Drawing Resolute Resolutions

We are down to the last day of the year. It is the time when most normal people make New Year’s resolutions. It is also a time when people remember the resolutions they made in years past that either did not live to see the light of day, or never made it through January. I realise that despite the high failure rate of resolutions, nobody ever sets out purposely to fail. I have therefore come up with the Layman’s guide to making the resolution that is guaranteed to work.

Write it Down

For those among you who detest writing, this may sound like an unpleasant and non-beneficial chore. However, this is the first step to ensuring that your resolution is successful. By writing, I don’t mean the fluffy and superfluous way that the Layman writes. It should be just a brief outline of the achievements you want to accomplish in the New Year. A good resolution can be written down effectively in less than 50 words. It should contain mainly the expected result and not necessarily a word by word process of how to achieve it. So, don’t be vague, put it on the page!

Say it out Loudly

Saying what you intend to do does not need to be a freak show with a shocked audience. It just requires you to form the words in your mouth of what you expect to achieve. There is power in the tongue and you can just say the words in the comfort and privacy of your own room. The only person who needs to hear those words is you so go ahead and perform the soliloquy.

For Posterity

Successful resolutions are usually intended for permanent lifestyle change. Inasmuch as we make resolutions to conform to the year at hand, we should be ready to make a life-long commitment. There is no point in making a resolution that is not resolute only to break it later and go back to your old ways. It weakens your self-esteem and compromises your credibility.

Daily Activity

However complex a resolution is, it has to be broken to a daily activity for it to be practical. There is no point in saying you are going to lose weight unless you identify the daily changes in diet and activity needed to achieve your goal. Just as a big chunk of ugali is eaten by breaking it into small bites, so is the most difficult resolution conquered by breaking it down into manageable daily pieces.

Not Restricted to Calendar Year

Who said that a resolution has to run from January to December? You should not feel under pressure to make a New Year’s resolution on the 1^st of January or forever be condemned. There is nothing magical about January to dictate that all resolutions should be made then. You can never be time-barred in making a resolution. It can start in any month and on any date. Don’t fret if you have not declared yours by tomorrow. Take your time and start whenever you are ready to see it through to the end.

It’s Okay to Slip-Up

Most people break their resolutions on the first instant that they slip up. This is wrong. You need to know that there are bound to be many failures on the path to succeeding in your resolution. The trick is to learn from the mistake and soldier on however discouraged you may feel. You can even restate your resolution in order to garner enough passion to trudge on even in the face of discouragement from none other than yourself.

Not Important to Announce to All and Sundry

Most people feel the need to tell friends or family of their intended resolutions. While this may help in some instances where one needs and accountability partner, it is often the reason why many fail in their resolutions. Only a few people will understand your resolution and help you in its pursuit. The vast majority will not be in position to help and even if they are, will not be willing to do so. Only tell those whose help you need in achieving your objective.

Consider the Stake Holders

Whenever you resolve to do something, it is important to consider how it will affect those close to you. If, for example, you resolve to finish your degree within the New Year, you need to think about how less time with your family will affect your children. A good resolution therefore, must not compromise those things that are important in your life unless the expected result will be worth the sacrifice.

So there you have it, fellow Laymen. Go out and make good resolutions for the New Year.

Analogy of Fear

If you knew me when I was young, you would think I was switched for somebody else in later years. I used to suffer from an extreme case of glossophobia which is the fear of speaking in public or trying to speak. If I had not been cured of this fear, I would not be the Layman you have come to know who can speak his mind without fear.

Fear is not a good thing because it makes people lead mediocre lives. Some of you might assume that you don’t fear anything but you are wrong. You only think you have no fear because you have no idea how ridiculously many forms of fear there are in the world today. There are literally hundreds of fears but I have tried to sample a few just to show you how much you have to fear.

Like I have mentioned here before, whereas most fears are acquired, a few are inborn. One of these is acousticophobia which is the fear of noise. I am sure none of you is completely comfortable with noise unless you are the one making it.

Of late, sexual abuse is on the rise and it has reached crisis levels. Nobody seems to be safe from the vice and it is justifiable to be afraid. Almost all of us therefore suffer from agraphobia, which is the fear of sexual abuse.

