Happy New Year to all of my fellow readers! May the year 2012 be a year of happiness, health, peace and love for all of you out there! I think these are the wishes we would all like to see realized in one way or another. No matter the projects we have set for the New Year, the end goal of all our projects comes down in my opinion to having a year and a life that is full of happiness and peace of mind.
I would like to talk in my column today about inspirations. I strongly believe that we should all have an inspiration in our lives. Have you noticed that the kind of people we surround ourselves with determine the kind of person we become? Back as a lecturer in the university, I used to be one of the fierce hunters for scholarship opportunities. I have to say that I have applied to over thirty universities before finally landing on one, which happened to change the direction of my life. Looking back now a decade earlier, what drove my motivation was a dear friend of my mine who I must stay is one of the hardest working persons I have met in my life. She simply had no time for nonsense, and considered every passing minute of her life as a priceless asset that needed efficient and productive use. She was my inspiration at that time of my life. But in addition, there was also the culture that existed in the campus. Everyone was fiercely looking for ways to upgrade their careers by advancing further their education. So, there was no other option than being one of them. Today, I meet several youngsters who wish to obtain a scholarship for advanced studies abroad. Although the dream is there, the inspiration is lacking among these youngsters. They are not motivated enough to go to action and dig deep for opportunities. And I believe that has to do with the fact that they are not surrounded by people who inspire them enough to go that extra mile needed to get what they want.
Our inspirations need not to be people that are famous in their fields of specialization. Our inspirations can be among our friends and our neighbors. If we do not have around us people who inspire us, I think we should actively look for them, be it at events, clubs, or organizations that we wish to join in as an employee.
I think one of our goals for 2012 should be to surround ourselves with people who are positive, have a good character, are motivated and work hard. We should surround ourselves with people who believe in us, in our ideas, and can help us bring out the absolute best in us. We should aspire to be with people who do not fear to fail, take failure as the next opportunity, never lose hope, and work hard to use their failure to leapfrog to success. I think we should all have in our minds or keep at our sides those people who we aspire to become. We should keep our eyes and minds on people that are both big dreamers and doers. Surrounding ourselves with people who do not wish or are not motivated to change the status quo and who believe that the status quo cannot or will not be changed, or those who believe that the status quo is enough, is one of the things that will make the New Year just another year that is no different than the previous ones.
Think of who or the kind of person or the kind or environment that would inspire you to become the best version of yourself, and actively pursue it, him, or her in 2012. Aspire in the New Year to be inspired!
