Thomas C. Famous. Photo: Provided

There are literally thousands of jobs, presently filled by guest workers, in the vast array of technical fields in Bermuda. Photo: Provided

With our hands we can decide whether we eat less red meats, less processed foods, less starch. All in an effort to reduce our weight, cholesterol levels, body mass index and ultimately our chances of getting non communicable diseases such as; diabetes, hypertension and kidney failure. Photo: Provided

The questions that we have to ask ourselves as individuals and as a country are as follows:

Will it be the same old, same old in 2020 as it has been in 2019 and in years prior to that?

Will we end next year complaining about being financially challenged, overweight, slim job prospects and any given combination of negative indicators?

Or, will we commit ourselves, as individuals, as families, as communities to seeking more positive trajectories?

Both, the choices and the subsequent results, rest, almost literally, in the palms of our hands.

With our hands we can decide whether we eat less red meats, less processed foods, less starch.

All in an effort to reduce our weight, cholesterol levels, body mass index and ultimately our chances of getting non communicable diseases such as; diabetes, hypertension and kidney failure.

Or, we can, with our hands, continue to eat ourselves into joining those negative, yet avoidable, regional statistics.

With our hands, we can choose to moderate how many times we buy take out food versus cook food at home. 

Think for a moment, how much you spend per week on take out food and then calculate that by 52.

That would give you the gross amount you spend per year on take out foods.

Without a doubt, many of us would be in the thousands.

With our hands, we can choose to prepare meals at home to take to work through the week. We can also fill that water bottle at home, versus buying water or sugar filled soda.

Both money saved and healthier eating.

With our hands we can learn new skill sets such as; Auto Mechanics, Construction, Air conditioning repair, hospitality and many other technical trades.

The reality is that with increased online sales, jobs in the retail sector and increased offshore  attacks on our Financial Services sector, employment in those fields are shrinking.

To delude ourselves, into thinking that they will grow, in any significant numbers is regressive.

Meanwhile, there are literally thousands of jobs, presently filled by guest workers, in the vast array of technical fields.

Yes, more often than not those jobs will not be in comfortable air-conditioned offices or sitting down in front of a computer screen.

However, technical jobs are those that will always be around. These are jobs that command fees starting at forty dollars an hour.

The sad reality is that less and less Belongers are opting to go into these fields. Hence, the steady growth of guest workers.

With our hands, we have a choice to make.

Go into the trades, or face a future with more guest workers having to come to our territory to take up employment.

The net results being, many Belongers being unemployed or underemployed, whilst millions of dollars leave our economy on a weekly basis.

Thus, a negative knock on effect on local retail sales and jobs.

There are many other points that can be made for the years going forward. However, the holistic message is that we should not just make New Year’s Resolutions, which we end up abandoning before Valentine's Day.

Progress and change do not happen overnight.

Find the right directions and goals, work towards them on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis.

Our Foreparents, many of whom never attended or finished High School, were able to accomplish much with less resources, less income, less chance of bank loans, but much more vision and unity amongst themselves.

Let us, as individuals and as a territory, take those valuable life lessons from them.