YEAR RESOLUTIONS EVERY WOMAN SHOULD MAKE

Yet another year is gone. We shove aside every mishap that we had over the past year and look forward to a new one with prosperity and success. The only blemish in our otherwise perfect prayer is that we do not realize that this New Year is simply a continuation of the other, that there might not be any real change. Everybody really just hopes for the best, but often when you think that things could not possibly get any worse, that is when they have a habit of going haywire. The women of this world face an even bigger challenge, and instead of all the impossible resolutions that people make and break before the year is even quarter-way, I simply think such are the ones that women should have for keeps. 

• Love less when it hurts. Women should no longer accept to be treated like trash and get trampled upon. If it does not make you happy, I think you should walk away no matter how painful. This is the one resolution I intend to keep, weird as it may sound. I will love less in 2013. I will not go in with eyes closed. I will care about friends who truly care about me. I will not stay just to soothe egos. Women sometimes get in too deep. I have been guilty of that sin, but now I want to repent and be as clean as new.

• Live more. Do not close yourself in. Get out there and have some beautiful fun doing things that you really love. Create time for yourself. I want to live more. I want to bloom. I want to have that beautiful smile once again. I want to embrace every inch of me, weaknesses included. I simply want to be me. I want to make myself happy because I have discovered that nobody else under the heavens can and ever will if I do not.

• Pray. That simple word so strong, which is the only thing that utterly brings serenity. I am urging every woman to try it, yet personally, I have been so out of touch with prayer. However, whenever I get right down to it and I begin analyzing when the rain begun hitting me so hard, one thing is forever clear to me. I stopped praying. I stopped attending church. I stopped whispering to God because I felt He had disappointed me. I got out of touch with the spiritual part of me. Well, I still know there is power in prayer, and perhaps that is all I will need along this bumpy road. If you are in the spiritual state I happen to be in; if you feel that you have been so down the pit and the only choice you have is to get back up; if you feel that the Almighty is the one part of you that you have pushed aside, then get back up! He will pick up the pieces. He will be there with His arms wide open, just waiting.

• In every corner of this planet there is always a woman too discouraged to even get up in the morning. The girl child sometimes suffers from neglect and lack of inspiration from those like us, who have learnt a lesson here and there. I think every year, every woman should put it in the diary of her mind and heart that she wants to touch a young life; that she wants to water and nurture the upcoming generation; that with a story of having succeeded from humble beginnings someone else will also get encouraged. We lack true role models in today's society. My contribution towards this cause has been long overdue, and this year, so help me God, I would like to live up to my dream.

• Live in solitude for a while. Social media has taken over our lives. We have ceased to see the peace in nature and quiet. A day without a cellphone seems like a day spent in the intensive care unit. Sometimes it is just good to feel the quiet, to get in touch with the awesomeness of God's creation. To let go of all the noise of modern life and just listen to that inner voice that revives our dreams and gives us a greater resolve to work harder. The thought of deactivating my accounts always sounds devastating and sad, but I hope that during this year, I will try it, at least even for a month.

• Eat well, get back in shape, nothing excruciating, no extreme diets, but every woman needs to resolve to taking better care of herself just for herself. Dress to impress yourself, feel good about yourself. Walk with the confidence of a queen. In my heart I know I need to get rid of all this extra love handle and baby fat, lazy as I am. I do not know how, or when, but well, if it appears among my 2013 “to do” list, I can only hope I will accomplish it within the next three years. Years come and go. Seasons keep changing. Life gets harder, but it is the little joys of life that keep us going. Find your joy, find your smile, discover your beauty spot and hold on to it. Do not let anybody treat you as trash. Treat yourself like a queen and the rest will treat you like royalty. Work towards achievable goals. Live more, love less when it hurts, Inspire, find the happiness from within. I wish all my ladies a prosperous new year. May it be to you, a glorious journey.

Written by Maureen Songa