Talking About a Resolution Revolution

“Being a master of your own destiny is the coolest – it is not easy to really dedicate ourselves to sustained change, but achieving discipline and control is an immeasurably wonderful feeling.”

Proving that life is a dance worth dancing is Namibia’s own dancer extraordinaire, Tulimelila Shityuwete, the Co-Founder and Director at First Rain Dance Theatre. 99FM’s MYD Art spoke to Tuli, a woman with so much passion for life to find out what her resolutions will be for this year and how we too can find the best resolutions for ourselves this year.

Resolutions for a New Year by Tulimelila Shityuwete

To me, choosing New Year’s resolutions is like imagining the best version of myself and then figuring out what I need to do to become that person. There are a few resolutions that I have made over the years and stuck with but many more that have fallen by the wayside. But, I think that the best resolutions come when we are ready. On my 27th birthday I made a secret promise to myself: that by my 28th birthday I would have my own place, a driver’s license, a car and my health. None of these are small resolutions and none of them were easy, but in a bid to take control of my life I slowly started chipping away. I didn’t manage everything that I set out to do in the timeframe I gave myself, but today, a year and a half from when I made this promise to myself I have my own place, I have a driver’s license, I am the fittest and strongest I have ever been (after losing 10kgs but that’s another story lol) and as of yesterday I am the proud owner of my very own car (can you believe it?!).

So in honour of the season of resolutions I have drawn up three tips to sticking to our resolutions and I sincerely hope that they help:

1. Don’t be so hard on yourself – of course we can always improve on ourselves – constant growth and self-development is important but don’t forget that you are pretty awesome already. If your list is too long and self-critical it is only going to make you feel discouraged and it will be harder to focus on just a few key aspects.

2. Make your goals manageable – I don’t mean make your objectives so easy that you can cross them off without trying, but if you resolve to attend the gym twice a day seven days a week or give up smoking, sugar and junk food all in one go; it’s highly likely you won’t succeed and that can be really demotivating. Try to focus on realistic goals that will keep you healthy, happy and secure.

3. If you slip up, just keep going – it can be easy to fall off the wagon, especially in the beginning, but if you, like me, buckle and have some junk food or a cigarette, don’t let it derail your resolve. Acknowledge it as a blip on the radar and keep going.

Being a master of your own destiny is the coolest – it is not easy to really dedicate ourselves to sustained change, but achieving discipline and control is an immeasurably wonderful feeling.

Committing to the person that you want to be and consistently working towards that is a very rewarding journey.

If you can’t do something, build your capacity to do it, if you feel lethargic, get to the gym, doing is always better than not doing and will almost always make you feel better.

Here’s to another year, be happy and good luck!