A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.– Winston Churchill
IT IS HERE AT LAST. Yes, December. For some individuals the last 11 months may have brought with them mountains of sorrow, sadness and suffering. For others it might be described as a peaceful, productive and progressive time. A third group may express that the period was a combination of failure and fortune; frustration and fulfilment.
One man with some degree of optimism remarked: “This past year has been something else . . . . It opened my eyes to many things and many people. It had its ups and downs and ins and outs. And I believe we’ve all been able to take something from that and grow in our own particular ways. We’ve overcome obstacles, and set in motion opportunities that can change our own individual lives.”
No matter your experience, 11 months in the year have gone. The question is: With your God-given capabilities, did you seize those golden opportunities that came in your direction? Can you honestly say you made good use of those precious moments to enhance your life and that of others?
If you did, congratulations and keep up the good work in the coming year. If you did not, you may have done yourself and others an injustice by not contributing to the welfare of humanity. December, however, is a month where the door of opportunity is still open for you to take a grip on something within your social, mental, emotional, physical or spiritual reach and use it for a valuable purpose. You can still end the year on an impressive high.
Etched in my mind from secondary school were the following words penned by a wise writer: “Lost somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours; each decked with 60 diamond minutes, no reward is offered for they are gone forever.” Those words have helped me throughout my adult years to take hold of opportunities as quickly as possible. Why not take a close look at some possible social opportunities today and translate them into something noteworthy during this month of December?
Fostering friendships
When I talk about fostering friendships, I am referring to a friend with whom you may have built a great platonic relationship at school, the workplace, church or even within a club, but time or distance may have slowly pushed you apart.
Why not give them a call and rekindle that friendship? Why not make a special effort to connect and not only reminisce about those former times, but also plan to keep in contact more frequently? You can also profit from establishing new friends these final days of the year.
Dale Carnegie gave a powerful key to unlock the door to new friends. He said: “You can make more friends in two months by being interested in other people than in two years of trying to get people interested in you.”
Establishing a strong link with old or beginning new friendships may prove to be very rewarding and may well result in a worthwhile end-of-the-year social investment. For some individuals, kick-starting old friendships and formulating new ones may not be that difficult but mending broken social family fences may be an uphill task.
Mending social family fences
A family that is working in harmony is like an orchestra with each of its members, though playing different instruments, blending together to execute a marvellous cohesive piece of music that is pleasant to the ears and calming to the soul. For you who may have striven to create such tranquillity in your home during the year so far, congratulations.
However, I am aware that the last 11 months of this year for some families who live in the same home environment have been far from pleasant and peaceful. The toxic social air that is inhaled almost every day as a result of some family member or members deliberately breathing out loads of bitterness has inhibited healthy communication and prevented beautiful bonding from taking place.
If your attitude towards your obnoxious family member has been one of hostility and hatred throughout the year, perhaps during this final month of 2016 you may want to consider adopting a different approach.
Think of the words of Joel Osteen, who said: “Every day we have plenty of opportunities to get angry, stressed or offended. But what you’re doing when you indulge these negative emotions is giving something outside yourself power over your happiness. You can choose to not let little things upset you.”
I have seen in some family relationships similar to the one mentioned above, an attitudinal change in reaction to the troublemaker in the family result in a turnaround in his/her behaviour. Think of or seek counsel for an approach that you can try that may be workable in your situation. You may be surprised by its transforming results in your unique family setting.
Trying to put out fire with fire has never worked. One motivational speaker said: “In every day, there are 1 440 minutes. That means we have 1 440 daily opportunities to make a positive impact.” Why not think of and put into action a positive approach during this month that may produce a positive impact within your family environment? It may be worth the effort.
The year 2016 is slowly coming to a full stop. Can you imagine the great social difference you may be able to make in the lives of your immediate family and friends with the limited time frame in which God has given you to act?
• Haynesley Griffith is a marriage and family life consultant. Email: griffitharticles@gmail.com
