The year 2020 surely taught the whole world a myriad of hard lessons with the onslaught of the deadly coronavirus pandemic. Although the world remains under siege, a faint and flickering light we now see at the end of the tunnel with the roll-out of the vaccines. Certainly, the ravage and torment of the virus is getting too dragged out; but we will ultimately overcome it and life will return to normal again.

Now that you have crossed over to 2021, what is next in your plans for the New Year?

2020 is now in the past. What is in the past must be shovelled behind us. It is now time to look forward to the hopes and promises that the new year brings. In 2021, a new and hidden you must be revealed. If you hope to benefit from the great shift, great doors, great opportunities, and great joy that the new season is already releasing, you must recalibrate some things around your life.

There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. The lies told to others will buy a shovel; but the ones we tell ourselves will dig a grave that buries both the dead and the living. Not all projects embarked upon have a chance of succeeding. There are some ideas that will never work. There are some relationships that will never work. There are some government policies that only encourage wastages and foist backwardness on a society. They will never work for the public good. Government people must face the reality. When we deny reality, it comes back to hunt. You should be able to determine if some things aren’t working for you. As you splurge energy and resources on projects at hand that aren’t working, it’s time to change gear, look elsewhere, and end them.

Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky was a 19th century Russian writer and journalist.  Mikhaylovich wrote these words: “Above all, don’t lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within or around him… Self-deception must leave if a new you must live.

German mathematician and physicist, Albert Einstein, said, “The meaning of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”. His philosophical allusion is that no man can win a war deploying the same losing strategies. If a man has a problem and concern with battles he could have won but has always lost, there is definitely something wrong with his war strategies. If that is the case with you as you read this, CHANGE YOUR STRATEGIES in 2021 if the present ones are not working.

In 2021, you must be ready to fight for yourself. If you have been relying on others to help fight your fight, it’s time to cut them out. Nobody fights your life battle better than you. In 2018, the United States Government spent 20% of its annual budget on foreign aid. About $41bn on security foreign aid in the year 2018. Israel got about $3.1bn. Egypt 1.3bn. Jordan received 1bn. Nigeria, $419million. What do the aids from America mean? Americans are telling these nations that, yes, they will be part of whatever they’re fighting; but these nations have to fight the bulk of it themselves. You must do something fighting your own life battle. Even when God raises an army for His people, there are aspects of the fight God’s people too have to fight. Fold not your hands in surrender to your enemies; clench your fists in fight and defence of your life!

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to have the ability to accomplish a lot? These are people who know where they are headed in life. Effective goal setting has been one of their keys to success. When you discover God’s will for your life, design goals around it. You may be working very hard at what you do, but without setting goals, your hard work doesn’t yield meaningful result. Goals are actions you take with a deadline attached to them. Goal setting helps you separate what’s important from what’s irrelevant, or a distraction. Setting goals gives you long-term vision and motivation. Goals are like the GPS; they keep you on track. Notable English author, Terry Pratchett, once said in his comic fantasy novel: “If you do not know where you come from, then you don’t know where you are. And if you don’t know where you are, then you don’t know where you’re going. And if you don’t know where you’re going, you’re probably going wrong.”

The story of Alice in Wonderland sets this discourse straight. Alice asked the Cheshire Cat, who was sitting on a tree:

`Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’

`That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat.

`I don’t much care where,’ said Alice.

`Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the Cat.

A successful person navigates through the course of life and business by setting specific; measurable, relevant, and time-bound goals. Even in old age, you can still set goals and achieve them. Prepare to take some risks in this new year. Was it a risk for David to challenge and confront Biblical Goliath? You bet it was. Without taking a risk, there was no killing the Goliath. My friend, in 2021, be prepared to take some risks with moves you make. He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. If you can’t fly, you must strive to walk. If you cannot walk, you surely must battle to crawl. If you cannot crawl, you must do something. Whatever steps you take to avoid the miseries and disappointments in this new year, make sure you don’t stand stagnant.

I conclude my expression with this admonition. In 2021, there will be bumps in the road. When you run into a pocket of turbulences during the 365 days ride, remember this. When you are discouraged, encourage yourself. When you are sad, make yourself happy. When your spirit is down, cheer yourself up. When you are lonely, seek the right friendship. When you are often lied to, tell yourself the truth. When you fall, pick yourself up. When you are told you are nobody, tell yourself you are somebody. If people call you a FAILURE, tell them you are a success. If they call you poor, tell them, you are rich. Whatever disparaging name people may call you, call yourself an uplifting name. You are not what anyone calls you; you are what you answer to. When you are told that these positive affirmations will not work, tell them they will. And they sure will. On this first day of year 2021, I wish everyone reading this treatise a Prosperous and Happy New Year.