Happy New Year

One of the things about the New Year is there is a certain hope and  contagious expectation with which most people   start a year. Somehow there is a new surge of faith that says that the life that has been afforded is a divine sign that there is going to be change for the better in the future. With this new surge, several people start out with New Year resolutions that sadly do not last the first week of the year.

I was on a Radio show the other day and one of the members of the panel said that New Year resolutions should be scrapped! Perhaps she had seen enough failures at it but the truth most times is that people sometimes set unrealistic expectations that are only doomed to fail, leaving them paralysed with guilty feelings. At other times, the resolutions have just been mere wishes with no concrete plans on how it would be achieved. When I was in High school, one of the paintings on the central building  which we as students had to see daily was  a quote by Benjamin Franklin   “If you fail to plan you plan to fail “ .

Since I assume most people have made their plans/goals/resolutions  or currently making them,  permit me to add (just in case it is not already on your list ) that for this year, make a resolution to be more grateful. It is a great way to not only start the year but to continue the year. Be grateful to God and to people. Most things God does for us happen through human agents and we should never take this for granted. Always make a big fuss about what people do for you. Do not take any little act of kindness for granted, I always tell myself people are not obligated to do anything for you.

  Over the Christmas period, I had the privilege of giving and receiving gifts from people. There were varied responses to the gifts I gave. For some people, it seemed they just managed to offer a polite Thank you and did not bother afterwards. For some others, they did not only say the initial Thank you but got to their homes and still sent Thank you messages. You sure do not need a prophet to tell you that the latter group will be the first on my list next time.

 Usually at the beginning of the year, we are optimistic  that “this is going to be the year” which gradually wanes down sadly and I do not just want this to be one of those up and down years for you. If there is anyway I have learnt to remain cool calm and collected, it is to always always look for reasons to be grateful, specifically. This will keep you all year round.  It is a top  secret tip for being   a very attractive person and one people would definitely want to be around. Let us  be extremely  deliberate about gratitude for  gratitude is an enhancer of relationships.

It is easy to start being grateful,start  as you wake up each day, take each as a gift from God and watch out for little mercies along the way and be grateful.

 On this note, I  want to say "Happy New Year" and   a big “Thank you” for following this blog and sharing with all your fans, friends and family.

 Cultivate Gratitude,
Gracillis 

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