I am made to understand that the majority of women would like to get married. They suffer from anuptaphobia or the fear of staying single. Overcoming this fear is however complicated by androphobia. Androphobia is the fear of men and it makes it practically impossible for these anuptaphobic women to change their ‘fearful’ status.

Gravity is good for us because it helps to keep us on the ground. It makes rivers flow downstream and ensures that the water we are pouring from a jug makes it into the glass. If you know some rudimentary science like the layman, then you understand that gravity makes the world go round. I cannot therefore understand why anybody would suffer from barophobia – the fear of gravity.

All normal women suffer from cacophobia; the fear of ugliness. This is probably the reason why many of them will do anything to look beautiful by using all sorts of products and, for those who can afford it, going under the surgeon’s knife to try and improve their aesthetic value. Unfortunately for these women, many of whom do it for the benefit of potential mates; many men suffer from caligynerphobia, or the fear of beautiful women.

If it were possible, there is one fear that the government should encourage. It would be a big stride in public health if more men suffered from cypridophobia, the fear of prostitutes and venereal diseases. With our discouraging statistics on HIV infection, there is no telling how much usefulness this particular fear can achieve.

Next time we go for elections, we should vote out any leader suffering from decidophobia, the fear of making decisions. It will also be helpful for us to appreciate our melanin endowment as a race because we are incapable of developing ereuthrophobia – the fear of blushing. Even the recent bashing of those of us who put the French flag on our faces in mourning with terror victims, would have been avoided if less people suffered from francophobia; the fear of France and French culture.

What has come to be defined today as the fear of commitment is actually gamophobia. Gamophobia is the fear of marriage and people suffering from it will live together, have children, and invest in joint ventures, while avoiding walking down the aisle like it’s the plague.

Our country is largely Christian and as such, many Christians pride themselves in reading the bible and interpreting the prophesies therein. A lot of people concur that we are living in the last days. Much of the information in the bible is encoded in numbers but no other number inspires as much fear as 666. Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia is the fear of the number 666.

If you have read this far, then you can take comfort in knowing that you don’t suffer from hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia. Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia is the fear of long words.

The culture of playing the blame game in all sectors of society from government to families points to a new problem in the world today. Many people are exhibiting symptoms of hypengyophobia – the fear of responsibility. People with this kind of fear will never take responsibility for their words or actions.

 
What do you fear?

Inclusion does not equate to Representation

So we passed a beautiful new constitution that promised more inclusion. We assumed that we would be better represented because each of us had one of our own to take care of our needs. It turns out we were wrong. We are no more represented now than we were when we knew nobody in power.

Women

After the last elections, there was an avalanche of women entering all sectors of leadership. All this was thanks to affirmative action. Each county had to elect a person into the National Assembly to represent women. However, there was a catch. This person had to be a woman. It was the logical conclusion that with the inclusion of more women in parliament, women would be well represented. As to whether this worked out according to how it was envisioned, the jury is still out there.

Minorities

The last election was one of many firsts. There were not just many new faces in various offices; there were also many new groups finding their way into positions of power. Thanks again to affirmative action, minority groups such as people with disabilities had to be included in certain offices, ostensibly, to fight for the rights of those they were to represent.

Children

The rights of children were elaborately spelt out in the new constitution and a lot of other recent legislation. Inclusion of children’s interests is not in doubt. This inclusion has however failed to translate into actual representation of children.

Youth

The youth have been treated like a minority in many ways although am not sure if they are demographically a minority. Special seats have been created for them and even money set aside to help them start businesses. The future for the youth looks very bright – on paper! On closer inspection, it appears like their lot has not improved. If anything, their chances of success in life seem to have dwindled. It has instead been replaced by them being blamed for failing to take advantage of all the ‘favours’ that have been bestowed upon them.

Fake IDPs

Since the last ethnic fighting occurred in this country in 2007, many people were displaced from their homes and they have never gone back. Efforts have been made to either resettle them on their own land or acquire alternative land for them. The different IDP groups have often elected representatives from amongst themselves to follow up on these resettlement offers by the government. After many meetings and media reports of budgetary allocation and disbursement to the IDPs, their status has not changed. They are still displaced. What happens to their representation?

