Temi Otedola ‘Why I’m leaving New Year Resolution in 2017’

Temi Otedola, daughter of Nigerian billionaire oil magnate, Femi Otedola has explained the reason why she's leaving New Year’s “Resolutions” in 2017 and focus on 'Intentions' instead.

In a piece shared on her blog,According to her, she took one hour to reflect on her achievements, failures, lessons, and keep these in mind when considering what she would like to change at the start of the new calendar.

Temi wrote;

“Here we go again. As I write this post on the final day of 2017, I think back to what this year held and what I’m hoping for in 2018. At the end of every year, I take about an hour or so looking back on my achievements, failures, lessons, and keep these in mind when considering what I would like to change at the start of the new calendar. But I have also found the conventional narrative of total-life-transformation at the start of every new year exhausting. A lot of us feel the pressure to completely metamorphose our lives. “This will be the year I cut all of the toxic people out of my life”, “this will be the year I loose 50 pounds”, “this will be the year I become financially independent”- the list goes on and on. For this New Year, I’m putting these overarching “resolutions” aside.

At the start of this year I made a list of about 5 things I wanted to change. They were the traditionally vague “resolutions”, and although 2017 was a crucial year for me, I can’t honestly say that many of these goals were wholly achieved. As I began to write this post, I also began to seriously question how useful resolutions truly are in the conventional sense… What does the term “resolution” even mean?

Resolution

noun

1. A firm decision to do or not to do something.
   “she kept her resolution not to see Anne any more”
   synonyms: intention, resolve, intent aim, aspiration, design, purpose, object, plan

I mulled over this definition for a while. I’m all for positive thinking and making decisive moves for greater outcomes, but the actual term “resolution” still left me feeling rather uninspired.  Maybe there’s something overtly binary about choosing “to do, or not to do something”. The strict definition of “resolution” excludes contemplation, gradual progress, and all the other characteristics that make up the innate human flaws we face day to day. For example, if a resolution I had for 2018 was to posses more patience when dealing with others, it’s highly unlikely that I would be able to wake up tomorrow, on the 1st of January, and suddenly be able to have absolute patience in all situations. Wouldn’t it be more effective if we worked on smaller steps towards overall self-improvement?

Therefore, I will not have any New Year’s resolutions this year, only New Year’s intentions.

Intention

noun

1. a thing intended; an aim or plan.
   “she was full of good intentions”
   synonyms: aim, purpose, intent, objective, object, goal target, end

There’s something about the word “intention” that seems much more fitting in facing the New Year. It’s a word loaded with potential, possibility, and attainability. Instead of overwhelming my hopes for 2018 with enormous statements that are daunting to tackle head on, I will set myself smaller, more tangible goals that can be confronted on a weekly or even daily basis. I truly believe that colossal, life-changing goals can be achieved from a combination of smaller actions. So, for example if my New Year’s intention was: “I want to run a marathon in 2018”, I wouldn’t immediately try to run all 26 miles, instead I would gradually increase the duration I run each week. Another example is if my New Year’s intention was: “I want to be healthy in 2018”, I could cut-out fizzy drinks in January, and then fast food in February. This method consistently includes new objectives as the year goes on, and so your continuously working towards an aim.

So, now it’s time to be completely honest with you. What are my 2018 intentions? You’ll see in the list below how specific I’m trying to be, as these larger goals will be broken down daily or weekly into smaller steps that I can start cultivating straight away.

So here it goes…

Temi’s 2018 Intentions

Start University deadlines in good time and get my degree!

Be more personal and thoughtful with jtofashion.com content (starting with this)

Declutter/donate any unloved belongings

Devote more time and attention to my family

Continue to ignore the naysayers and any negativity on social media

I hope some of you will be inspired to join my newfound “intention” movement, taking daily/weekly steps to reach a larger goal. Remember, don’t let the New Year overwhelm, you got this, I got this, we all got this! Whether you decide to stick with resolutions or have decided tomorrow is a day just like any other, join me in starting 2018 on a positive note, giving special attention to who you care for the most. HAPPY NEW YEAR. Love, Temi.”