Each Year I Wish...

Only two and half months left and year 2010 will be gone. It’s safe to say that this time around most of us have already lost focus of the resolutions that we had made for this year; a habit to break, a new skill to learn, a friend to meet, a career goal to achieve, or a broken heart to heal.

I can understand that it's always difficult to keep your eye on the ball for the entire year, but what is more challenging is to know what resolutions to make. We resolve to spend more time with family & friends, fitness, quit smoking, enjoy life more, cut down on wasteful expenditure save more, help others, get organized, etc. Anything in the list above is not a daunting task nor does it require you to place it on the top of your priority list. But even then we fail to achieve the smallest bit of it. Have you ever wondered why?

Let’s face it! We tend to see our resolutions as a problem that needs to be worked upon rather than a new and innovative activity that will bring fun, amusement, and a good change to our everyday life. When we do that, it looks like a tough job. You need time, attention, and effort to execute it and that too, on a daily basis. But only if you take it as an exciting opportunity to reach your goals while having loads of fun, you’ll look forward to doing it every day.

Let me give you an example. This is another one in the list of my “Moments of Truth”. Last year on my birthday, I got a careless hint to start working out to look and feel fit and energetic. Although the idea was wrapped in loads of compliments, pleasant wishes, beautiful greetings, and accompanied with wonderful gifts, it struck me right where it was meant to be; my heart, body, mind, and soul.

I silently made a resolve to myself and thanked this person for having triggered this dormant feeling inside me. I always wanted to do it but never felt motivated enough to do it. Don’t ask me why! Some activities seem more worthwhile than others so at that time I just resolved to exercise; not attaching it to the objectives like losing weight or becoming lean, doing it 2 hours at least, or following a strict diet and surprisingly, the whole thing took off very well.

I started exercising (brisk walking, stair climbing, doing stretching exercises and sun salutations) whenever and whatever be the time; sometimes 60 minutes or on someday just 20 minutes; at times 5 days a week and on occasions just twice a week. But it did not stop.

I have experienced that the starting point to being successful at achieving anything in life, including resolutions, is your expectations. I just trained my mind to work out notwithstanding the time and form of exercise. All other things like weight/ inch loss; diet consciousness, healthy eating, and sound sleep soon followed it.

The best part is that it gives me a chance to catch up on my favourite music and enjoy long brisk walks, thus disconnecting me from work stress. For me the trick is to look at the positive side of any activity rather than forcing myself to do something that bothers me. For instance; the idea of buying a one-year contract at the fitness centre in the hope that it will somehow drag me to the gym is an absolute no-no for me!

As I know it, resolutions provide us with an opportunity to assess our progress in life, which any day is not a bad deal. They cheer up our lives with exciting challenges and wonderful experiences to anticipate.

So the next time you promise something to yourself, think about it; just because you have never considered New Year or Birthday Resolutions as a wonderful means for creating new and exciting outcomes, doesn't mean it's too late to get into action.

And let me tell you that I have already committed myself to another interesting resolution that’ll translate my hopes into achieving one of the biggest goals of my life --- by December 31, 2010?

Thanks to my buddy, the past year has turned out to be the most amazing year of my life. So far So good!