How to use Sankofa Principles as a Productivity Hack for 2023

Sankofa is a concept originating in the West African country of Ghana. In the Twi language native to Ghana, ‘Sankofa’ means ‘to retrieve’. The image of the Sankofa Bird shows it reaching back for a seed…while its legs and feet are facing forward. This idea of reflecting on the past to digest the ‘seeds’ of the past — as a way to produce growth in the future, is extremely powerful. As we start our collective journey into 2023, I would like to connect Sankofa principles to the forecasting of resolutions we often commit to at the start of a new calendar year.

Look Back to 2022 and Collect Your Seeds

The first step into the New Year is actually a backwards one. Sankofa would suggest that we unapologetically reflect on what things — good and bad — occurred in our lives over the past year. This unpacking of the past will ensure that any future projections are connected to where you are in the present moment. The UK company, Training Zone (https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/) clearly describes the power of looking back?“Reflection can be a very empowering process.?It can help you to make sense of your day; to come to decisions, to set a course of action; to step away from your habitual way of doing and thinking and discover new freedoms and opportunities”. So, take the time to focus on the seeds, the growth particles, that you can build on in 2023:

> Diet/Exercise improvements

> Financial improvements

> Relationship improvements

> Professional pathways

> Education/Learning opportunities

If you build on things that are already growing…the better chance you have of sustaining any New Year commitments you make. This because those commitments are connected to the positive energy in those areas that have already begun to manifest in 2022. Also, this honouring of elements in your life that you already have in place — provides that headstart energy that is crucial in motivating you to go strongly into 2023.

Look Forward to 2023 and Set Synchronized Goals

The next step is to think about what things you would like to accomplish in the New Year. January is a month when things seem shiny and new - working with a blank slate perhaps. Sankofa would suggest that that slate is actually not blank. In fact, we all have aspects of our lives that we often connect to resolutions (health, diet, finances, professional life), that can be extended — rather than reinvented. By connecting the past to the future, we utilize the productivity hack that enables us to see New Year commitments as logical, progressive and doable! Thus, the wise Sankofa Bird demonstrates to us the value of looking back...to go forward.