What if this is going to be your worst year ever?

“May your roads be rough. May there be plenty troubles for you this year” — Tai Solarin, 1964.

As a mere mortal, it’s quite natural if your first reaction is “Why”. Or like the many spiritual Nigerians I know, plunge into a “God-forbid” moment rebuking every bad wish. I’d heard this quote too some years back and even though I recovered from the why moment, it wasn’t until this year that I read the whole New Year speech that the quote came from.
I’ll avoid giving a recap of his analogy of how there can’t be any success without a battle and rough roads. In fact, as a Nigerian, we live through this and it’s easier for us to relate with. There is even a popular saying that says a smooth sail doesn’t make a good sailor. While all these are very valid facts, the question is “what is the guarantee that we’ll make it through the rough roads?”

Last year (2017), happened to be one of my most interesting years so far and I wasn’t prepared for it. I rarely ever made New year resolutions because it made more sense -to me- just setting goals and getting better; it wasn’t until last year that I realized I was subconsciously making those resolutions on my birthday which happens to be exactly a week into the New year. Purpose defeated, I made my real first year resolution in 2017.

For me, it was very SMART. It was Specific, Measurable…probably the best anyone my age could have made and I thought perhaps, this was my year at last. Looking back, I realized there were plenty flaws and the most important one was I didn’t prepare for the rough roads.

The year started on a really bad note for me. A breakup which, if it didn’t include talking about how I had no vision for my future and how the love of my life didn’t trust me all through the relationship, could have been just a normal thing. Instead, it became pivotal to the decisions I made for a significant part of the year. Without realizing it, I had lost the battle before it even started.

Naturally, I tried to rise above the hurt. I wanted to prove her and anyone else wrong. I wanted to do this, to do that -and in the process, became desperate. It made me lose the objectivity of what my goal was and how I had a plan to achieve it. I was, in a very short time, trying to prove I could save the world.

Fast forward to 2018, I now see how that could have been the rough road I needed to scale through. And instead of making it work, I didn’t. I hated the road, blamed it, wished it was smoother, hated it, gave up, bounced back, blamed it again — and I failed to realize how it was all my fault.

I should have been prepared. Just like the boy scouts I admired. I should just have been prepared. But how do you prepare for a road you’ve never been? You don’t even know whether it’s rough or not? You have absolutely no clue how long it is and what you meet on the road? How do you prepare for a road you’ve never been on?

Fuel, a good engine, shock absorbers, a good driver and plan B.

This, I know now. That, regardless of how small or big a goal is, there are already a myriad of factors working against achieving it. Some of these factors you can foresee like rush hour traffic and some, you can’t, like an accident. Whichever, it is, you have to be prepared.

The focus should always be on the goal and not the 11 men —with reserves - who are hell bent on ensuring you don’t reach it. There will always be a battle and how you fight it determines success or failure. To win the fight requires preparation and to me, that’s the biggest take-home from Tai’s speech. Be prepared.

This year, I’m prepared. Whatever my village people have in stock for me will meet me here. In fact, to show that I mean business, I’ve upped my resolution to a list of about 10. We’re not here for jokes.

Amongst those resolutions are :

• Getting more on Twitter: Twitter is like the digital Lagos. Every hustler knows how important it is. Seeing how the motivation to write this came from there, I’m fairly certain it was a right decision.

• Writing every day: This is the hardest of all, I think. Consistency is about the most important skill needed to achieve anything and that makes it the most difficult. I hope I pull through.

• Getting featured in publications: This would have been among the list of the more personal resolutions if I didn’t need kind souls like you for referrals. Asides writing, I create and curate a visual diary on Instagram @theunpublishedgallery and I hope to throw myself out for features. Kindly point me in directions for guestwriting, features and whatever speaking gig I might be appropriate for. Of course, I’d be willing to do free (even though I don’t mind the ones with a couple of zeros on the check😎)

This is my first attempt at writing everyday and even though I’ve missed some days, I promise to make up for them. I hope this journey is exciting for me as it will be for you.

Cheers. May our roads be rough.

I’ll appreciate your responses and appropriate feedbacks at anytime of this journey. Kindly connect with me here, on Twitter @alfaruqstories, Instagram @alfaruqstories or @theunpublishedgallery and LinkedIn -Umar Faruq Akinwunmi. Thank you.

PS: This is my first Steem. I'm excited to be here.
All images used here are mine and can be found on my Instagram page @theunpublishedgallery.