As 2025 Steps In Some Nigerians Reflect On 2024 Resolutions
6 months ago 6 min read
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As the clock struck midnight on December 31, 2024, people around the world welcomed the dawn of a new year with hope, optimism, and a list of promises to themselves; a resolution for the new year.
A New Year resolution is a promise or commitment that individuals make to themselves to achieve a specific goal, improve a habit, or change a behavior starting from the beginning of a new year. It’s a way to reflect on the past year, identify areas for improvement, and set intentions for personal growth and self-improvement in the upcoming year.
The tradition of making New Year’s resolutions is a timeless one, with individuals vowing to improve their lives, habits, and relationships. As the year comes to an end, it’s time to reflect on whether promises were kept or not.
THE WHISTLER conducted a random survey across Federal Capital Territory (FCT) residents, revealing a mixed bag of experiences. While many individuals set ambitious New Year’s resolutions and made significant strides in achieving them, others admitted to not having any resolutions, opting instead to take life as it comes.
For some, 2024 was a year to expand their vocabulary by reading more books. Esther Benson, a hotel receptionist, had resolved to read at least two books every month.
“I started strong, covering at least two novels every month and tracking my progress, but life got in the way, and I missed some months. But I am still grateful for the progress I made and hope to press harder next year,” she explained.
For Fumilayo Debora, it was all about working on her body weight for a better shape and healthy living.
“I promised myself a daily workout on my street road. It seemed unachievable in the beginning, but with time I got used to it to the extent that my body notifies me each day I missed it. My success would have been a massive one if I had controlled what goes into my mouth as well. I think that’s where I will channel next year,” she said.
However, two people who pleaded anonymity had a different view of New Year resolution, “I no go lie you, I no get any resolution, no vex,” said the first one.
The second person said, “I have been on the same resolution for some years now, no good result, I am still on it.”
For some business moguls, it was a year to expand their business and take it another level. James Enoch, a computer engineer, graphic designer and data analyst, resolved to have his business registered and also bring his younger brother into the business.
“I was able to achieve them as planned.I established a lesson center, opened a shop for sale of laptops and their gadgets. Had the shop well stocked. Then my younger brother who has been following in the business is now fully in it, and it’s two good heads working together for greater success,” Enoch explained.
A pool engineer, Donatus Chisom prioritised this year to strengthen his spiritual life and deepen his relationship with God.
He said he set time aside for prayers and attending church services. He noted that there was a moment of inconsistency, but the progress made brought him closer to God and gave him a sense of peace and direction.
Chisom further explained other areas he resolved to work on his life. “Financial freedom was another major goal. I focused on saving and budgeting, but unexpected expenses and challenges sometimes slowed my journey.
“Also, personal growth was at the core of my resolutions. I aimed to read at least two books a month, exercise regularly, and cultivate stronger relationships with the people I care about. Learn new skills, and break bad habits. The first few months were promising as I read inspiring books, and made time for loved ones. However, as life got busier, my consistency slowed down bridging my desire to meet my target.”
Explaining further the young engineer said he aimed expanding on networking by attending events and meeting like-minded individuals. He added that he was not able to attend as many events as planned due to funds, but the few he attended were impactful. He said “I connected with inspiring people and gained fresh perspectives.”
Chisom added that growing his brand, Donchilo Global, was also his major focus. He explained that he leveraged social media and other platforms to increase visibility, noting that though the results weren’t as massive as he envisioned, the progress was steady, and he gained insights on how to improve further.
He admitted that the current economic crisis contributed to not achieving all he aimed for, adding that it gave him the insight for critical thinking.
“Extra effort was applied to navigate Nigeria’s unique challenges, the high cost of living and removal of fuel subsidy made me stretch my resources and be more strategic about spending. For example I redirected funds towards essentials, which limited my ability to attend seminars and invest in tools for personal development.
“I learnt to prioritize free online resources and virtual events to stay on track. Frequent power outages and unreliable internet made it harder to stay consistent with online activities, including brand promotion for Donchilo Global and connecting with people. To overcome this, I made use of alternative power sources,” he explained.
Speaking on his resolution for this year, Adebayo Rotimi, a marketer and a freelancer, said his resolve was to make money through online product marketing and go for vacation during the holidays, but unfortunately, he did not meet his desire.
“I was not able to achieve the product marketing due to the exchange rates, as something that required N400 for a day to advertise on Facebook, now requires at least N1500. Initially, I could have used this same amount to run a three day advert and get more responses and sales,” he explained.
For Precious Chuks, he recalled that for quite some time, he had not made any serious New Year resolutions. He attributed it to the fact that he realised that he is in a growth/transition stage.
Chuks added that he already knew that most of the year will be dedicated to the NYSC service programme, as he had just begun his service in September of the previous year.
“For the year 2024, I simply said that I will be open to learn more, grow myself, skill up and push my startup. As to achieving them, to varying degrees Yes, and to a varying Degree No.
“Moving to Abuja and adapting to the environment was quite a lot. I survived the NYSC Year, and the shenanigans from extorting my NYSC CDS officer and colleagues. I realized the systemic corruption happening there, and as a sole warrior, I ensured that things were done by the book in my CDS. I am definitely a better activist now, with my experience.
“I did not complete any of the Skill-UP Courses I enrolled in. I tried… it just did not happen. I picked so many other skills which were totally unplanned. I can cook without seasoning cubes. I learnt how to drive, and can drive very well now. My networking skills got better
“For my startup, I got a final print for my proposal. This was a huge milestone in the fundraising process. On the other hand, I chickened out of pitching/following through with plans to pitch with potential partners for my startup. I guess I wasn’t really feeling it. I strongly believe I would have achieved greater results if I were not settling into a new environment. The change in environment affected my time management and planning skills.
“So in summary, I will say that for two years in a row, my New Year’s resolution has been “Learn, unlearn, grow and skill-up” because I felt I was in a transition stage; career wise and mentally. So I didn’t have any super specific tasks/goal. My approach was simply to go with the flow, observe life, learn from it, and tap into opportunities as they come. It is more like a self-discovery phase thing.
“Thanks to the experiences of this year, I have a clearer vision of some specific goals I would love to achieve, and I am already working towards them. For instance, get a scholarship for my MBA, get funding for my startup, and improve on my streams of income.
“I take the waterfall approach to life, instead of a linear approach. That means that my plans are constantly modified in relation to the realities of life itself,” he concluded.
