A new year without “New Year Resolutions.”

Before ushering in the year, there were dozens of articles on resolution making for the New Year, recaps on 2012 highlights including events and people who trend in the year. Amongst my notable reads was a particular op-ed that talked about the phobia towards the number 13 commonly referred to us triskaidekaphobia. While many people were anxious to usher a new year, there was a fear that came with turning into a year that has a 13 in it. The fear towards 13 draws its origin back in ancient mythologies forging beliefs even to an extent of some buildings and airline services omitting anything to do with 13.  

Barely a week into the New Year, all we kept hearing on local news channels was one road accident after another not to forget the horrifying scenes of the Tana Delta clashes in coastal Kenya. Well, if anyone needed a reason to believe in the cursed year that would be 2013, then we had it! But with all the terrible things that air on our news channels daily, news has turned into an informative media on all the bad events and accidents that occur each new day. We watch very little of happy news, rarely do we hear or see things that makes us proud over what is happening around us (except for technological milestones maybe).

I have this habit of making new year resolutions like everyone else a week  prior the new year so that as we scream to the turn of a new year come 1^st, then I have a reason to  smile about the plans and work ahead of me.  This past December however, I never made any resolutions. I felt quite lazy and a sense of redundancy lagged me back. Though 2012 had been an eventful year and with low to fun moments for me, It didn’t go down my history as one of those years I remember doing or achieving much. I had a thousand goals set the previous year which didn’t materialize as prospected. Of cause there are those moments that I wish could playback every other day, but it is human nature to want everything run according to plan. I kept looking back into my list; the things I never did or fell short midway. Filled with guilt and disappointment, I decided not to burn the mid night oil and spend extra ink on paper writing the same things all over again. I wanted to see what it feels like to live through a year without resolutions which somewhat act like a job description of what one should do. For once, it’d be a free lance life leaving a life where only what needs to be done is what is given priority

A while back a curious friend wanted to know what I planned to do with my new year. And I was quick to say, “this 2013, I have nothing new planned out. I’m simply working on those resolutions I never met last year. I am sick of writing them over again. Let me accomplish what is pending from the previous’ year’s list.”  Little did I know that in as much I wanted to be the freelancer who lived through a phobic filled year without resolutions, I had ended up making a resolution of not adjusting my previous goals!

No one lives through a year without a resolution or the plan. Very few of us who dare not to resolve do live up to it. Because when we don’t plan, then there is a plan which is not having a plan. If you decide not to spend extra ink on paper rewriting the same goals like me, no problem. Just be sure to remember what it is you didn’t accomplish and would do anything to get/attain.