Resolve - Recovery

My soul, the ruins of Pompeii.
Once beautiful, now an island of graves
No eulogy, no gravestones.
Once blooming with flowers
With beautiful sunlight streaming in.
And the silent moon radiating the streams at night time .
The robins and swallows on the tree top chipping away like the world needed to hear their voice.
Yes that was my soul once.
Then the rumblings started and I knew they were fatal.
Flee? I couldn’t flee, I couldn’t leave myself behind.
Could I avert this impending danger?
Did I have the courage to suppress this tragedy?
I had to know how strong I was. How strong my good was
Now the smoke rises and the ashes settle on dead ground.
The eruption is over but in its wake lies the destruction I could not phantom
Words elude me. I stare into the bleakness of the dark that now surrounds me.
Streams of water now streams of fire.
Everything is not as it should be.
I am left with this task .
To rebuild my souls civilization.
From these ashes must come hope and the birth of a stronger soul.
This is the sole purpose of my survival.
This shall not go to waste .


Happy New Year .

How to make a New Year resolution and stick to it for at least 300 days.

 

It is a New Year and it is only traditional that after the merriment and funfair that ushers in the New Year, we retreat for a few moments and take up the singular responsibility of making a resolution. This resolution could range from a single habit to an entire lifestyle modification. Whatever shape or form your New Year resolution may take, here are a few tips to help you meet your expectations.

1.        Set the bar reasonably high. Most people would want a total overnight make over. From regular to superhuman in a very short while. This may be possible but likely improbable for the majority of “resolutionist”. Whatever you might want to achieve with your resolution that has made you give 52weeks of the year to achieving is definitely not minced meat, so put a lot of thought into it and do not scare yourself with superhuman task that you would probably abandon by august

2.       It is 12 months and a lot of days. Time is on your side (except you are 80 and want to be an Olympic sprinter). Most things if not all are achievable when broken down into smaller simpler units so do the same to your resolutions and take each tiny bit and accomplish it within that period.

3.       Start. It’s as simple as that. Just get up and start, and do not stop till you notice an improvement.

4.       Do it today. Simply put, do not procrastinate. Today is a good day to get started and a good day to keep going.

5.       Records are important. This could work in 2 ways, it could show you how far you have come or it could show you how much is left. Either ways, a positive attitude would help you look at the challenges and strive to overcome. Get that positive attitude from anywhere you can and never let it go

6.       Take a break. Just do this sparingly so as not to stall or hinder the progress or gathering momentum but enough to prevent burnout which is a major setback.

7.       Reward yourself. Yes! Once you have accomplished a sizeable chunk of work reward yourself with a healthy dose of gratitude, try to avoid relapse also. However do not dwell on present success. Keep going

8.       Setbacks are a must. Hiccups and life will always interfere in your progress so expect it, prepare for it and equip yourself to survive. These setbacks will make the task harder but the reward even much sweeter.

9.       Have fun. Your resolution should not be a punishment, it should be a step or set of steps to becoming a better person. With that in mind, the process should be enjoyed as much as possible and not endured. Endurance gives room for relapse and you wouldn’t want to start over a process you endured next year, would you?

10.   Let go. A lot of things or people or situations would want to prevent you from making a resolution, let them go. A lot of excuses would come up along the way to slow you down, derail you, or send you in the wrong direction. Identify them and let them go. You don’t need anchors to slow your ship when it wishes to sail (except if your resolution is to stop sailing, then anchorage is allowed).

A resolution should not be a competition but it can make you more competitive. It’s you against yourself. You have nothing to prove to anybody but yourself (ok! Maybe your spouse).

HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Would it be any different?

This time of the year, a lot of people review how the year was and what could be different. We all are blessed with the gift of hind-sight but fore-sight? Not so much. We promise not to repeat certain mistakes in the New Year and endeavour to avoid certain company that could potentially be more stagnating than progressive. We give ourselves the luxury of a second chance, as many as we can afford with ourselves and in truth, we deserve as many second chances as there possibly is. Last year was probably not “the year” and neither was this year, but next year could be that year or the year after that or the one after that. So would next year be any different? Would we do things differently? Would we improve or change? These questions could hamper many a soul in the search of a second chance (or 3^rd or 4^th chance as the case may be). The only option left to any human who is still alive and willing to live is to try again, as many times as possible. It may be the job or career, the dream house or personal projects; it may be in that relationship you just can seem to get over. It could be a habit you want to drop or one you want to pick up, a new skill you have tried to acquire, a certification or just a level of expectation you may have set for yourself or others have set for you. Would you succeed in it next year? I do not know, but what I know and I am sure you know it too is that, we just have to try. In the words of Marshall Matters aka Eminem “success is my only modaf*%kin option, failure is not”. So do not be disheartened by the failures and short-comings of 2013 0r all other previous years. You are still alive and you can still achieve it.

Was the previous trail any success? Did I try as hard as I should have? Was it meant to be? Or was it just a phase? Is there anything I could have done different? Is it over? All these questions (and more) continue to meddle with the option of actually trying again and proffers more than one rational reason not to go down the road already travelled, and most times it is the wise voice in our head that says “one more time”, that we tend to listen to. We want to try again, because we are creatures of 2^nd chances. We never give up and even if the alternative may seem pleasing and safe, not knowing what would have been, if we tried a little harder drives us back unto this said road. May be for closure or just to figure out what went wrong or what was missing. The puzzle is and can only be solved ultimately by trying and trying and trying.

The second chance may have the same outcome as the first and that could be a very demoralizing factor, but you can’t stop, you shouldn’t, you could only hope that one day you figure it all out. But, till then, we all have to live and keep on keeping on.

Happy new year!!!!

Are we relieved that the year is over, that the decade is over?Should we look back and say 'oh what a horrible year this has been'? Well, its over and there is absolutely nothing you or anyone else can do about it. But if given the chance, would you want to change anything you have done (or not done) in the last decade? it's your life anyway but its our world, our universe. it has not been the most pleasant year 2009 but it has come with its own lessons and i think a lot has been learned. Economic crisis, political crisis, academic crisis, well we have had quite a number of crisis this year but we have had and still have HOPE... things can only get better and that is not being optimistic, it is being realistic. Get on the and wagon, its A NEW YEAR, a clean slate, a new beginning.... its a new day, it is the right time to start, it is the best time to start, let us learn from the year ending and work towards a better year. Remember, there is only one way to go now...UP! Have a good and purposeful year.


HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!