The end is the beginning

WHEN you were in school, what did you do at the end of a term or semester?
Did you go for all-night parties to forget all about the examinations?
Or, did you (like some) take time to evaluate your results in terms of the grades that you got?
If you do that, there is a greater chance of you doing better in the following year.
The end of one term or semester is the beginning of a new term.
A relative texted me two weeks ago saying that one of our nieces doing Grade 8 came second in English in her school but did not do so well in Mathematics and Science – her favourite subjects. I replied saying that in Grade 9 she can do better. But all that depends on her.
If she evaluates her performance this year and the amount of time she spent on different things – and makes the appropriate changes – she can improve in any subject she wants to.
The same can be applied to you.
How did you fare in 2011?
Are you going to do better and reach for higher rungs in school, work or life in general in the coming year?
How you fare in 2012 will depend on what you do right now – at the end of 2011.
Be prepared for the New Year now.
Do not wait for good things to happen.
Plan and prepare to go out and make good things happen.
One of our sports journalists told me earlier this year that England’s award-winning fly-half Jonny Wilkinson has a unique way for preparing for the rugby season.
He is one of the most accurate kickers in the code in the world.
They say that is attributed to his incessant practising and his avoiding publicity.  
Wilkinson was voted player of the 2003 World Cup and can kick field goals equally well with both feet.
He is a left-footer but practised to kick with his right – and that gave him the advantage to score field goals anywhere on the paddock.
The journalist said Wilkinson was way ahead of others because during the off-season (the end of one season) he was not lazing in a sauna or on the beach in the Bahamas – he was on the field still kicking the balls through the uprights, all alone (already starting the new season).
When the season starts he hits the ground running, so to speak. 
See you in 2012 – and I hope to see you hit the ground running.
lNext week: The goals and stretches for 2012