We are in a new year and as expected, we have made a few promises to ourselves about what we want to accomplish in 2026. Some call it new year resolutions, a commitment to oneself to be different from the past year!
Whereas for some, resolutions have guided their path in their daily walk in life, for others, it has never worked. It hasn’t worked because the resolutions were wrong or bad, but mainly because they couldn’t keep the promises they had made to themselves. Sadly, some new year resolutions don’t even last a day!
If you have found yourself in such a situation, either now or before, don’t lose hope just yet because this first edition of this column this year is to inspire you to think about or consider in a new and creative way, a different life in 2026.
It is natural, as humans, to dwell so much on the negatives in life so failing to keep a promise you made to yourself could all but derail your plans.
But don’t forget that you gain more if you concentrate on the positives in life. One such positive is the gift of the present! You can only live in the present and enjoy the moment more if you understand the gift of life.
Let me explain this further. If you are conscientious enough about life, there is always a sense of guilt when you do something wrong or fail to achieve something you were so committed to doing.
For some, the loss of a loved one that they could have helped becomes their source of guilt and psychological torture. When unaddressed, these situations develop into other serious conditions, including mental health issues.
But, it is wrong to become a hostage of past deeds or inactions! Regardless of the situation, always ensure that your present makes sense, as that is the only way you can secure your future.
It is very common to hear people talk about how good, brilliant or interesting life had been in the past. Yes, the good old days syndrome!
We need to replace that refrain with something more forward-looking. Agreed that life is not deterministic; agreed that there are periods where life is better, compared to other times.
It is all true, but we must feed our minds with the positives that the future will bring even as we reminisce on the past.
Time and opportunity abound aplenty! Don’t get me wrong though. There is nothing wrong with reflecting on the periods in life when, for example, inflation chopped a penny or two off your savings because you couldn’t afford that routine service, or how a lost member of the family made you “lose hair”.
After all, it was so painful. It’s fine to do that as a human, but the big question is this: For how long would you have to be doing this? And, can these thoughts also be replaced with the little blessings and favours that you enjoyed over the period?
I know I am diving deep into some situations that are influenced by the cultural settings in which we find ourselves.
I understand that too, because, even in schools teachers are quick to mark a pupil down because he or she got one or two answers wrong, instead of focusing on the right ones.
In other words, if you ignore the wrong answers you gave in some of the questions life posed to you in 2025 and dwell on the right answers you got, those positives can influence your outlook and life choices for 2026.
Rebooting is about developing creativity; it is about looking at things differently to achieve a better result this year. It is also about switching it off, and switching it back on again!
I am sure you have experienced that odd moment when you had to reset your television screen or the decoder that provides the right signal to receive the channels. If you have had to deal with an expert on how to fix this problem, say a customer service representative, you are likely to get that prompt of “turn it off, and turn it back on again”.
Have you ever wondered what that does in resolving the problem?
In most cases, it gets rid of the unwanted applications that may be running in the background.
As the system works, it may rely on other components to function properly. But over time, those applications may become redundant and for the system to work effectively, they may need to shut down!
But some don’t and keep interfering and in the end send the wrong signals to the operating system, affecting it negatively. When you reboot it shuts out the unwanted applications and the system becomes free to function efficiently.
Of course, in the field of engineering, various design definitions are used to explain what rebooting is. However, in this basic sociological context, I am using it to place a handle on why we need to reboot now and then to free our minds of things that affect our joy.
Some situations may be living in your mind “rent-free” that only rebooting can get rid of. This may be some information that was only necessary for a given situation or scenario and not necessary for the future. Yet some may carry this into the future.
No matter what, you should not apply the same methods that did not work in 2025 in 2026 if you want to change things!
Get into some form of creative thinking, brainstorming and come up with multiple perspectives. You can examine and analyse each perspective against your expected outcome and that will make the present a true gift. Dare to dream!
Don’t refuse to take up opportunities because you don’t want to disturb your comfort zone.
I am sure you also know that yesterday’s success is no guarantee of success today or tomorrow because the passage of time always changes the rules of the game.
If so, why do you think that yesterday’s failure will define your future? Of course, it would if you do not reinvent yourself and keep abreast with new developments at all times. Don’t be blindsided in 2026.
Get yourself involved in some future-pacing exercises and you will soon realise the opportunities that lie hidden in this our beautiful world. And of course, you need to reboot to get all the creative juices flowing again.
You just have to imagine and do it because anytime you see something nice that you like, you must also note that for that product or service to be developed in the first place, someone had to think about it and make it happen.
Those with ideas and willing to also exploit them make things happen. They are the defining people in our generation or were the defining people in the past generation.
You have what it takes to rise above challenges in 2026. Make it happen this year!
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh
