Time to think wrong

Time to think wrong

Haaaaapppy New Year, New Month, New Resolutions….eeeerh….not! As the earth rotates and orbits the Sun end of 365, 25 days is the time-spend for the completion of this phenomenon. For us mere mortals, it is an opportunity to reflect on how we’ve lived-out the year gone-by whilst we forecast on the one ahead. New Year’s Resolution, are often than not a culmination of that Reflection-Forecasting ritual. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs human beings ultimately seek to self-actualise – Hence, somewhat the root-rationale for Resolutions is to payback the behavioral-deficit deemed beneficial to self-betterment or attaining desired quality of life.

The question is…if Resolutions are that important, why is it that a chunk of "Resolutionators" never see through their intentions but have minimised the exercise to a habitual ritual that just marks the start of the New Year?

As much as the need to amend behavior for a better life seems necessary what if the motives and the intent are not noble? It is these What ifs that have left me wondering…

What if, an esteemed better life is not really better?

What if our needs, are actually just wants?

What if, everything we have learned about life is wrong?

What if, what is… is essentially not - and what is not is essentially is?

What if, our dreams are a reality and our realities are a dream?

What if, there is no law that segregates rightness from wrongness? What would make things right?

What if, wrong is actually right?

Definition of wrong
: Contrary to law, out of order or abnormality (Oxford Dictionary)

This is not a debate about wright or wrong….this is a matter of introspection versus retrospection-
The real question is…why do we want what we want versus what do we want?

Before we set sail as merchants, we are to be sure that the distant shores we are heading to are where we are ordained to go by authorities. Likewise, resolutions based on a flawed mindset could lend us into a pseudo-life versus better life ordained by God. Our actions cannot prevail independent from our motives. What makes the action wrong is not the necessarily the action in itself but the motive-action combination also.

There is a Social Doctrine that prescribes a Standard of success Beauty Status etc which is not even absolute. Yet we have a vast majority of mankind self-sacrificing to fit into that abstract standard. Consequently we go chasing waterfalls manifested in habitual New Year’s resolution. Who said skinny is beauty? Who said dark is ugly and yellowbone is pretty? Who said a bigger house bigger car bigger wallet is success? What if a person living in a shack in Diepsloot with no debt is richer than an executive in Sandhurst with a R3 million bond? Getting the honeys can never be motive enough to get a six pack…or is it?

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expects different results" – Unknown

From this definition, habitual "Resolutionators are insane by doing things as usual (as a norm) expecting things to change, therefore sanity demands that we do things differently abnormal out of order Perhaps do things wrong… Sanity demands that instead of habitual Resolutions perhaps a bit of interrogation of our motives can bring about wrong thinking process (abnormal thinking) Instead of asking the question What do I want to achieve?" How about we ask ourselves why do I want to achieve what I want to achieve?"

Perhaps Behavioral change was never an issue, but the motive behind. Perhaps prior to committing to Behavioural-change we should resolve to changing our thinking patterns, our paradigms, our mind-set, our set of beliefs and align right motives with the change we would like to see…

Perhaps it’s Time to think wrong to bring about change of heart and not just of behaviour.

Top Ten Common New Year’s Resolutions in no particular order:

Get a better Job

Drink less Alcohol

Going back to the gym/Diet/ Lose weight

Change Image

Pay debt/Save Money

Travel More /Meet new people

Quit Smoking

Spend time with family

Time management/Be Organized/Be Punctual

Learn new things/Go back to school/Read Books


Happy New Year’s Resoluting!"

by Gino