AGM Postponed.

Happy new year folks. Or Happy continuous year. I will explain. I hope you enjoyed your Christmas break with your masks on and rukad mwaka well. This year may blessings pursue you back to back bila social distancing. That’s my proclamation upon your lives. My clan and I had a well-deserved break and are now ready to get back to the grind, but a more meaningful one this year. Even my kids woke up earlier than usual to report to school on opening day. May that psyche continue. I’m avoiding labelling our existence as the rat race or just a mere grind to survive. We are all made to thrive. May your grind this year have meaning, impact and of course, be enjoyable. If that’s not the case currently maybe start by just imagining it then verbalizing it. I read Dr Johnson spencer’s book – Out of the Maze, during my break and he says, “sometimes you have to believe it before you can see it”. What do you see? And after you see what do you need to do?

I always look forward to my annual personal Annual General Meeting (the December break) as an opportunity to take stock of the ending year and forecast how to maximise the new year. Armed with my journal and current reading I set off with excitement. Thanks again to the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR)  we got to the coast in a reliable and extremely affordable manner. I wanted my baby sharks to experience the ferry at Likoni crossing for the first time so that was fun despite the two hour wait at the crossing. Why again that inefficiency can’t be sorted out, your guess is as good as mine.

We finally got to our destination safely and still in high spirits. After settling everyone down I got a spot under a palm tree facing the sea the following day. That was to be my spot for the entire time we were on holiday. That’s how my board room looks like at every end of the year. Sir God and I usually have intense but also uplifting conversations about this life he gave me. I decided that I will bug him until I accomplish my assignment on this earth. Folks do not settle for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living. That’s a great disservice to you and those around you.

By day two of our AGM, I could feel like there was nothing new to discuss. It’s like the year 2021 was coming to an end but its projects were not. They were continuing into the new year it seemed. I think I’m finally maturing hehe. Because unlike before I didn’t fight that feeling. I decided to interrogate it further and see what’s there. My coaching through the Halftime Institute grew in 2021. We even formed Halftime Africa which aligns perfectly with my mission statement. My photography also grew after doing my first full (and solo) photo safari in the Mara. I even got one of my images shortlisted in a competition. As for my desire for public service board roles, I continued to put myself out there for opportunities. I feel it’s just a matter of time before I land a good one.

So after taking stock of 2021 I realised (and finally agreed with the boss upstairs) that maybe we just keep the momentum and tweak a few things to be more intentional this year. Once I made peace with that I was content. That’s why I said happy continuous year. Because it feels like yes, physical time moved from one year to the next but the process of growth and development continues uninterrupted.

Maybe new year resolutions are not for everyone. Some of us may be in the middle of our resolutions when the year ends while others could be in sync with the new year. Either way, as long as we are moving in the right direction I think it’s all good. I got back having hardly scribbled a thing in my journal but I did finish reading a great book on Transitions by William Bridges. Another sign that maybe it wasn’t time for new resolutions came from this book. He says, “ shift your purpose from the goal to the process of reaching the goal”. Often time I take year-end to also be the end of a goal and the New Year to be the time for setting new goals. It doesn’t have to be that way as I realized this time around.

I’m glad that I freed myself from the pressure to write down new goals just because it’s a new year. I think many of us do so more to conform than from conviction. And that could be the reason we see high subscription rates to gyms in January then a few months down the year a lot of people have fallen off. Make a resolution that you are willing to follow through on. Commitment is when we keep doing something when the zeal and fanfare are long gone. And that is why it has to be something you deeply believe in as that’s what will keep you going.

We all want certain things in life and we can have everything we want in life. Yes even in an election year like this one you can have everything you want but if you will just help enough other people get what they want. That’s wisdom from Zig Ziglar. And helping people has no new year or end year. It’s a lifelong process (should be everyone’s goal) with no expiry date.

So in hindsight was my personal AGM postponed? I don’t know. This last break was more of what my friends in corporate call a check-in for realignment and recharge. I’m glad I didn’t fight it just to tick a box. Or because that’s how I have always done it.

Folks whether you have new resolutions this January or continue with last years plans, what matters is that you keep moving. The miracle is in the moving. Happy Continous Year.