In 1975, a group of influential Africans opted for the adoption of Swahili as the Lingua Franca in Africa. Nearly five decades after that resolution, Swahili is still mainly popular in the eastern flank of Africa. The intention was good, but implementation has suffered
setbacks. In the mid-1100s, French Abbot Bernard of Clairvaux first coined the phrase we now know as “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”  Good intentions alone are not good enough to obtain results. Here is another illustration: Actor Amir El-Masry was at CairoScene on Climate Change and has this to say: “If we turn pledges into actual implementation, we can make a change”. The actor observed that nations and peoples are long in making pledges but short on delivery. Change, in whatever category, will not come unless we embark on concrete action steps.

“We must not be long in intentions and short in action.”

Let us drive this home a little more. It is the usual practice that at the beginning of each year, people come up with goals and dreams. Some make resolutions of what they want to start or stop as the case may be. These goals, dreams, and resolutions are good. However, many people are still at the point they were when the year started, and we are already in the third quarter. The secret is not in the resolutions but in the implementation. One Steve Maraboli said, “Take action! An inch of movement will bring you closer to your goals than a mile of intention.” (Source: Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience). We must not be long in intentions and short in action. Every day, we need to ask ourselves what baby steps we can take to bring us closer to our goals in life.