IT’S a new year. I wish all my readers a peaceful and prosperous 2020. For the country, I hope we can continue our economic growth and sustain the gains of the last few years. This is one of those times when boring is better than excitement. Stability is boring but it is beneficial for us. When we gradually climb our way to success without any unnecessary turbulence then that is good for our country.
The new year also gives way to a tradition we have practiced for a long time – New Year’s resolution. The practice of making New Year’s resolutions has been around for thousands of years. Historians tell us that the ancient Babylonians were the first people to make New Year’s resolutions. They would make promises to the gods to pay their debts and return any objects they had borrowed.
Today, New Year’s resolutions are more complicated. Some promise to shed off some pounds. Some to make new friends or take on new adventures in life. Some are completely utilitarian like working harder to make more money. Or saving more money and becoming less wasteful. Some are strange and unusual like pick a food and try it everywhere in the country or once a month dine out solo. Well, different strokes for different folks
But to me, no matter what your resolutions are the two key ingredients to successfully fulfilling them remain the same: hard work and perseverance. Resolutions are good because they give you a goal or a vision to aspire for. But it can be negative when all you do is write down resolution on the first day of the year and forget about it the rest of the year.
It takes discipline to accomplish things especially when it involves changing a habit. It requires planning and developing a strong ethic to pursue the said goals. Hard work is a key element because resolutions will never resolve themselves. You need to put in the hour.
For instance, I hope more Filipinos would resolve to be more entrepreneurial. I hope more Filipinos would say, “in 2020, I’ll start a small business enterprise.” But becoming an entrepreneur is not easy. It needs a lot of work. More often than not it would require you to focus on the business 24 hours a day.
Reaching your goals also require perseverance. Chances are you will fail once, twice, maybe thrice in your endeavor. If you give up easily. You might need to draw up another set of resolutions next year. But you need to have a laser-like focus on the objectives you set out. Every successful person has experiences failing at one point in their lives. But the really successful ones persist. They do not allow obstacles to get in the way. Somehow, they have the ability to turn failures into lessons in life and build success on top of every setback they encounter.
So for those who made New Year’s resolutions, I hope you back it up with the requisite hard work and persistence. Accomplishing a goal is good for you. It will shore up your confidence enabling you to achieve more. Remember, the people you idolize who achieved a lot probably started with a small vision which he or she accomplished.
For those who do not believe in New Year’s resolutions, I hope you still work hard to be a better person to your family, to your neighbors and a good citizen to our country. After all, we make resolutions not only to make ourselves better but also to make our world better. Happy new year everyone!
