Allow me to shed some light on this before the year fades from our grasp.
I noticed there are lesser "new year new me" posts but I also believe we still make new year resolutions, although quietly - and that's why I'm here this morning.
If your list of things to have or improve lacks self accountability and resilience, you are wasting time. It is by these two pillars that you achieve your goals sustainably.
1. Self accountability is how you're honest with yourself. Forget the inflated ego, the lies and excuses we give to the world. Your inability to sit and truly assess yourself is how you're the enemy of your own progress. Goals demand consistency and consistency requires taking responsibility for your choices, effort and setbacks.
The easiest and perhaps the most palatable thing for us to do, is to place responsibility on external factors - say, the economy is tight - and with that we refuse to get our hands dirty. We refuse to take charge of our lives and instead leave them to the will of others. That's how we become stuck in the state of victimhood.
It's one thing to be a victim and it's a totally different thing to be addicted to victimhood - where in every event, you do no wrong and responsibility never rests on you. So much so that even with repeated loss or misplacement of your belongings, you never trace it back to your carelessness or inattentiveness. It's always someone bewitching you or God taking from you.
What I learned about self accountability is this: the moment you recognise and acknowledge your weakness, you give yourself room to grow and do better - both by yourself and with others.
2. Resilience is not endless endurance, emotional suppression, or suffering without complaint. It is your ability to bend, pause and rebuild. It is the capacity to weather life's storms while still showing up for your life. It is your ability to recover, recalibrate and move forward.
It is no secret that we live in turbulent times - politically, emotionally, mentally, socially and economically. What matters the most, in the face of turbulence, is your ability to bounce back. There is no specific timing to it though. Be gentle on yourself; and intentional about your goals.
