BRAToSPHERE

Tag: resolutions

  • Happy new year 2018

    Have always penned down my ramblings here and I observe it has been about 12 years that I have been maintaining this online journal. There have been many things that have changed and transformed in these so many years and yet there are so many things that have remained absolutely the same.

    12 years sure is a lot of time.

    With 2017 behind us, we are now ushering in a new year with new goals, renewed promises and hopefully recharged batteries to make this a truly phenomenal year to each one of us. (I have been bombarded by a lot of Robin Sharma on my insta feed of late!)

    This gets me to wonder – what exactly changed with the new year? You are still your old self on Jan 1st like you were on Dec 31st. For most, Jan 1st is probably the wasted version of theirs from the previous evenings binge. If I have to look at it in a complete rational manner, it is just a date change, so why attach so much importance to it, and assume that life is now about to change?

    I realize that these new year resolutions are not something new, and have remained since times immemorial across cultures. This piece in The Economist – The origin of new year’s resolutions explains with alacrity the existence of such phenomena from four millennia ago.

    So what is this?

    It probably is the human brain and the dreams that we keep feeding it with that tomorrow is going to be good. The basic tenet of Human life, hope is at full play here.

    How many times have we heard someone say – “Monday, I am going to start dieting..”, “I will start going to the gym starting 1st of the next month”, we always try rationalizing our procrastination behavior by setting a distant date as a target. And to avoid complex maths in the brain, and for ease of remembrance we set the easiest one possible – beginning of month, beginning of week, birthday, or beginning of the year.

    Well, this year gives no excuses. Jan 1st in 2018 is the beginning of the year, beginning of the month and beginning of the week. It probably is also your birthday!

    And well, if you have not started yet, no stress. Today is as good as any other day!

    A very Happy New year 2018 to you!

  • New Year Plans

    New Year resolutions are made to be broken, or so goes the adage. True to its word, I am nowhere there on any of my New Year resolutions. I think having a date of start to any activity, be it dieting or working out, just does not work. Setting a date in the future for something that you believe is for your good, is a way to procrastinate the thing. Isn’t helping anyone.

    If you are actually kicked about starting a good habit (the so called resolution) there is no better than time to start doing it, than right NOW! You are at your peak motivation level right now and getting to do the good thing right now will hold you in good stead to inculcate the habit.

    New Year resolutions,

    “Will start doing this from next month onwards”,

    “Will do this once this phase of my life is over”

    These are all reasons we give to ourselves to justify our procrastination.

    To top it all, more often than not, a majority of us then justify to ourselves why we should not be doing a particular thing after the date of start has gone by.

    “Oh! I had to quit smoking from Jan 1st 2017. It is already 10 days past that date and I am nowhere there. Chuck it! Will quit from Feb 1st”. Or worse, “Will quit in 2018! 2017 is too hectic and important a year to be going through all this heartache and mood swings”. Classic ways of procrastination.

    Sounds very familiar right?

    Procrastination – One big reason why we don’t achieve most of the things we set out for ourselves and attain a mediocrity level in most of what we do!

    So this year, unlike all my previous years, I have decided not to have any New Year resolutions.

    I would rather have plans. Plans for the year. This has been working at a very sub conscious level over the years.

    Plan for the month and sub plans for the week. Targets for the period and clearly defined milestones and goals to be tracking against them. Yes, there is an element of time again, but this time with a timeline. With targets and tracking achievements. This should help overcome the inherent procrastination.

    I am now completely corporatized!

    Happy New Year folks. Do let me know of your plans for the year.

  • It’s New Year Resolution Time

    One more year draws to a close, and this one I feel just went by too fast. I guess you get that feeling as the years pass by and there is so much you want to do, and just do not find time for it.

    New year’s eve has varied traditions across various cultures – for some it is wearing polka dots and eating round fruits, while for someone else it is wolfing down handfuls of grapes as the clock strikes 12!

    Whatever be the tradition, all cultures have one thing in common – the new year Resolutions. Every year, many of us try setting up quite a few resolutions, only to break them before dawn breaks on the 1st of January. (yeah yeah! Some of you keep it on for more than that!)

    Here, I am not dwelling into the same old what should be your new year resolution? You should resolve to live a healthier, better more spiritual life, type of gyaan! Neither am I getting into specifics – build six packs, run the half marathon, write a book, etc..

    I am rather wondering why do most of us fail to keep up with those resolutions?

    What are the special ingredients to make and keep up the New Year resolution for the whole year?

    I think it is more to do with the resolution setting process rather than the resolution keeping process. We set ourselves aims that seem good in writing and thinking, but are so distant from our present realities that more often than not, they just end up remaining on the pieces of paper we scribble them on.

    So, what are the rules to make those resolutions?

    Stay True to yourself!

    If you have never been a morning person, deciding to wake up every morning at 6 to go for a run will never work.

    One change of a date from 31st to 1st January is not going to change an inherent habit! Rather, attempt going for a run every night. Try waking up in the morning, but to do something that you like – like writing, reading, listening to Music. Once the morning waking up habit kicks in, start Running in the morning.

    Take it slowly

    Don’t resolve to run 21KM right from day 1. It requires practice even by seasoned marathoners, once they are out of practice. Warm up the first month, get going in the second month and by the third month you are ready kicking in.

    Plan! Don’t just jump in

    You want to quit smoking? Great! But well, easier said than done. There is a complete lifestyle that you have around this habit, and all of it needs to change gradually. If you are always amidst smokers, that will have to change atleast in the beginning to help you keep away from drifting. If you are a “Chai + Sutta” kind of person, you would have to think of working around a vice along with tea. The association needs to dissolve gradually and then life changes to a new normal.

    Choose, Decide and Prioritize

    I have known people, and I myself am accused of the same mistake – too many resolutions, all of which require substantial time investments. It is just not possible. Choose your resolves and prioritize. I know you would want to hit the gym, start running, pick up a sport, learn to play the guitar and also write that elusive book. Well, you also have a job to keep. All of it ain’t happening in one go. Choose, decide and prioritize.

    Rewards

    Make your cravings work for you. Are you a stickler for chocolate? Well, promise yourself a bit every time you complete a milestone in your miles covered. This way, both the resolves are kept in check. Charles Duhigg, in his bestseller – The Power of Habit, details the simple process of habit formation : Cue – Action – Reward, in a circular loop. This is probably the most important thing to be planned to help you keep going.

    Hoping that the above pointers would help you sharpen you resolutions. Do mention in the comments column about your resolutions and your plan to keep them.

    Happy Holidays!