Ethnic Balance

The President has been advised, through the constitution, that he has to consider ethnic balance in addition to women, youth, and special groups, in giving out senior government positions. The reason for this, I believe, is to have inclusion of all the diverse people of Kenya, in the government. This then means that most tribes or tribal groupings are included in the government. If the poverty and problems inherent in all communities across Kenya is anything to go by, then this inclusion of all sorts of tribesmen has not translated to representation.

Corruption

I know the Layman has painted a grim picture of how unrepresented we are but, all is not lost. There is one thing that is truly Kenyan and even Mugabe of Zimbabwe is green with envy about it. Everybody is represented in this one characteristic feature of Kenyan society. Corruption in Kenya is all-inclusive. Those without the opportunity to be corrupt are envious of those who do. Parents are advising their children who get ‘good’ jobs not to slumber, but to get as much as they can while they can. Relatives and village mates think of their own who are corrupt as heroes. The electorate no longer hide their intention of electing certain people – to enrich themselves while they can. As far as corruption is concerned, every Kenyan is well represented.

P.S. Is Burundi included in the agenda of the African Union? Is the African Union interested in getting people off charges of crimes against humanity or preventing those who are committing such crimes from doing it?

Opportunity Vs. Talent – Which is more important?

Tiger Woods is indisputably one of the greatest golfers of all time. He is obviously talented but, if his father had not taken him to the golf club before he was two, would he have realised his talent? What made him excel? Was it an inborn gift in him to play golf, or was it the opportunity that was availed to him at a young age to learn and practice?

Advocates for opportunity and talent both drive an equally convincing argument. Personally however, I think opportunity is more important than talent as I will explain shortly. Being the Layman that I am, I know I will have a hard time making some of you change your mind and admit that with opportunity, you can be anything you want to be.

Opportunity

My dictionary defines opportunity as a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something. If you are a child, your parents are responsible for providing ideal opportunities for you to excel in. If you are an adult, the responsibility moves from your parents to you and your government.

The Fallacy of Talent

Talent is defined as a natural aptitude or skill. When we say someone is talented, what we mean is that his ability to do something was not learnt. It was inborn. While it is tempting to follow this philosophy blindly, I tend to think it is not entirely accurate. I believe all of us are born with an empty mind into which any kind of learning can be fed. Even experts agree that very little of what makes us human is inborn. The only two examples I have of scientifically-proven inborn things are the fear of falling and loud noises. Everything else is acquired along the way. I therefore believe that talent is severely overrated.

It’s not about the gift but how well it is used

In many ways, talent is just an opportunity given to some people to pursue the learning of a particular skill. This then means that, without hard work, talent is a useless gift. It is just a wasted opportunity (pun fully intended). Going to a good school does not guarantee good grades and getting a good job does not guarantee effectiveness. An opportunity is only good to the extent that it is put into good use.

The Great Equalizer

Our generation is fighting for equality of all kinds. Women want equality with men. Marginalised communities and groups are seeking for equal rights with majority groups. There is an enhanced campaign to ensure that all children enjoy equal rights. The greatest equalizer however, is equal opportunities for everyone. If every single person in the country had equal opportunities with everyone else, there would be little injustice. Instead, there would be more people succeeding in their respective fields.

Passion

It is usually passion, not talent, which drives us to seek opportunities in particular areas. Passion and talent are often used interchangeably by many people. They are however not one and the same thing. Passion is an intense emotion, a compelling enthusiasm or desire for something. This means that, while talent is inherent, passion can be developed. All that is required to develop passion is opportunity.

Give a Man a Fish

Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie wrote in her novel, ‘Mrs. Dymond’ that, “if you give a man a fish he is hungry again in an hour. If you teach him to catch a fish you do him a good turn.” This proverb has been widely and variably quoted since then and I think it proves my point. It is all about providing people with the opportunities to do what they need to do or are passionate about.

P.S. Why is there a shortage of innovation in Kenya and yet there are heaps of well-researched but unutilised theses in all our institutions of higher learning? Just wondering!