Call for Change

We are finally in 2016. This year is attracting a lot of positive expectations from different groups of people. The first one is that of the people who had it all rosy in 2015, and are looking forward to the continuation of all the good things in their lives. The other group is that of those who had it tough and are looking forward to a positive change.

The New Year, then, comes with a lot of expectations, realistic and unrealistic alike. While it is important to recognize the significance of a calendar year, it is also important to look at the opposite extreme end where there is a philosophy that any new year is just another batch of 365 days. Conditions are very unlikely to change; we will have the same people around us, same resources to work with, and same opportunities. There will be pretty much the same everything.

For things (outcomes) to change, however, there must be some change in the inputs and the materials you work with. If you think of it, the conditions around us would not change a lot in the year based on what I have already highlighted. Things will not just get better because some 5 on the number of the year after Jesus Christ has changed to 6. Considering the outcome of everything as a product of our reaction to surrounding and the way in which we respond to the surrounding, we are left with the option of changing the way we respond to things or deal with stuff in order to make things change for the better.

There has been a lot of talk about how the government is not handling issues well. I have participated in the rant through some posts on this very blog out of frustration, but from the look of things, how it works is like the more people talk, the worse things get. That gives me the boldness to be the bearer of bad news; the one who tells you that this gafment (in Bakili Muluzi tone) is not changing anytime soon, however loudly the reforms by the veep will be preached.

If you are in college, the National Council of Higher Education will not handle the fees issue in any better way and we will continue to struggle if we give this issue the same response. Those lecturers who have been labelled as tough will continue to be, and they might as well get worse as they get older.

Those who have been complaining about high rates of unemployment and increasing cost of living, brace yourselves. Things are about to get tougher.

I spoiled the celebration, but trust me, it is not just for the fun of it. These are the realities that are within our country and since the only change that can take place with man things is for the worse, we need to change the way we work and respond to our surrounding if we are to make it and enjoy in this year.

If it is an improvement in the grades that you need, there should be a positive change in the way you work academically. If it is finances you want to improve, then maybe it is high time you made or refined a saving or investing strategy. If it is social life you want to improve, you might want to lose or add some friends and build a productive network. The main point is just that the same input cannot produce different results because it is a new year.
We have been presented with a new year and it is an opportunity for us to make things better, but things will not get better on their own. They require an effort applied in the right way, and better outcomes require that we refocus our energies on the right things and in the right proportions.

While things might get tough on the way, it will be important for us to focus on making ways other than making excuses. We should remember that in the midst of the same troubles we are meeting, others are making it and progressing. What we should do is to learn them and to forge ahead in our drive towards success.

Jack Sparrow, one of my favorite movie characters once said that the problem is not the problem but your attitude towards the problem. He couldn’t have said it better. Probably something you and I could learn from.

Too general, but that is it.

Oh! Happy New Year from Richie. This is post 1 of the more than 52 that are coming. Assuming that you will buy me birthday gifts, because if you don’t I will stop.