Not Just Another Resolution!

4 minute read

A year full of few highs but mostly lows goes by. The year you survived two major earthquakes and had the endurance to get past 5 months of economic blockade that pushed back the whole economy by a good few years. The year that saw you grow by 1 year in age numbers but many in terms of life experiences.

But let bygones be bygones. With the start of a new year, lets get started on making lives better when the enthusiasm for resolutions is so high. Lets not just make our lives better but also the lives of others around us.

A day back, I was invited as a guest speaker for Speakers’ Club at King’s College. The theme of the talk that day was about things you’d like to change in the country. But as someone who firmly believes in being the change you wish to see, I want to share with you a few ideas I had talked about; ideas I'd would want us to inculcate to start positive change from within: 

   1.     Lets start everything with ‘WHY’.

It’s a simple life hack I’ve been using for some time now. I’ve always encouraged my students to start with why and that’s typically how all my classes start. Before we do anything, lets take a moment to ask ourselves: Why am I doing this? Or why does it have to happen this why? Let us not take our time, effort and energy for granted. Lets make our days more thought driven rather than automatic. A simple life hack but it has worked wonders for me!

   2.     Lets take time to say yes!

       Committing to something but not showing up or following up does not feel nice. It’s okay if you have commitment issues. We all do. But it’s not okay to leave people on the lurch because of our shortcomings. If it does not feel nice when somebody does it to us, it probably won’t go down well with other people too. Lets not be the type of person who registers for a workshop and does not show up. We’d not only be giving away a bad impression of us, but more sadly, robbing other people from the same opportunity.

   3 .    Lets overcome fear.

We all fear something. Whether it is exams, having to speak up, or approaching a person, a chill runs down our spine. And it isn’t necessarily a bad thing either. Fear keeps a check on the things we do and the things we say. But if it becomes too overwhelming, it deprives us from golden opportunities. So what can be done? I suggest we follow a simple mantra I’ve been using to overcome fear. Next time you fear something, apply the ‘WHY’ factor I talked about earlier. Ask yourself why are you doing it and tell yourself that if your intentions are pure, you don’t need to fear anything. For example, if you want to approach a person you admire for feedback on your work, tell yourself that you’re doing it with the sincerest intension of wanting to learn something from someone who knows more than you. And if you can communicate the same to them, it will work wonders. Trust me- it helps!

  

   4.   Lets kill procrastination. 

No, I’m not talking about assignments and work deadlines. You’ll do them eventually with the fear of being kicked out of class or getting fired from your job. However, what about the things we wanted to do as kids? The things that gave us pure joy? The things that if given no other choice, we’d do for free? Well, there’s no deadline for those dreams are there? No one watching over us to get started; no one to scold us if we never think about it ever again. Please take a new step towards your dreams. It’s never too late to start.

   5.   Lets start giving back from right now.

No, I don’t mean giving away money for charity. Probably we don’t have enough of it. But, what we can do is start sharing the things we know. Start mentoring. Start sharing interesting articles you come across. Start recommending books that changed your life. Start sharing anything you find helpful. “Be the person you needed when you were a kid” springs to mind. Small acts of kindness like taking a minute to help a stranger or being grateful to the ones who have been there for you. Lets start. Like Mark Bezos in his Ted Talk put it, we don’t have to wait to make our first million to start giving back.  

This New Year, lets put WHY ahead of what and how. Lets start sharing what we know. Lets be confident about our purest intensions and conquer fear. Lets take time to think before committing and try not to let anyone down. And above all, lets stop procrastinating our dreams.

It’s never too late to start!

Happy New Year 2073!