We are about to leave one part of our lives and enter into an un-lived part. Every new day, week, month or year is an opportunity given to us by destiny to reach our destination. I want to simplify the meaning of life to you ; you are simply a product of how you spend your time, and how you are going to use your next 365 days is going determine who you are.
Next time somebody tells you ‘happy new year‘, pause and ask yourself what did I do with the year that has just passed? How much of it did I waste watching Netflix, being with people who have no interest in success and being in habits that didn’t improve my life? What did I spend my time on? I am accountable to God, He gave me a gift, how did I use that gift?
Every new year is a new chapter, whatever you went through last year is going into history books and you are going into a new chapter of 365 untouched pages. What happened last year should not haunt your new year, nobody is going to talk about what you did last year. If you were broke last year, new chapter. If you couldn’t find a job last year, new chapter. If somebody broke your heart last year, new chapter. God blessed us when he gave us time so that we can live in days, months,years and that you can say the pain was yesterday. I was broke last year. As they put it, time heals.
TD Jakes says “its not the movement of clock that produces the newness of life, its the movement of your mind”. You can have a new year but it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have a new mind, a new mentality, a new attitude, because you can have a new car but if you put the same old man back in the new car, you still going to have the old experience. A new outfit doesn’t make you a new person, similarly a new year doesn’t make a new life. If you do what you have always done, you will be where you have always been.
Why is that at the beginning of each year we have this tradition of wanting to set goals, add something to our lives and make things better. There is a norm that January 1st offers an opportunity to start afresh, but did you know statistics have proven that within the first 2 weeks of making resolutions, 95% of the people break their commitments and go back to their old ways. Yes 95%. Some people don’t even make resolutions anymore because they know they are not going to follow them through, they have made them for years and years and absolutely nothing changed. After all who wants to disappoint themselves? Why set standards that you cant reach?
Let me tell you this, most people don’t set resolutions, they set wish-lists hoping this is what is going to happen, but when you set resolutions, when you resolve to something you mean to say that this what is going to be. I’m taking control of this and that’s when you cut any possibility except the thing you’re committed to. Resolutions don’t work unless you do.
Forget new year’s resolutions lets make new life’s resolutions. What does it take to make new life’s resolutions? I’m not going to tell you something new, I’ll just remind you what your soul knows.
Nothing compares to the long lasting happiness that man gets when he sees himself progress. Progress attracts the real happiness. Getting things doesn’t make one happy, getting money, getting that car you’ve always wanted, getting a new phone, all these things excite you for a moment and then you will just get used to owning that much, owning that car, it’ll just feel ordinary and it won’t make you feel happy anymore. The secret to man’s happiness is not getting things but its getting things done.
Planning is the most important concept of getting things done. Every new day is apparently an opportunity for you to correct your priorities, redefine your goals, get rid of your yesterday and plan a new tomorrow. In your new life’s resolutions, plan your day in detail accounting for every hour, because without a plan, time will ruin you. If you don’t want to plan what you’re going to do, somebody’s going to plan for you. You’re going to fall victim of the most dangerous assassin called ‘let’s’. Let’s go to the beach , let’s go watch football , let’s go the bar. In your new life resolutions your answer should be, “No I got a plan”.
In your plan clearly set your vision. A compelling vision. What is it that you really want? Something so attractive ,something so exciting, something you desire so much. In your new life’s resolutions set something that will pull you towards it, not something that you will push yourself to do. Then be specific, account for every little detail when setting your vision. Your vision should not be like, “I should lose weight”, but it should be “I must lose this much weight in this period of time”. People get their musts not their shoulds. Besides, I don’t mean that you should set ‘Smart‘ goals like the old tradition. Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant etc …no, go for what you want, not what you think is possible because, if you can dream it, you can do it.
To be able to carry on with your vision throughout the year, the decade or even the century, you got to have strong enough reasons which you will follow through when things get tough, because they will. Your reasons should be a balance of what you’re going to gain against what you’re going to lose. One thing that many people miss out on is, okay this is what i want to do, but why ? Get your reasons out. Dr Mujahid spells this out melodiously, if you know the reason why then that why will make you fly , even if you have no wings you will go so high in any circumstances even if you have to die, because there is no reason why you can’t reach the sky.
Then you need to review your vision and reasons and feel them every single day. Have you ever heard something that you were so excited over, could have been that career move you’ve always wanted, that new relationship, that new phone could’ve been anything but the point is you were so obsessed about because you really wanted it, then stuff happened that excitement begins to go down u feel drained it doesn’t feel exciting anymore waking up and hitting the gym and you end up even forgetting about it completely. Sounds familiar, huh? That’s human nature our hearts constantly changes on things but the secret to controlling that, lies in always reviewing and feeling your agenda. Write down 5 reasons why you want it and whenever life knocks you down, take them out and read them loud.
No matter how beautiful your vision is, without action you’re going no where, because it’s all about action. Action is what will take you from where you are now to where you want to be. Some old habits have got to change, how you spend your time’s got to change and maybe some friends have to go. That’s the beginning of a new life’s resolution. When you want something in life you’ve got to be willing to go into action. Don’t wait around for things to be just right, don’t wait for the ideal time, like don’t wait for the rain to stop so that you can go out and get what you want, what if it doesn’t? There will never be an ideal time, your brain will always give you a reason. “well as soon as I get this, I’ll start doing this, as soon as I earn this much as soon as I finish school I’ll work on this”. In your new life’s resolution start with what you can where you are and with what you have.
Now the strongest force in your new life’s resolutions is the need to stay consistent, its hard but not the hardest thing to do. You know when the human being resolves to something trust me they find a way to do it. Some people’s resolve is to pay the bills ,so no matter how tough the economy is they will find a way to pay the bills equally some people resolve is to look after their family so whenever the mother or father gets sick and they are broke they still find a way to take the mother to the hospital, they do because they’re committed. What are you going to resolve on? When you really want it you will find a way to get it.
And of course young man and woman. Allah (S.W) says in an excerpt of Hadith Qudsi, “Be mindful of God and He will take care of you. Be mindful of Him and you shall find Him at your side. If you ask, ask God. If you need help, seek it from God. Know that if the whole world were to gather together in order to help you with anything, they would not be able to, except if God wishes. And if the whole world were to gather together in order to harm you, they would not be able to, except if God wishes.”
I know this sounds overly simplistic but if you’re going to follow what I just told you by the time you realize that I was lying or I didn’t know what I was talking about you’re going to start living a brand new life. I don’t lie and I do know what I am talking about.
On a light note today’s date is 4/5/1441hijri.
