In The Deep End.

We are at the tail end of using ‘Happy New Year’ as a greeting. I wonder if Ethiopians are exempt from using it, since their New Year is in September. Let me admit that my New Year ritual has been disrupted kidogo, by a demanding appointment I received towards the end of last year. I often try to fast (from certain things) for about forty days at the beginning of each year, in the hope that I will see and hear more clearly from Sir God regarding the assignment He has for me. I particularly like the Daniel Fast, where you survive on vegetables and water only.

I tweak it slightly and avoid booze and nyama. The goal is to deny yourself something you like so that you can seek that satisfaction or direction from above. It has worked well, and that’s how I have been able to focus on fitting a few ‘big stones’ into the jar throughout the year. For hyper-achievers like me, it helps immensely to know I have a maximum of three things to focus on to ensure it’s a year well spent. I haven’t yet settled on those for this year, however, due to the pressure from my new role.

I was appointed as the Tournament Director of the Magical Kenya Open. Essentially, I’m at the core of delivering the biggest golf event of the year in Africa, with the exception of South Africa. The Magical Kenya Open is part of the DP World Tour series, a global circuit of international golf competitions featuring top golfers. It brings significant publicity to our country from tourism, trade, sporting, and cultural viewpoints. I have been on the board of Kenya Open Golf Limited for some years now, but this is the most demanding role I have played so far.

I got here after a stormy AGM last year that saw the old guard leave office. It came at a time when I was considering whether I, too, should leave, but clearly, we make our plans, and God laughs. I’ve been thrown in deeper, yet I was looking to exit. Since then, I’ve been on a steep learning curve, especially because the role has so many moving parts, comprising both local and international requirements. My predecessor is handing over on the go, so I’m learning to swim while already in the deep end.

With the Open only a month away and many preparations far from complete, there is hardly any bandwidth left for anything else. This has disrupted my rituals for beginning the year, and I feel like an Ethiopian—except my New Year may only begin after 22^nd February, once the Kenya Open is complete.

I’m coping well, I think, because the venue has moved to Karen Country Club, which is friendlier to me. I know a bunch of wakubwas there, which helps move things along. Secondly, my board colleagues are as hungry to deliver as I am, and our new Chairman is open-minded and willing to welcome disruption for the event to grow. Add to that the fact that it’s in the game of golf—a sport that has been part of my life for many years.

 Sir God is fair. Even when He throws us into the deep end, He gives us floaters to keep us from drowning. They may come in the form of supporters and destiny helpers, or circumstances that favour our success while in the deep end. The deep end may be scary, but if we swim well, we make the biggest splashes. In doing so, we create impact for the greater good and stretch ourselves to become more than we were.

I feel oddly prepared for this role despite getting into it suddenly—and at crunch time—with a few panic attacks in between, hehe! Perhaps if I had been asked to prepare for it in six months’ time, I would have found a way to disqualify myself. Sometimes opportunities come to us so suddenly that we have no choice but to engage. If we have too much time to think and prepare for a job, we may over-analyse and get paralysed. From that perspective, being thrust into the deep end isn’t too bad, but we have to draw heavily upon our reserves to come out on the other side. We’d better get used to it, for life doesn’t owe us a notice period for every transition that’s coming our way. It increases especially in midlife when life gets unpredictable in beautiful ways. And that could be where I am now.

Maybe it’s also a sign that we have outgrown shallow-end roles and responsibilities and it’s time to chill with the big boys, hehe! So, the next time we find ourselves in a position that feels overwhelming, may we see it as a sign of readiness to do the job. We are made of more than we often think, and sudden opportunities like this come our way to help us unleash our potential. In the process, we surprise ourselves and others.

Folks, maybe we’re qualified to do stuff we don’t think we can, and the only way to find out is jump in and try. Let us seek progress, not perfection. That’s the self-talk I’m giving myself now.

We may have big shoes to fill, taking over from former office holders, but trying to fit into someone else’s shoes is hardly comfortable. You cannot run, or even walk well, in borrowed shoes. Come in with your own shoes, expand the trail you find, and even create your own and leave your mark.

Maybe this is how Sir God wanted me to start my year, and so shall it be. If your year has begun with a detour, perhaps that’s the plan for 2026. Go with the flow and carry Indira Gandhi’s advice with you. She said: ‘There are two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there.’

I plan to be in the first group this year, and I hope you will, too, folks. Then our good work will bring us credit as we go along. May we work hard in silence and let success make the noise.

Welcome to the 57^th edition of the Magical Kenya Open, folks at Karen Country Club from the 19th to the 22nd of next month. Come enjoy some world-class golf and some nature therapy on the golf course. Look out for online ticket sales coming up in the next few days.