Still talking New Year resolutions! Here are some effective ones – tried and tested as they say. If yours for 2017 do not include them, you may have to reset or tweak.
Waiting on God
I was excited last week when Okechukwu Enelamah, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment and the CEO of an oil company in Lekki, Lagos, disclosed that among their best resolutions is “waiting of God and not giving up on Him.”
Enelemah is also a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, so, he knew what he was saying; so did the CEO, a very successful man, seen-all-done-all, who as some “Nigerian Big Men” people do, would not acknowledge God as a key success factor.
God made us; wired each of us for specific purposes, and has timelines for each purpose known to only Him, because He knew us before we were formed and knows the end from the beginning.
So, the big resolution, really, is knowing Him, acknowledging and taking Him as your God and Father. That was the turning point in the life of Pastor E. A. Adeboye, now revered all over the world.
However, knowing God requires that we obey Him fully, including waiting on Him and not giving up on Him.
But, truly, waiting on God is the hard part. As humans living in a now world, we want instant results, fast lane life. I got a good lesson on “waiting on God” recently as I worried about something I had been expecting.
The small still voice of the Holy Spirit made me look silly, as he asked, “you are waiting in your home, do you know where Joseph did his own waiting?”
Well, I had to shut up, because Joseph, before he became Pharaoh’s deputy, in charge of Egypt, was a prisoner, down in the dungeon. Even when he was sure a butler he had helped in prison could mention him to Pharaoh to fast-track his own release, the guy didn’t, leaving Joseph in the pains of unfulfilled expectation.
Now, here is where the importance of God’s timing becomes more interesting. If the butler honoured his promise as required, Joseph may have been released earlier, but not to be a king. That opportunity had not arisen, so he would have rushed back to his town from where his brothers sold him into slavery. His dad loved him, so he would have rushed back. God ignored that wish.
The time he was released, was the “said time”; the right spot on God’s timeline for his life.
There is another strong example. It took about 16 years from the day God had David anointed to be king to be crowned a king. He spent most of the 16 years in the bush, trying to escape from King Saul who wanted him dead and fighting battles with locals to survive.
According to some Bible scholars, all of God’s expectations from man could be summed up in four main expectations, which are:
•Acknowledging God for who He is and what He has done.
•Walking obediently in Him.
•Waiting on God to accomplish that which He has promised.
•Passing on the knowledge of the Holy to the next generation.
Other resolutions that work, compiled by experts, include:
Getting organized
Life is messy enough, so you do not want to compound the problem by living in an environment that is similarly untidy. Successful people know that having an uncluttered, organized environment can help foster productivity and enhance mental clarity. In 2015, news anchor Katie Couric resolved to be less messy and more organized. You can, too.
Start by de-cluttering and getting rid of items you no longer use. Pick up after yourself and keep things tidy around the house. Organize books and paperwork on your desk. Being organized in all facets of your life can help you better manage your time and keep your day on track.
Mastering a new skill
Mastering a new skill can help fuel creativity and inspire you in other areas of life. By remaining perpetual students, successful people open themselves up to innovation and new opportunities.
Successful people never stop learning. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and co-founder of Facebook, is known for his ambitious resolutions. In the past, he has resolved to learn Mandarin and also to read a new book every other week, with the goal of learning about a diverse array of cultures and histories. There are also many resources online to help you master a new skill at little or no cost.
Stop being a people-pleaser
It is natural to care about what your friends and colleagues think of you, but only to a certain extent. Caring too much about what others think can hinder your progress and hold you back from success. Successful people let go of what others think of them and focus on bigger goals.
“Psychologists call it ‘approval addiction,’ and once you overcome it to any significant degree, you are free of the psychological chains that bind most people from ever experiencing world-class success,” he said.
Make time to relax
You might always be on the go, running from one thing to the next. Even during the in-between moments, you might check your email or latest notifications. Successful people often find the demands for their time is even greater.
However, always being busy does not allow time to rejuvenate. That could affect your productivity and creativity.
Brian Halligan is CEO and co-founder of HubSpot, an inbound marketing and sales platform. He said he wanted to make more time for meditation and naps. “There’s something about not actively thinking that creates a fertile ground in my brain for a breakthrough,” he said.
Manage your time well
Highly successful people know that managing their time is a crucial aspect of mastering both their careers and their lives. “There is nothing worse for productivity than placing no limits on your time,” said John Vespasian, author of When Everything Fails, Try This.
Vespasian suggested setting timelines and getting things done within those limits. In addition, he urged people to use downtime — such as waiting for a client or sitting in a busy airport — to catch up on reading books or emails. The key is to maximize each minute of your productivity in a certain time frame, and then let go and relax.
Focus on overall health
Nearly everyone wants to lose weight after the holidays. But successful people know that it is about shedding pounds, but also about managing your health — inside and out.
Successful people take a balanced approach to health and wellness, working on inner happiness and physical strength.
Never complain
Every successful person is unique. (How could it be otherwise?) But invariably one of the things they have in common is they don’t whine.
They had a problem or series of them. They took their problems as a given and worked hard to play the best hand they could with the cards they were dealt.
If the problem was caused by something they had done, they took great pains not to do it again. But if it was just a matter of fate, they accepted it and starting working on a way to overcome it.
