Five Good Things To Normalize This Year
Personally, I am not a big fan of New Year Resolutions. I mean, they are good and work for some people. Although, not for me! Rather than helping me make the most of my year, they just plunge me into unnecessary pressure and anxiety. And in the end, the year ends up not so great.
This is not to say that I enter the new year wanting nothing to change or having no goals or plans for the year. While I might not be the happiest about New Year Resolutions, I am in full support of striving to be the best version of. I like when I experience growth in the course of a new year. I like that by the end of the year, when I retrospect, I realize that I have grown in different areas of my life. Then, I can boldly say that the year was good.
However, for this to happen, there is a lot of work to do. For this desired growth to manifest or be visible, it requires a lot of personal sacrifices and changes on one’s part. This means that there are certain habits/behaviours you will have to do away with and there are also healthy attitudes/habit you will have to practice more often. In essence, there will be things to give up as well as things to add to your routine and normalize as the year unfolds.
Want the year to be gainful? These are good things you should normalize this year:
- Asking for help: With over-independence being the new cool,it is hard to meet people who ask for help when they genuinely need it. Now, this is a warped mindset. Because Wonder Woman/Man does not exist. Often, we will need the help of others for balance to exist. Also, I think that inability to ask for help stems from a place of pride. And we all know what happens to the proud – God resists him/her. So if you want God not to resist you, desist from feeling too big to ask for help when in need.
Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
I Peter 5:5-6 NKJV
- Prioritizing your needs: Selflessness in itself is not a bad idea. I mean, Jesus, our savior, is selflessness in flesh and spirit. The problem is when there is no balance. When you neglect your own needs to satisfy or fit into some status quo. By this, I do not mean selfish desires, I am talking about needs that would aid your growth. Besides, no one pours from an empty cup. For you to be able to effectively minister to the needs of others, your needs need to be prioritized and met first.
- Making mistakes and apologizing: Mistakes are inevitable. Yet, no one likes to make them. Hear me correctly! I am not saying that going around making stupid mistakes is good. I am saying that, when you make genuine mistakes, do not be too hard on yourself. Instead, learn from it and if people were involved, and hurt from its consequences, apologize and move on.
- Cutting off toxic relationships: This year, normalize detaching yourself from relationships that are draining. Be it romantic or platonic, toxic relationships are not the best. If you have been accommodating such, this is the time to stop. Then, observe and see how you will become lighter and freer in all you do as it relates to plans and goals.
- Having bad days: I hate bad days! Why have a bad day when you can have good ones? Well, I have learnt that there will be bad days. What makes you succeed despite those days is how you respond to them. Bear in mind that, I am not urging anyone to be pessimistic. But when those days happen, do not dwell on them. Forge ahead.
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