René Roberts

If you’re reading this you’ve survived Christmas and its good friend New Years. You’ve had too much of just about everything: meat, sugar, booze, tinsel, sparkly lights and that uncle your mother invites only because she feels obligated to. It’s day three of 2016 and you’ve already failed at every New Year’s resolution you’ve made. You’ve already realised that life without sugar and carbs is like sex without orgasm – pointless. So, how do you look ahead at a brand spanking new year already being defeated?

You grow a set of balls.

You vow never to vow again. Vows are for straight people to make and break.

Do you know what the trending status update on social media is at the moment?

“2016 is going to be my year!”

Shocker. These are also the people that are flocking to the gym right now, drinking eight glasses of water per day and walking the dog. This will last for a week – if they’re really lucky.

Why are people wondering what 2016 holds for them? It’s a new year, not a fairy god mother. It consists of 365 days that will be pretty much like the 365 days of 2015. Some days will be filled with rainbows and fairies and others will be filled with demons and Jacob Zuma. You’ll go from loving your job to hating it from time to time. The same probably applies to your husband, wife, or partner. There is no magic wand and the year is not rubbing its hands in excitement waiting to bless you with all your heart desires. You can’t sit back and wait to be blown away – 2016 is not a prostitute.

This might be the year you send your baby to school for the first time. It might be the year you send your daughter (whom you still see as your baby) to varsity for the first time. Maybe you’re starting a new job or maybe your first round of chemo. So, maybe you know exactly what to expect this year. If you think you do, you’re absolutely right. If you’re expecting to fall apart, trust me, you will. If you’re expecting to wallow in the abyss of depression and self-destruction, you will be comforted by the arms of darkness. If you’re expecting to fail, the universe will obey and you will fail.

Am I saying that you shouldn’t expect to be anxious or fearful? No. What I am saying is that you also have the option of being hopeful. Hope has nothing to do with faith. Hope is not rooted in religion or man-made rules or expectations. Hope is universal and it’s like the fat kid. It desperately wants to be chosen to be part of your team, but it’s not counting on it.

If 2015 didn’t make your dreams come true, and you’re still trying to figure out why the universe conspires against you, you’re already three days behind in 2016. You’re also heading on the same course that will lead you to the same destination in the new year.

Life is like a coin. On the one side you’ll find a charted path – a perfect replica of every other year you’ve lived. It’s covered in predictability and a sense of stagnation. This side of the coin works toward one goal – survival. The other side of the same coin is blank. If you have the balls I’ve told you to grow, you’ll chart it yourself, because you’ve realised that you create your own reality. This side of the coin works toward one goal, and that is fulfilment: the achievement of something desired. There’s a catch to this side of the coin though. It won’t allow you to cast blame, wallow in self-pity or despair.

Whether you want to admit or not – a lot of what happens in 2016 will be completely up to you. It’s daunting, but exciting. As a child, my mother always told me that in everything in life I will have choices. She assured me that if I made healthy choices I would be rewarded with all the finer things in life. My mom never lies. Trust me. Trust her.

Make the right choice. Choose hope. Flip the coin and will it to land on uncharted territory so that you can create the 2016 you want.