Can you believe it’s December already! I mean, when did 2015 start? It’s really true that time waits for no man.
How did you spend 2015? Did you spend it chasing your God-given purpose or were you stuck keeping up with the Joneses?
It’s amusing how with each year that comes, our society gets more materialistic. It feels like a battlefield out there for those who haven’t arrived yet. There is this pressure to show off the good side of life and I am not really sure where this pressure is coming from. No, I’m not saying you shouldn’t desire the good life, but when it causes you to be competitive to an uncontrollable extent then there is a problem.
The end of the year brings unmet goals straight to our faces. If you achieved all your goals for 2015, I celebrate you. You need to let us in on how you did it. For a lot of people there are one or two goals, or even more, which have not yet been achieved and this can bring feelings of despair if it is not properly handled. I had to ask myself recently, “Whose yardstick are we using to measure personal success or failure?”
Does the fact that the car you prayed for and desired so earnestly did not come this year mean that you have failed? That dream job you did not get or you are still waiting for…is it an indicator of a successful year for you? Who are you measuring your goals against? Your peers – this is only natural – or yourself?
I have discovered that we put unnecessary pressure on ourselves when we begin to compare ourselves with others. The fact that someone is the same age as you and you were in secondary school together does not mean things will happen for both of you at the same time. They may get a job before you and you may become a millionaire before them. That is life. Everyone has his own time and season.
So who should you measure your goals against? It should be obvious by now. You and only you. You are your biggest competition; not your neighbour or your best friend. So calm down. The fact that the car has not yet come does not mean that it is the end of the world. It’s not difficult for God to give you a car but do you want the car for the right reasons or you just want to show off?
Stop putting undue pressure on yourself. When you walk with God, you will realize that He does not define success the way the world does. God measures success by how much you fulfil His purpose for your life. Do you know your purpose? Then pursue it with all your might. Forget who has what and who seems to have run ahead of you. Focus on God, focus on improving yourself, focus on adding value and soon enough, you will overtake.
The last few weeks of 2015 should not be spent in self-pity because of unmet goals. Instead, approach it with all you’ve got. Athletes do not slow down as they get closer to the finish line; they pick up speed and run like their lives depend on it. You should do the same. Be better than you’ve been in the last 11 months. Remember, your only competition is you.
About the Writer: Adedoyin Jaiyesimi is a Writer, Media Content Creator and Brand Manager. The various publications she has written for include Y! Magazine (now Y! Africa), Discovery, Pride Magazine Nigeria, Butterscotch magazine amongst others. She currently holds the position of Brand Communications Manager at Victor Adeyemi Ministries and she is also the founder of LRouge Media, an editorial and brand consultancy company which provides content writing and editing services for business websites, magazines and blogs. When she is not creating content, you can find her in church doing the work of her Father. She tweets @msdoyeen and blogs at
www.adedoyinjaiyesimi.wordpress.com
