Dear Editor,
I would like to remind my fellow Guyanese that they should consciously make an effort to plan to achieve their best life in the New Year. If you go through life without identifying your life goals and working assiduously to make them a reality, you are quite likely to drift along and not achieve anything worthwhile. Just as you would plan any trip you want to take, it is necessary to determine the things which would give your life meaning and fulfil your special purpose, and to do your best to bring them to fruition.
When you create a personal Mission Statement, it will be easy to formulate goals that are compatible with correct principles, natural laws, your deepest values, unique talents, and a sense of mission and purpose by using your imagination, creativity, conscience and inspiration. Focus on results rather that activity – where you want to be, the information and resources you will need to get there, and the daily activities you will have to pursue to be successful.
Having decided on these, you will need to adopt the right steps to succeed: 1. Break down your goals into small steps and work on these one at a time; 2. Make a plan, with realistic schedules to suit the environment and resources available; 3. Be flexible – be ready to adjust your schedule, actions, and even your goal when this would be more feasible; 4. Be willing to do what is necessary, which may sometimes call for extra effort; 5. Overcome feelings against doing what is necessary, keeping in mind your ultimate goals; 6. Use any fear you experience to move you to action, visualise the positive results that will come about, and this will spur you to keep trying; 7. Be determined to achieve; remind yourself of the need that must be fulfilled; 8. Deal positively with obstacles; believe that each obstacle to your progress can be removed; 9. Ask for what you need to work with, of others who can help, and by prayer to the Almighty Power, and, 10. Be gentle with yourself and others, accepting failures and disappointments along the way.
Success would then require that you stick to your guns and not accept defeat. You will find in some cases that you will need to make adjustments along the way when things do not work out as expected. But, just as Cortes ordered his men to burn the boats they had left behind so as not to even think of retreating and to totally commit themselves to victory, you should advance wholly committed, and your optimism will help you to succeed. I sincerely hope and pray that my fellow Guyanese will heed and follow this advice to make themselves the best they can be by the end of this year.
Sincerely,
Roy Paul.