Who wants to start a new year with unfinished business?
With a new year came new goals and targets.
A new year meant new hopes and dreams,a fresh start.
All I had was a list of 2014 resolutions,far from completion.
The checklist that once upon a time gave me adrenaline rushes was now a source of misery.
I am still four subjects away from getting my accounting qualification.
I already lost a year's worth by not writing and by mixing up exam dates(which is a subject for another day).
My personal finance decisions also left a lot to be desired,and even after a season of 'breakthrough',I was going down the same road again.
As I thought about what to do with the new year ahead of me,I realized that I learnt a few things in 2014 despite the absence of finished,tangible projects.
Responsibility:There is an image that circulates on social media with a caption that says something kinda like this-
'You know your childhood days are over when you fall asleep on the couch and wake up on the couch the next morning.'
Ain't nobody gon be carrying you forever,you need to learn to get up.
It was in 2013 when I got the courage to admit to a friend that I had a debt problem.
After giving a vivid description of how much I owed and to whom,his next question was...'so,how are you going to pay it all back?'
Certainly not what I was expecting to hear.What happened to fam bearing each other's burdens?His question though opened my eyes.I was the reason I got into this mess in the first place.I can't expect people to bail me out all the time,even if we got each other's backs.
If someone had bailed me out,I wouldn't have felt the pain of having my pay cut in half,or of failing to buy my favorite chocolate.Not to mention all the other opportunities I lost because I didn't have any disposable income.
What followed was a season of breaking away from old habits.Letting bags and shoes pass me by as I squared debts I acquired by getting bags and shoes in the first place.
It was tough,but twas better dealing with this now than getting kicked out of the house for defaulting on a loan 10 years later.
Commitment:Spicy wings can really go down,any time!But when reality kicked in (and settled),it showed me what really mattered at that time.I had to sort this out first,no matter what.I decided not to pay off any debt with debt,it all had to come from earnings.I learnt to track down expenses and write down everything I was spending money on.You can call it 'WWE No Way Out.'
'Commitment is dedication without an alternative'
Contentment:Last but not least,I learnt to be content.Wait,let me say I'm learning how to be content.It acts as my leash every time I want to stop by a shop,and buy something(I didn't intend to buy).I've learnt how to plan and wait for that paycheck to come,and then paint the town red.All in good time.
I have two resolutions for 2015
- To be consistent.
- Finish what I started.
