It is early in the morning and you wake up. Suddenly you realise that you slept into a New Year! It is 2009 and all you recall are the events of the New Year’s Eve that were full of celebration.

Okay, maybe you celebrated like I did but it does not mean you are going to celebrate in and out of year like I used to do.

Three years ago, I remember the day when I had made a glorious entry into the New Year with a lot of fun. As I stretched out my tired body on my bed, I woke up with a startle and wondered why my father, who had woken up earlier, was seated right beside me.

It was so unusual and as my mind was racing, I thought I was in trouble. But he smiled and asked me to sit up next to him.

"Good morning son. I hope you slept well,” father said.

"Morning dad, I did sleep well with a lot of anticipation for the New Year,” I answered. Then he started talking to me, the way a father talks to a son he believes in.
"You can always have fun but have one thing in mind,” he said.

He then told me that I had a roof on top of my head because every year he always took time to picture the future and seriously make up his mind on what he wanted it to be. He told me that I had the power to choose what my future would be only if I set goals and a plan to achieve them.

"You see son, when you are still young, you do not know what it feels like to be old and regret why you never planned to achieve anything earlier,” he said.

These words of wisdom got me thinking hard. All of a sudden the remaining sleep and the previous night’s thoughts of fun were washed out of my mind.

My father told me that every year I should set objectives, not any objective but those that I craved to turn into tangible achievements.

I listened with more attention than what I gave my teachers at school. Word by word he stressed about future exploits that would make me or break me.

"A year should not end without achievements or failures because either way it shows that you are headway or deadlock in your life,” he advised.

Late that evening, I was burdened by how much time I had lost. Then, I sat back and planned how to make my life better.

Ends