a reason. In 2013 you cried, you laughed, you
joked and loved all for a reason. Embrace that. A person once told me that he
doesn't believe in regret because at the time of whatever happening, you wanted
it to. Even though the consequences of your actions or your experience wasn't
what you hoped, you should see it as a lesson, not regret. I love that.
In order for this New Year to be
your ‘year of excellence’ you are going to have to work hard to make sure that
it is. You are going to have to push yourself in all aspects: mentally,
physically and spiritually. Most important of all, is that you make a conscious
effort to learn from your mistakes and change your tactics to ultimately become
who you want to be this year.
My prayer, is that you do
accomplish all that you set out to this year. I hope that you learn from your
past and focus on the future. If anything was made plain and clear last year,
is that death is the only thing in this life that is certain. Life is short. As
a result, push yourself, challenge yourself to achieve your fullest potential,
don’t just brush it off and say, “There is always next year.”
