2013: The Resolutions

Taken from Flickr under CC licence. Happy New Year to the artist!

Another New Year, Another New Year Post! It has now become customary to post something every Christmas and New Year's Day.

I do not believe in New Years' Resolutions, primarily because I know they don't work. If you really want to make any change, decide on that one thing (only), then start today and keep trying until you have achieved it. That's the simple recipe and most people know it.

So, why make resolutions anyway? Because they are fun! You want to go into a New Year with new energy & enthusiasm and what better way to bring that than having brand new goals to achieve!

As I was pondering over the (new and unique!) resolutions to make this year, I asked myself, what makes today so special?  Looking it objectively, just the calender has changed on the wall. So, why is this day any different from, say, yesterday or day before?

Because...

• Wherever I went people kept on making me realize today is the first day of a Brand New Year! They have slowed down their hectic pace in life and are savouring the day.

• I phoned people (and will continue to do so till the end of the day) who weren't actually expecting a call from me. They were surprised sure, but I hope it made them happy.

• Today I am starting a brand new experiment! Some people have called it weird, illogical. But I am very excited about it, even though there is high probability of it failing.

If these things make today memorable for me, then why not try and repeat them every day of the year. With that mind, here is my short resolution list:

1. Slow Down: Savour life. The years passed recently were some of the most important years of my life, and the coming years will certainly be even more important. Why waste them running for some distant happiness which may never come after all? The most important memories of my life have been when I have actually paid attention and experienced the moments. Why live life in a hurry?

2. Provide Happiness to Others: For past few months I have been trying tricks to make me happier. And one of the sources of real happiness has been when I have been able to help others and make them happy. So, do it more. Do it often.

3. Experiment. Experiment. Experiment!!: Try new stuffs everyday! Life is boring when lived weekend by weekend. Anything new in life, makes me excited. And the responsibility of bringing this "new" also lies with me. Be irrational. Be creative. Collaborate!

That's it! Of course, becoming a master of these is not what I am looking for, but if I am able to do more of above 3 this year compared to past years, I would consider this year's resolutions to be a success.

Every new year brings with it lots of hopes. I do not expect this year to be full of happiness and laughters and all goodies. But I just hope it turns out to be something to remember in future (in a good way!).

Happy New Year guys!