Compliments of the New Year! Or rather, “how’s it going”?

As we know well enough, the messaging at the beginning of any new year is consistent. That it’s time to reset through definitive goal setting and focused changes. The aim being to become a better version of the person you were in the year that has just passed. Frankly, many of us made a few mistakes. Many of us missed some opportunities. Many of us lost some time.  So, this process is needful. Yet we’ve also heard it said. That you’re not a new person simply because the year has changed. It will take more than the new year. And let’s face it. The naysayers are looking on to see how many will fall off the new years’ resolution bandwagon; and how quickly. Thus, proving their argument that this new year rhetoric is worthless and should be done away with.

And they’re correct in certain respects. Just not entirely true.

If all you have going for the changes you expect to see in 2024 is that fact that we dropped a 3 and took on a 4 at the end of the “202” just a few weeks back, then you’re likely to be in for a rude awakening. Because life doesn’t work like that. So, they’re correct about that. But what they’ve missed is that there’s still a wisdom to this thing called ‘crossing over into a new year’. Because that’s what it is. A crossing over. And the hype around this significant 365-day event should be encouraged. The resolutions should be welcomed. The goals should be invited. But, with more than just the excitement of it. Which is where many have been derailed and become delusional in their dreaming. But also, with the wisdom of it. The knowing of both what needs to be done and how to do it in order to achieve the specified outcomes. Because that’s the guarantee of success. Rightly positioned, 2024 can be your year! It’s not just a pipe dream.

“What’s in a new year?”, you may ask. And the short answer is, a change of season. From one realm to another. From one dimension to another. This is certainly true in the physical. 2023 is not the same as 2024. That moment, when the clock strikes 00:00 from 31 December 2023 to 01 January 2024, makes a difference. Things shift. You will be a year older this year. The passage of time will show in many things and areas of your life. You may need to renovate your home, refresh your corporate logo, or buy some new clothes, etc, because a refresh is necessary. A new season in the circle of life has begun. Even numerology goes some lengths to explain it. But the same can also be argued spiritually. Because if you can understand that the times (the ages) have been appointed for the manifestation of certain things (at a macro scale), and that with each new year, there’s a burden for the appointed things to come alive, you can define your own season within these seasons, with a view to maximising your own results (on a micro level). If you can catch the winds and understand where they’re blowing, and why, you’ll be able to position yourself to make the maximum impact at your level. Which means that a new year will always come with new opportunities for you, as an individual, no matter how rough and tough the prior year was.

Let’s unpack this thought further. The Oxford Dictionary defines seasons as “divisions of the year resulting from the earth’s changing position with regard to the sun”. As you know, the earth revolves in orbit around the sun in 365 days, 6 hours, and 9 minutes (the 6 hours, and 9 minutes, being the reason why we have a leap year – an extra day – every fourth year). The sun, on the other hand, is mostly stationary, only rotating on its axis at the equator once every 24 days, although astronomers would estimate that the core of the sun rotates about once a week (though not relevant for this conversation). So, it’s about the earth. And every change in position of the earth around the sun means something across all dimensions. As the Bible states in the Book of Genesis, as long as the earth remains, rest assured that you’ll have night and day, cold and warmth, summer and spring, and seedtime and harvest. Seasons will always come, and man will have to adjust his behaviours to align with them, if the earth is going to yield its fruit to him. That is, if the passage of time is to work for his advantage.

Now, while the change in season at a new year does not necessarily touch the weather – though it’s beautiful to behold the varying seasons that many countries experience during the December / January period; the change is still inviting man into a new realm. Man has the liberty to define what that new realm will mean for him, if he applies himself diligently towards the desired end. And attaches significance to the season, based on the desires and demands of his heart. It’s true. Many do fall off the bandwagon, and some quite early (it’s ridiculous). But that doesn’t change the irrefutable fact that the new year provides each of us with an opportunity to elevate. And become more. Which many continue to succeed at year-on-year.

So, as we embark on the new season that’s upon us, my prayer is that it may be prosperous, fruitful, and rewarding for us all. May we see the goodness of God in our lives like never before. May we grow and mature in wisdom, become the best versions of ourselves, and do things this world will pause to take note of. May we be better, brighter, bigger, stronger, wiser, richer, and healthier. May long life be our portion. And may our days be long and speak loudly, years be full, and lives abundant and overflowing; nobody and nothing stopping our mojo.

This is our year, friends. And how do I know it? It’s simple; because we get to decide. The ball’s completely in our courts. So, go on. Get yours! We’re already on it.

Yours in baking,

Chi