Now what to do about resolutions !
By: Radhika Bali
Tags: New Years Resolutions, 2021, Discipline

New Year’s is around and that means time to make resolutions.

How dreadful! cough…. How fluffed-full ! cough cough….. I mean how wonderful it is :D

Somehow this concept felt alien to me :| It felt imposed by marketing gimmicks. Gyms thrive on this! C’mon, y’all know it.

To be honest I have never made a typical new year resolution for the 1st January. How uncool but true.

Taking a resolve is a state of mind or a feeling that comes from deep within. One can have that any time of the year. I observed that I couldn’t force the feeling to come exactly to start on the 1st of January of every year.

Remember as a kid, the whole world asking you, “What are your resolutions ?”

So, I wondered why do I feel that way. Why is everyone making a list of multiple resolutions? Here, I have a blank sheet! What’s going on ya.

My problem : I realized that even as a child I looked at a resolution as a serious ordained thing. Not meant to be broken. Sacred! While many around me took it as a fun or a nice or a cool thing to be done. It was not a frivolous indulgence for yours truly :( I don’t know why. That’s how I felt.

It is serious stuff! Back then, not many saw it that way. I tried suppressing my deep attitude about it.

Come 31st January, others would forget about their resolve with a causal statement and laughter “Oh! resolution is meant to be broken.” or “You are taking it too seriously!.”

It broke my heart…resolutions are precious. I remember my friend breaking hers within a week, I felt bad. There was no point reasoning out, we were 14 then. I never ended up making resolutions after seeing a high rate of failure cases around new year’s.

Anyhow, fast forward. The ’20s became all about New Year’s parties. Oh my God! 1st Januaries were the worst…. being up till 4:00 am destroys the next day. It didn’t feel good beyond a point.

Then one day in my 20s, I decided to take charge of this whole charade about New year’s once and for all. I researched and developed my own thing. It was an eye-opener.

Finally, this is my ritual for a globally accepted New Year. I keep full-proofing it as days go by. I have been practicing this for a couple of years happily. Here, is the basic blueprint.

Decide how you want the 1st of January to go.

It sets the tone for the coming days of the year. I add elements that I feel happy about. I am not going to tell you about my day because I clearly want to remain mysterious :P You can even plan a common activity as a family. Plan 31st Dec according to 1st January. For example, I want to wake up by 7:00 am. If I am at a get-together, I decide not to celebrate beyond 12:10am. Wish and move out in ten mins. Best is to keep it simple and focus on the 1st. On 31st, reflect on the passing year. Think about all the good things, and what can I improve on. Be thankful. On 1st, think about what exciting things you want from the year. I feel point # 3 & #4 is what end of the year should revolve around. I decide one thing that I want to discipline myself on. This can be started in the first week of January. It should not be vague statement like “Be healthy”, but specific. I chalk out the process and steps to achieve it. As simple as eating 8 soaked almonds daily to eliminating caffeine completely. I stick to it till I see some results and it becomes part of me. Once achieved, I make the next resolve. Now, two resolves run in parallel. Depending on the intensity and time required, I keep adding more. So my resolves are pretty much dynamic and focussed. They run throughout the year. Once you get a hang of it, it works like a charm. I have come to a point of “ Okay what next now. How can I challenge and improve myself more.” Point is to get your mind and body used to such events and this takes time. Months. Years. BUT, if there is an on-going resolve around New-years, then I don’t take the pressure of compulsory taking another one for January for the heck of it. #6 doesn’t applies then. I also fail! :) I tweak to a reasonable limit then.

Ah! the latest of waking up at 5:00am daily. I have failed! Failed miserably :( I have gone to 6:30am. Weekends I add flexibility. Make it practical, accountable and measurable for yourself in a way that it doesn’t disturbs others. Resolve is made when the mind is willing and not when dates change. You can make one even before 1st January. Why to wait for good things to start :)

But, many get incentivized encouraged around NEW YEARS. As long as that adrenaline rush motivates you to stick through, nothing like it :) But don’t break it plz. As you will notice, all this is can be applied to all culturally-rooted new year’s day also. Need not be only for 1st January.

If you have a method in place for your 2021, I am happy for you. If not, feel free to ponder over mine and personalize it. This blueprint would work during Covid.

For past few years especially, I have acknowledged and strengthened my intensity about being disciplined through taking a resolve seriously and thoughtfully. What I tried suppressing back then for a while, is a strength today. What they say is not correct. It is a myth that resolutions are meant to be broken. Any resolution is to be kept and nurtured.

Wishing you all a very happy prosperous motivated 2021.

2020 will be done and dusted, let’s move forward in style, simplicity and strength!

Thank You & Love,