2019 will be lit-read on !

It's a new year. Time for a fresh start, maybe 2018 was the year of your dreams. Maybe it's been a nightmare. However I suggest you forget what's behind you and press toward the goals you have for 2019. This year is a time to have some resolutions for a better life and stick to them. Some say New Years resolutions don't work, they won't work if you don't actively try to make them happen. There is no abracadabra wand on this planet. Even those who believe in witchcraft have to perform some rituals before they gain the object of their desire.

Leave it all behind. The friends that were disloyal to you. The job that fired you or still hassles you. The painful death of a loved one, sickness, heartache and all the negative experiences. Also archive in memory but do not make it an excuse not to live fully in 2019. The successes, the joys, the amazing family and friends that made 2018 phenomenal. Gods goodness, the promotion and the mercies that were new every morning.

I remember a song I heard when I was about 16 by India Arie, I choose. " To be the best that I can be, I choose to be authentic in everything I do, my past don't dictate who I am, I choose. Man I've been through some painful things thought that I would never make it through..... but by the grace of God I have been giving so many second chances..... I release the guilt about the way things have been cause life is going to do what it do." Life is going to be full of peaks and valleys, one must remember how bless they are to experience it and continue to be grateful for the gift of waking up every morning to take in all the life around them.

Regardless of what could or might happen and what has already happened, be grateful for the good things life has gifted you with. It makes life that much sweeter. For 2019 set goals to live a healthier more satisfying life and make sure to have that as your focus. That's all you can do. You cannot control what happens to you, but as Maya Angelou says you can choose not to be reduced by it. By working towards those goals you have a distraction from the negative things that might occur, which you cannot predict.

Bad things and good things will equally occur in 2019. Take the good as a reason for celebration and the bad as something to overcome, and a powerful testimony. It is sweeter to taste the fruit of labour and the presence of joy when one has suffered. Be positive, get rid of negative people and negative narrations of your story. Remember you can create aspects of your life; your perceptions, your desitinations and the life you ultimately want to see. While you're breathing and on this Earth make sure you don't give up your right to do so.

My story:
For me 2018 was an extremely difficult year, filled with friendship and church betrayal. However it's also been a year of many of my dreams coming true and the solidification of my relationship with amazing friends and my wonderful family. I know God has been good. Everyday now I do shakara. Hopefully your 2019 is the same, you overcome all odds and there's a huge table set before you in the presence of your enemies. However, you must put in the work and make that success possible.

I would like to say thank you for supporting my column and my dreams.

Plus a very happy new year !
From Tuntum Nahana Akosua