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In the beginning of the American New Year, many of us make lofty resolutions. It is a time that many of us make promises about what we are going to do in the coming year. In reality, we find that most resolutions made on this day are left unfulfilled. I believe they go unfulfilled because of our COMMITMENT to them. They are not part of our everyday routine. We know that we must brush our teeth and wash every day, therefore, these tasks become a part of our every day life. A resolution needs to be reinforced by concrete actions that will make them something we do every day. The same is needed for the Nguzo Saba, the Principles of Kwanzaa.
If we believe the Kwanzaa Principles are goals of success we want in our lives, then we need to reflect on how to make those goals real. Sitting down with friends and family to discuss HOW these Principles can become an everyday part of our lives will help us set structure.
A suggestion on how to make Kwanzaa Principles a guiding force in our personal lives would be to assign each day of the week a Kwanzaa Principle. For example, let’s say Mondays would be Umoja. Make this a day that the family does some activity together. We all have very busy lives. Taking an evening out to enjoy each other’s company is essential to family unity.
Tuesdays would be Kujichagulia. This would be a great day to discover something about your family or someone in our culture we did not know about. Perhaps getting a subscription to ancestry.com and doing genetic tests would be the place to start. Spending a few evening hours finding out about one’s family background to discover the patterns in the family is a good thing. Doing this provides a roadmap to success.
Based upon the dates the Kwanzaa holiday starts THIS year, we celebrate Umoja every Tuesday. By this example, at the beginning of every year, Umoja would be on whatever day the 26th of December is for that year.
For each Day of Kwanzaa, you can find different activities that will help you remained centered towards using the 7 Principles effectively. If we do this individually and as a family, the results will become apparent in all aspects of our lives.
Often New Year resolutions fail because they become tedious or work. There is no joy is doing the same thing always OR just going through the motions. Families and individuals will benefit by making each Kwanzaa activity fun. For example, on Ujaama day, perhaps a member of the family could think of a money making enterprise that would grow family wealth. Some of the best entrepreneurial ideas have come from an activity just like this. As the year goes on, you can revisit these ideas to see their success on need for modification. Make it about the joy!
There is no hard rule on what your resolutions should be. It could be ONE for all we know. What is most important is to start somewhere. Understand that your resolutions are like a road map to your future. You ARE worthy, you ARE special and YOUR ideas will show you that. Good luck!