Society Debate: Are New Year resolutions overrated?

They are realistic Christmas is gone and the New Year is close. Some people are so superstitious that they won’t allow anyone to wish them a happy new year until they are in it, so, all I have been saying is, Merry Christmas, even when it has passed. Whereas Christmas is joyous all round, the New Year often comes with mixed feelings; some people feel very happy that they made it through, whereas some get sad; feeling low that they under achieved and that nothing was ticked off on their top ten resolutions for the previous year. A list of ten worthy resolutions written down on a piece of paper may not mean much to those who don’t practice the ritual, but to others, it is all tears or laughter, according to how many resolutions they realized. All in all, I believe that a new year must provide a new challenge, a new passion, a new idea, but we must know that we are mere mortals and forgetting is part of our nature. All the promises we portend by word of mouth on the 1st of January will all but be wind on the 2nd. That is why it is always important to write down all the ideas we get at any particular point. Personally, I have made a couple of mistakes just because I didn’t write something down. Think about all the birthdays you missed, all the visits you didn’t make and all the promises you failed to keep, just because you failed to make yourself a reminder. A New Year resolution helps an individual to focus; it’s a like a goal, something you set as a must achieve within 12 months. It must be first of all realistic and achievable. Stuff of desiring to be a rocket scientist while you’re studying law must be thrown out of the head. Let us assume that you failed to somewhat achieve a set resolution in 2011, don’t feel sad; for as long as you are still breathing, it means that God has given you another chance to push again for something you believe in. The world is full of desperate and hopeless people who stopped believing that they can make a fundamental change in their lives, so they have left everything in the hands of fate. I hope that none of my readers wants to be in such a category, but if there is, there is room to think again. The only way a resolution can be insignificant is if somebody created it religiously and didn’t take steps towards achieving it. Otherwise, New Year resolutions are very important and can be the only agent of change in someone’s life. On New Year’s Day, get some time alone and think about all the things that you have failed to do in 2011 and write them down on a paper. As we begin 2012, pursue those resolutions like no man’s business. However, follow things like a robot, leave some margin of error and know that regardless of success or failure, at least you tried. Happy New Year! mugishaivan@newtimes.co.rw@RushAfrican on Twitter