A New Year Without Any Resolutions — Not Really!

Happy new year! I am sure by now you must have already decided and taken your New Year resolutions. But I haven’t been able to finalize on my resolutions yet. I have a confession: I searched many other blogs to find out their New Year resolutions. But I could not relate to most of them.

Every year I used to make some resolutions only to disconnect from them before the end of January. A few days after New Year’s Day, I find it difficult to adjust to the resolutions I had taken. After a few more weeks, I don’t see eye to eye with my resolutions. I kinda feel an aversion towards them and they also start throwing tantrums and we part our ways! So this year I don’t want to repeat such disasters.

I was wondering whether I really need to make New Year resolutions. I don’t know about you, but none of the resolutions I have taken so far have transformed me into a completely ‘new me’. This year I have decided not to set any unrealistic resolutions. Instead, I am going to focus on the things I already have. Instead of trying to add some new habits if I can subtract any undesirable old habits I may be able to make room for more happiness and peace. So I asked myself what changes I would need to make in my current lifestyle so that I can create a ‘better me’. (Hopefully!)  I enjoyed the time taken thinking just about me and the things that fascinate me!

I have always loved making a list especially a to-do list, and ticking off the to-do list is what I enjoy doing even more. 🙂  So I categorized the required changes into four groups. As I was already captivated by the term ‘minimalism’ (intentionally trying to live with only the things we really need) at the end of last year, I decided to apply that here too. So I have made only minimal changes to the four groups, namely, physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual dimensions. One half of knowing what you want is knowing what you must give up before you get it!

• Physical
  • health – Stop sleeping late and getting up late.
  • food – Stop having late breakfast.
  • interiors – Stop holding on to things I don’t use any more like vessels, decor items and so on.
• Emotional
  • Stop resisting the acceptance of realities, no matter how hard it is, and move on.
  • Stop saying YES when I want to say NO.
  • Stop using social media at least one hour before going to sleep and for one hour after getting up.
• Intellectual
  • read – Stop buying books without reading what I already have.
  • write – Stop postponing my blog post publishing date.
  • learn – Stop putting off the online courses that I had signed up for. This is to feed my left brain with adequate nutrients, without which somehow I feel incomplete!
• Spiritual
  • yoga – Stop finding excuses for not doing it daily and consistently.
  • meditation – Stop doing it for short intervals at any time of the day; instead set a specific time and duration for it.

I hope these changes energize me, inspire me, motivate me, encourage me and above all make me happy. I know action speaks louder than words and it takes 21 days to create a new habit or break a bad habit! I have decided to make it happen instead of focusing on the results of the above changes. After all, it’s the journey, not the destination, that matters!

Start working on the life you want and do more of what makes you happy. If anyone out there is still working on finalizing New Year resolutions, keep in mind the following:

• Ask yourself if the resolution is your own or is it based on someone else’s opinion. If it’s not your own then the chances of failing are 99.99%. (Based on my own experience!)
• Check in what way it is going to make you happier or improve your current lifestyle.
• Set a short timeframe to assess your progress.
• Instead of adding a new habit, scan through your existing habits and check whether you can break any of those to get more happiness and peace.

Do something today that your future self will be thankful for!  But don’t forget to stop and smell the roses because life is what happens while we are busy making other plans. May all your wishes come true!

Happy empty nesting! 🙂