By Prof Vincent Bagire
A new year opens many horizons. To some, it’s relief that challenging times of the past year
are left behind; to others, new hopes are expected to open up.
It is a new year 2023. We are all full of joy for the dawn of this new segment in our lives; but to some extent, worried as well. A
new year opens many horizons. To some, it’s relief that challenging times of the past year are left behind; to others, new hopes are
expected to open up. Nevertheless, new demands are also faced. Certainly, for many individuals and corporates, it is time to set new plans. In
management routine, operational plans with budgets should have been passed by the relevant organs before the end of 2022. Immediately after the festivities, managers embark on implementation.
This means that good stewardship of organizations should look forward and backwards – assess the outgoing period and
focus on the coming one. I do hope that we have done the same in our Parishes, Dioceses and Church Institutions.
New Year resolutions may be formal or informal. Thus, by just quickly reflecting on the ending year, we may set targets for the new year
in our minds. Some will go ahead and mention to family or friends that this year I must stop doing this or will start doing that. They may be basic logic but not expressed as in the formal setting where a kind of writing is done.
While any beginning of a year places before us a long 365 days of uncertainty, it is important to cast in mind some action plan. Some people will tag such resolutions to the previous year(s) experience. Such decisions may pass as one’s oral literature but action will reveal the mind. These will act as goal posts of what to focus on, how to rationalize the finances one earns, relationships in family and community, among others.
For Christian leaders, in whatever groups we are serving, I implore you to have written plans for the year. This could start with a review of what remained undone the previous year but updated to fit into the anticipated reality of 2023.
Planning does not imply that all will be achieved. Times change and new facts emerge. Thus, implementation may not be as and when it was anticipated. The important skill is to keep focused on the unfolding future. This avoids being drawn into a waste of time, money and other
resources. It essentially builds good leadership. We do not have local statistics on setting New Year resolutions. A quick google search revealed that in the USA, 45% Americans make New Year resolutions.
However, only 8% actually achieve them! In preparation for this features article, I conducted a quick survey on three selected WhatsApp platforms with a total of 513 members. I timed on the first day of 2023 and posed a question whether members make New Year resolutions
and if they work out. I followed the posts to January 3. I received responses from only 18%. Of the few responses, 54% make resolutions and follow them through the year.
A small group of 27 percent said they were not bothered, as in Uganda, planning makes no meaning since things change rapidly.
Among those who make plans, a few in-boxed me that they were still watching the year to determine what will work. Those who added a sentence or two said plans were at personal level not family or leadership positions.
I also teased out about 16% who implied that they live by emerging situations not resolutions. That there are many things to look out for in a year. Resolve on what? A practical aspect is how to measure progress. This may cause fear to have resolutions. Even the worry to fail may curtail ability to start. Even in the corporate world, monitoring and measuring progress is a challenge.
The immense trials that we encounter like lack of money, time; death of dear ones, loss of jobs and low business render many people to believe in chance. At a personal level, personal moments of contemplation are simple ways to assess progress. Scarcely, some individuals will have written checklists and tick against them periodically.
At Church leadership level, assessing progress must be formal in reports, checklists, meetings, brainstorming among others as tenets of good leadership. We can make important inferences from this simple data. One respondent, in her words said, “they work and it is very good to have resolutions.” Picking words of another inbox I received, “we just have to set those which are realistic to our capabilities.” True to this,
resolutions act as controls, signposts and travel bags for us. They should be realistic; be honest to yourself. They should reflect our capabilities, self-regulation, open new horizons and readiness for change.
In course of pursuing them, we recognize tradeoffs, and willingness to accept feedback even when negative. The final reflection can be picked from another inbox I got: “The challenge is thinking that in one year we shall achieve all that we need in life.” We should not put into a travel bag what we shall not carry.
Resolutions should therefore be enablers of our life in the course of the year; motivating to pursue, committed to them and proud to celebrate some achievement. Thus, resolutions guide us to steer through the myriads of the unfolding events along the year. We conclude that resolutions should not be to please others, or fight self-ego or interpersonal wars. They could be to challenge peers, to build personal capacity or to stabilize in family or community. Each one of us has his or her own lane in life. Along this, resolutions should not become hindrances to
achievement of naturally emerging milestones. We know and believe that God’s ways are not ours, in setting and pursuing resolutions for a year, we ought to seek divine divine guidance. The year has begun. I wish you all Godspeed in 2023.
