HAPPY NEW YOU?

I recently listened to a podcast (Deep End With Lecrae) that enlightened me with a new perspective on how to get the most out of a new year. It's the first episode of this year, and he talks about how we can be misguided or mistaken when making New Year resolutions. He stresses the fact that so many of us believe that when the hour hand strikes midnight on the first of January, just like clockwork (excuse the pun), we become totally different versions of ourselves ready to step into great glory and success. While this is great for motivating our inner psyche (especially because some of us end the year splattered and washed out on our floors), it is not necessarily the most practical way to achieve success in the new year. For example, if my goal is to prosper financially in the new year, I must learn what it takes to prosper financially, I must create a practical strategy like having income streams, saving, investing, tithing, etc. I must also be disciplined about following the above strategy. 

A pivotal part of the aforementioned strategy is a shift in thinking (renewal of the mind) and in behavior patterns. We must intentionally work to delete the bad habits of 2023 that sponsored our mistakes or failures, and replace these with new habits that will ensure our success in 2024. This is a process that can take time. It is akin to the process of teething in that it is painful. It is a rocky path that is filled with many potholes. 

So what then can we do? What is the best way of making resolutions? What Lecrae suggests is not the be-all and end-all, but I believe it is a very practical way to attain success in any area of your life this new year. He proposes a notion that rather than writing a list of resolutions, how about writing a list of behaviors or habits that will lead to having a miserable 2024? This list can outline behaviors such as being toxic, being envious, being a gossiper, being disrespectful to your spouse, spending above and beyond your means, etc.  After listing these down, you can then list down the opposite of these behaviors and attach practical ways in which you are going to manifest these good behaviors into being so that you can have a prosperous new year. 

Intentionality and practicality beat daydreaming and wishy-washing. The grace of God, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and the living, breathing wisdom of the word of God should be the biggest part of your arsenal, as you intentionally work to attain the great destiny that God has prepared for you this year and in years to come. 

I leave you with a poem I wrote on the above subject:

Time,

Like a pride of floating butterflies

Drifting on, gliding onwards

Upwards, downwards

Ready or not here I come

The hour hand strikes again

The minute curves and bends

The second drops all trends

Happy New Year

Happy Liberation

Happy Valentines

Happy Janani Luwum

Happy Easter

Happy 'Eid

Happy Labour Day

Happy Martyrs Day

Happy Heroes Day

Happy Independence Day

Merry Christmas

We start again...

New friends, tightened threads

Fractured mends, raptured veins

No friends, dead ends

We start again...

No job, new hunting

New money, more planning

Old money, more spending

No money, new searching

No match, new flirting

New catch, more partying

New love, more sacrificing

New scars, more hurting

New devotion, more reading

New emotion, more praying

No lotion, more panting

No motion, no more fasting

Happy New Year

Happy Liberation

Happy Valentines

Happy Janani Luwum

Happy Easter

Happy 'Eid

Happy Labour Day

Happy Martyrs Day

Happy Heroes Day

Happy Independence Day

Merry Christmas

We start again...