This week’s headline may sound familiar—the promises and resolutions that resurface every January. It is the season when we pause to reflect on our lives, families, friendships, careers, and the broader journey of existence. Our thoughts drift back and forth as we search for meaning, often uncovering reminders of both our achievements and our missteps. Yet it is those few failures that should serve as a guiding compass for the year ahead. That is why I believe stepping into 2026 with renewed optimism is the strongest path forward.
Life’s lessons are found in both success and failure. Yet, more often than not, we overlook those who stumble and instead celebrate those who triumph. I understand why—success attracts many companions, while failure often stands alone. At times, we prefer the stories of people who struggled at the start but eventually rose to prominence, because such narratives resonate deeply.
That’s fair. But have you considered that these “humble beginnings” stories are not always as they seem? There is nothing wrong with believing that “the charcoal seller’s son will one day wear a white shirt,” for life offers us a world filled with possibilities, not impossibilities
So going into 2026, I have decided to walk my dream because impossibility is only the mind of the pessimist. A pessimist sees the problems in every situation, but an optimist sees the opportunity in every situation—including where there are glaring problems. So, walk me on this journey of possibilities.
Reimagine! Of course, it is natural, as human beings, to dwell so much on the negatives in life, forgetting that you gain more when you concentrate on the positives in life. Reimagining is about creativity; it is about looking at things differently with the aim of achieving a better result.
So, if you think 2025 has not brought about your desired effect, what are you going to do about it in the year ahead? Do you need any clues here? Okay, let me offer one: Clue number one is that, in your attempt to answer this question, you should not apply the same methods that you used in 2025 to answer.
That won’t change anything! So, my direct answer is that you must get into some form of creative thinking, brainstorming and coming up with multiple perspectives. You can examine and analyse each perspective against your expected outcome.
To give you more inspiration, I am going to use some of the key points I raised in my March 16, 2024, edition of this column.
In that edition, my headline was “Disturb the present!”, admonishing readers to overcome self-imposed limits to make the next leap forward, and I used the life examples of many trailblasers, including Sharon Wood.
Wood, one of the first women to climb Mount Everest, had this to say: “It wasn’t a matter of physical strength but inner strength.
The conquest lay within my own mind. I had to penetrate those barriers of self-imposed limitation and get through to the good stuff- the stuff called potential, 90 per cent of which we rarely use.” You certainly need to disturb your present to move from good to great, and that is what this week’s issue is about.
How many times have you tried to get yourself out of your current situation to try a new job or another opportunity, but felt afraid to do so? Well, if you have, remember that you are not alone in feeling that way.
There are documented periods when people felt the fear of failure, and they never tried anything different. And there are situations too in which people felt the fear but did it anyway! These daring ones are the ones we call trailblazers today.
The right mental model to develop is that state of mind where you see an obstacle as just an opportunity to show your strength. Nothing in life comes easy, and staying above average is not good enough.
To rise from good to great, you must be willing to take bold steps when others hesitate. Consider the lion’s story. As a Leo, the lion is both my symbol and my source of inspiration. The lion is not hailed as the “king of the jungle” because it is the fastest or the largest.
The elephant claims size and strength, while the cheetah outruns the lion in a sprint. Yet when the lion encounters the elephant, it does not see a giant—it sees prey. For the lion, losing the hunt means facing hunger, so it approaches the challenge with strategy and courage, ensuring the odds tilt in its favour.
Source: Bernard Otabil
