By Ciku Kimani cikukimani254@gmail.com
Posted Sunday, December 30 2012 at 20:00
Posted Sunday, December 30 2012 at 20:00
It is that time of the year when you vow to re-invent yourself and pull yourself by the bootstraps to achieve that long-held dream. If it has never worked, ponder the following:
New Year is here again, so are new things (not really, just same old stuff, wrapped in different colour gift wraps). One thing is for sure, however; every New Year ushers in renewed attitudes towards things we failed at or did not do too well in the old year.
You cannot blame those of us who do not accomplish everything; we cannot all be magicians — some of us need a little bit of hard work.
Because we are humans, we all aspire to better lives. Little wonder then that resolutions are duplicated the world over and by people from all walks of life — make more money, spend less of it, and save or invest most of it; shed some weight to avoid lifestyle diseases; stop sleeping around — you know the drill.
Perfect plans on paper, but could it be that the reason many people fail to see through their resolutions is they try to sprint before they crawl? Or they wash the cup on the outside and leave the inside filthy?
Charity begins at home. In this case, you are the home — hard to improve your own life (external) if your attitude towards everything, including yourself, is rotten or hugely wanting.
Philosopher after philosopher has given us quotable quotes on simple principles of life that could make life so much better, but quote them is all we do; subscribing to their world-view is usually a whole different and difficult matter. But this New Year, how about applying the quotes/clichés, as opposed to just saying them?
1 Matthew 7:12 – Do to others what you would like them to do to you. How hard can it be to do that? Easier said than done. Why else do we have thieves, cheats, wife/husband beaters — why do we even have evil in the world? It is hard to imagine that a thief would be happy to have another nick his stuff.
2 Swallow your pride, it is not fattening — Frank Tyger once said; it is possible that it is harder to apologise than to rob a bank. Unfortunately, people think that apologising makes them appear weak, but nothing could be farther from the truth.
Humility to accept a mistake is not only sexy, but apologising makes one a bigger person. Err is to human, nobody expects you to be perfect, but people will be in awe of you for being man/woman enough to apologise without fearing that a chunk of your brain will be taken away.
3 Do not look down on people on your way up as you might need them to cushion your fall. Falling from grace is not a thought we entertain. The possibility is ulcer-inducing, but life has no loyalty to anyone. Today may be your moment of glory, and then tomorrow, with little or no warning, your whole world crumbles. Woe unto you if you were nasty, you will get a taste of your own medicine. Be nice.
4 Remember, nobody is indispensible. You might be extremely good at your job, but there are about a million people out there who can do your job as well as you do, or even better. Do not be arrogant, do not be proud; be diligent, love your job, and respect your seniors and subordinates.
5 Be kind to strangers. Ever heard of the story of the beautiful girl who sneered at a random woman she met on the street, only to go visiting her fiancé’s house for the first time and find the same woman was the mother of her rich, handsome man? Well, that was how she got disengaged.
6 Respect yourself, only then can you respect others. To add meat to this, remember not to take people at face value; what lies beneath the skin is what is important — remember the other cliché, do not judge a book by its cover.
7 Henry Ford said: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you are right”. A large part of your results is pre-determined by your attitude towards the test. Impossible is a word you should only use when saying no evil, not when you need to get things done.
8 A Chinese saying I bumped into some years ago says, “The best time to plant a tree was 25 years ago, the next best time is not.” It is never too late to start something; you might feel you lost the opportunity to control your weight years ago, now you think it is out of control, but forget what you could not start years ago, concentrate on what you can do NOW.
9 Always wanted to start a business but the excuse for your procrastination is that you have not got the right location or enough money? Well, Theodore Roosevelt said, “Do what you can with what you have, where you are.”
10And finally, something from good old Mark Twain, who said, “Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.”
Have a great year!
cikukimani254@gmail.com
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