Let hope arise: Don’t write the year off

BY DANIEL COLE

Let me take you down memory lane, January 1^st, 2020, picture as the whole city screams Happy New Year, think of the excitement, the joy, the fireworks, the chat around the fire, the gifts, the food and the wine. You see, most people started this year enthusiastic, they set goals and objectives, they wrote down dreams and visions they aimed to achieve for the year. Perhaps, you still have those goals stuck on your fridge, that dream house or that dream car on your vision board, that ideal job, that marriage date you set, and that Safari in Africa you’ve planned to visit.

Perhaps everything seems to be going well until COVID-19 hit, and while we thought it was a joke, the first death case was recorded, then the second, then the first thousand. As the pandemic takes its toll on the country’s economy, your company had to downsize and you were laid off, a family member died, your friend’s company had to declare bankruptcy, then foreclosure. Let’s face it, one way or the other, we have all been affected. Is it the mask wearing we all have to adjust to or the mongering fear of touching people as you don’t know if they are a carrier of the virus.

As dire as the situation may be, there is a bright side, it’s not all doom and gloom. In times like these, we all have to reinvent ourselves, rise up to the occasion, make necessary adjustments and keep moving forward. Jackson Brown Jr. has rightly said, “When you can’t change the direction of the wind, we adjust our sail.” 

It is not the time to give in to fear nor succumb to the current circumstances, because in the end, humans always triumph. Put your front foot forward, don’t bury your head in the sand, and don’t be discouraged. Don’t count your losses, take an inventory of what’s left and decide to make the most of it. It’s too soon to write the year off, it’s too soon to not want to dream again, it’s too soon to throw in the towel, it’s too soon to raise the white flag, you can dream again, your dreams are still valid, be on the lookout for opportunities and remind yourself that this too shall pass.

The great Jim Rohn once says, “Don’t wish it was easier wish you were better. Don’t wish for less problems wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenges wish for more wisdom” Life may not be fair, but you don’t need it to be fair. As Robert Schuller has rightly said, “Tough times never last, only tough people do.” The current economic climate may not be the best for your business, but keep hope alive, take time to see what you can do differently, what relationships you can leverage and who can you speak to for support. You see, in life, we don’t wait for the storm to pass, we learn to dance in the rain.

Sometimes, it takes pressure and discomfort to bring out the best in us. Let your ‘Creative Genius’ come alive, awaken the giant within and believe that those goals you set back in January are still realistic and achievable. The Greek Philosopher, Epictetus once said, “Circumstances do not make the man; they reveal him to himself.” You may have experienced some setbacks, it’s okay, don’t be discouraged, as the Phoenix rises from the ashes, you too can rise again.

Don’t bury your dreams and don’t write the year off. Try one more time, give it another shot. Apply for that job one more time, submit the proposal one more time, take that leap of faith and even dream bigger dreams. Remember the phrase, “Ready, aim, fire.” Take that shot, if you miss your target, make an adjustment and try again.