The Advent of a New Year

The advent of a New Year, new promises, new adventures, opportunities, challenges, and of course a whole new list of New Year resolutions. Yet another chance at achieving the heavy-duty goals that we put so much thought into making. Little do we think as to where they are called so? Because they become insignificant past the New Year’s week. After the long list of wishes that Santa didn’t fulfill, those are the ones starring in our new year’s resolutions list. How courageous of us as we gallantly enter into the New Year, ready more than ever to fight our inhibitions and take charge of our life.

To make sure we work so hard and do something so good that we dramatically flip our world and get all that we ever wished for. So, you read a few self-help books, watched a lot of inspiring youtube videos like “10 things to do to achieve your New Year goals”, even heard an hour-long Ted Talks.

Thoroughly inspired and driven, saying your goal out loud “let’s do this “and prepped your vision board. Thrilled to see life with a new perspective and spend one entire day categorizing your long-term goals and enlisting the procedure you are going to follow daily. It is exciting in a way.

Full points for efforts but do we have the resilience it takes to stick to the promises we make to ourselves? More of a frivolously contrived way to fool ourselves into believing that we will achieve the things we want. You should write your hopes and dreams are on a piece of paper in bullet points. Subconsciously aware that the things on the list are not going to make it past a point. Let’s be realistic, those promises probably don’t even make it past January for most people, yet we do it every year without fail.

For once let’s take a chance, not pressurize ourselves into creating unrealistic goals. It is okay to not follow what’s trending, the society is still going to accept you even if you haven’t posted the list of things you are going to do on social media with your bestie what you want to, experiment for say a week and if you like it, continue. And if you’ll be surprised that you are still doing it. Not because it was on your list of to-do things but because you developed a proclivity towards it and now that it interests you. You will not need any external motivation or unnecessary push to complete something.

We always resist what they tell us to do. Don’t make your resolutions a task If you are treating it as work then what is the point of making those in the first place? The main aim of these resolutions is so that we become better with every passing day. So that at the end of the year when you sit to introspect. You do not have to convince yourself with excuses that this is why you could not fulfill your goal. Instead, things that you do not intend to do should amaze you. Resolutions demand resilience. That every time you are pushed down or you lax with your resolve. You bounce back with all the more determination and rigor.

These are tools to help us build ourselves, they are not supposed to be another thing that drives us down from our main motive. You don’t have to necessarily have huge life-changing resolutions that you know are not possible to happen that quickly. Prioritize the “needs” and the “wants”. Imperative things, the things that need immediate attention and modification. Maybe in your lifestyle or with your work, you need to cut and throw away whatever is sabotaging your career or your health. Those are the things that cannot wait.

Put a deadline on it, treat those like a task and might adversely affect you. Say for example at the gym, you know you had a back injury last year. If you do not do the specific exercises the condition is going to worsen. Put up little challenges for yourself. If you don’t continue to do this, this is something that you will lose. Or this is something you want, and others are the things. That isn’t necessary but is more like an addition, and embellishment to your personality. For those, you need to build interest.

Try a lot of new things, a new language or guitar lessons or any other unique instrument. You know what kind of a person you are. Pick up a weekend and so something opposite, go horse riding who knows. Also, you might become an equestrian by the end of the year. Have a resolution partner, someone who shares your goal. So even if you don’t feel that willing one of the days. Your partner is going to be there to push you into continuing it. Instead of making a list of things that will happen when you achieve your annual goal, make a list of the things that would go wrong if you didn’t. How would you feel if I say, by the end of the year you will be 15 lbs heavier than what you currently are? I am pretty sure half of the ladies already had a heart attack.

You need to have a welcoming attitude towards things. That is important unless you believe in the change you want to see in yourself. Believe in the little efforts and be patient. Only persistence will get you to the end of the journey that you have promised to embark upon. If you start going off track, it is just you who will be affected, and not in a good way. Don’t just make promises that hold only till they are new. Take small steps to change or develop a habit that’s going to stick all year long.