Focus 2017 – 5 Tools helpful tools

 

WOW!

Just one move of the second hand of the clock, one tick and everything changes! There are many things that are mysterious and fascinating in this world and THAT, is one of them.

The world (and I mean humans – leave the animals, grasses and my neighbour’s dog alone!) do not agree on a lot of things – religion, race, politics, Brexit, gender, even TIME! (luckily, we have the sun, the moon and others to blame for this).

We do, however, agree on one thing…celebrating the coming of the new year. Irrespective of who you are, where you are or what you believe in, once that clock struck 12midnight, you most likely screamed “HAPPY NEW YEAR!” and then went on to bask in the euphoria of the moment.

However, a few hours later and you realise there are 365 days ahead for you to deal with. To put that into a narrower perspective, that will be 8760 hours or 525,600 minutes or 31,536,000 seconds staring you in the face.

Happy New Year!

Fortunately, there is a silver lining in every dark cloud (I cannot confirm the validity of this as I have never seen a silver lining but work with me on this one okay?)

Cavemen created fire from rocks, the city of Dubai was built on a desert, Beyoncé made millions from selling a Lemonade (appleade anyone?) and Donald Trump won the US election.

Bottom line, we’ve all got tools to make our 525,600 minutes count or help us along the way. Here are 5 suggestions to help:

1. PASSION

“I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint – and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you” ― Oprah Winfrey

There are about 7,404,976,783 (more or less) people in 196 countries across various sectors in the world today. Everybody needs something and each of us can do something. There is so much more to living than just having a great job, a gorgeous spouse/partner and a nice little house with a nice little garden.

No Ma’ am!

There are causes and blogs (Amen) to support, people to speak out for, policies to be challenged, businesses to run, people to be held accountable for their actions, messages and stories to tell and people to help. So, find a way to contribute.

2. PLAN

“Failing to plan is planning to fail” – Alan Lakein

Wishing on a star is for fairy tales and Kate Middleton was not a pauper who fell on a prince. Every good and successful thing begins with a plan. This may be in the form of praying, meditating, pondering or taking some time out to visit your man-cave (woman-cave doesn’t sound right…) . You do not have to do it alone neither do you require a six-page proposal sheet.

From experience, I have found it helpful to have it written down and kept handy so when you feel yourself slipping or unsure, it can serve as a guide.

“… Write what you see. Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run…” (Book of Habakkuk 2 verse 2 from the bible)

Without a plan, passion is only but a dream.

3. PRIORITISE

“you define what is important to you by what you dedicate your time to” – Anonymous

Everyone gets 24 hours and 7 days in a week during which we do the necessary things like sleep, work, study, shopping, dates and meet-ups, family time, etc.

Having priorities helps me in 3 areas:

• Choices
• Time Management
• Knowing when to say YES and when to say NO (tricky)

So, knowing what is important and when it is important will make prioritising easier.

4. PERFORM

“Well done is better than well said” – Benjamin Franklin

Work is action and it is what makes our passion and plans a reality. ‘Work’ is not just restricted to your regular 9-5 (or what you do to earn money).

For instance, I have this friend who is very passionate about the situation is Syria. “How do I know?” you ask.

I know because I see him DOING something about it. He talks about it, he prays about it, his social media is flooded with info about it and he encourages people to sign the petition to end the war in Syria.

 

Your girl, on the other hand, has wished and talked about taking up guitar lessons and yet after 4-months and an extra guitar to practice with, she can only struggle through a handful of notes (“Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men” – from the bible, Proverbs 22:29)

Amen!

5. PROBE

“If the plan doesn’t work, change the plan but never the goal” – Anonymous

Having a plan is good, however, being flexible with the plan where needed is even better. Each day of the year is a combination of probabilities and uncertainties. I am learning that being able to adapt to changing conditions and people (Lawd have mercy!) will make the year and life in general, a lot easier (take it from a Sista who knows).

So, it’s okay to review the plan regularly to see what works and what isn’t.

2017 is here. What are you going to do with it?

 

Photo credit 1: https://happynewyear2017.wiki/happy-new-year-2017-gif-images/

Photo credit 2:http://thesource.com/tag/oprahwinfrey/

Photo credit 3: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-37689063