Wednesday 2 January 2013

2013: My Year of Change.

It's that time of the year again. Time for another audit. Yes, I realize it's the second of January and that the time has passed us. It matters not.

You know the drill - note progress on last year's resolutions, mull over the past, set new resolutions for the year ahead.

Let's get to it.

2012 Resolutions:

1. Perform three good deeds everyday.
I lost track of this—not that I performed so many a day, mind you, there may have been days when I didn't do any at all—because I believe kindness should come unconsciously. Glad to note I'm nowhere close to losing touch with my humanity.

2. Never. Stop. Learning.
Never did =)

3. Exercise complete capabilities and mental faculties in the execution of a task.
I sometimes forgot about this. But the little voice inside me always spoke out when I was doing a shoddy job, albeit in a low voice. It never failed to gloat with "told you so!" when the shoddiness was noticed and I had to repeat said task. I need to pay more attention to it.

4. Continue having awesome experiences and meeting awesome people.
Check!

5. Read more classics.
I didn't read as many as I'd have liked, but did read more than I did in 2011. Jane Eyre, a PG Wodehouse novel (Jeeves in the Offling...CLASSIC!) and about two-thirds of the Sherlock Holmes series.

6. Get published. 

I DID!! I just neglected to tell you. Sorry about that. A piece was published in Bazaar Magazine's July-August 2012 issue; it was about the misadventures from the first Euro trip. If you've been around the blog, you've probably read some of the content in longer posts; the article was condensed.

7. No rice. No bread.

Pftttt. Pish tosh. I followed the 'no rice' rule for about 6-8 months, giving in generally but not too often, and then completely ignored it. Let's not talk about the 'no bread' policy.

My track record for 2011 was better.

2012 was a pretty decent year—I got a kick-start in marketing, I went to Europe again for 3 weeks, met some more people, spent some time with a couple of very close friends I hadn't seen in ages, had a few unique experiences in Kuwait. Went to India for my cousin's wedding and had an AWESOME time bonding with my family in Bombay. Watched The Hobbit on my birthday after waiting for it with bated breath for three years and fell in love with Middle Earth all over again. Also fell desperately in love with Sherlock Holmes (the literary character, NOT the British TV series—post on this in drafts) as I discovered the series on iBooks in Innsbruck, Austria, reading fervently against the backdrop of the Alps.

Again, I felt nothing as the new year dawned, not even a tinge of excitement. Just a realization that another year has passed and not too much accomplished. My whatsapp was abuzz with wishes from friends and even a couple of cousins whom I never thought would deem the occasion important enough to text. Apparently it was. I spent the last few hours of 2012 at home, cleaning up, watching the striking fireworks erupting from Burj Khalifa on Dubai Television (pretty sure TV viewers of the event had a superior view than the 1.7 million people in actual attendance of it, so many of whom witnessed the spectacular display through their  smartphone or camera screens while recording it) and writing my resolutions for 2013.

Resolutions for 2013? I went all out this year, contemplating on what aspects of my life need change. I ended up compiling a somber list of resolutions that fell under different categories: health including dental (yup), finance, religion, general, work-related, education, environment, reading and of course writing...some are goals, others are guidelines I intend to live by and weave into my lifestyle, hence the title of this post.

It's a daunting list, but I figure I must adhere to it so as to truly lead a more fulfilling life, get the most out of it and give in return. What troubles me is that I have issues with commitment and discipline, lack time management skills, am lazy and often lose sight of goals and other things that matter (I have a lot of faults), so this will be challenging for me. And because of these God-awful habits, I've decided to have a quarterly review in 2013, instead of the more traditional year-end audit. I doubt I'll post the entire list on the blog, just the ones pertaining to writing, reading and education, and will probably dedicate a new page to them, so they remain in plain sight and don't get lost in future posts or lie forgotten in one of my journals.

Wish me luck!

Good luck with your goals and resolutions if you've set any; may they bring out the best in you. Happy New Year!

2 comments:

  1. I quite like your 2012 resolution of doing 3 good deeds a day so much that I'm going to add it to my list of things I aspire to fulfill. I am so glad that you were published and I do hope to see a regular feature in every issue of Bazaar or even Khaleejesque.com because I think your voice and style is perfect for that magazine. I am quite excited about 2013 and I have already declared it as a ‘year of fun’ and I vowed to surround myself with positive happy people and to daily seek you and other inspiring bloggers for the push I need to persevere. Have a great year, and I look forward for the quarterly audit. Best of Luck :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks very much for the lovely comment, wishes and the tip! I like your vow and the way you think. I hope you have a wonderful year ahead of you :)

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