Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!
Winter has finally settled in for the season. Warm fires, Hot Cocoa, Toasty beds, Beanies, Gloves, Family and Friends and not to forget, most importantly, never ending laziness. Time doesnât really like to wait for anybody does it? Nor do the seasons let us know of their bad temperaments! Winter, what are you doing? Youâre unbelievable cold! But besides the fact that winterâs here, Iâm not going to crib about the weather. As the title suggestâs, Iâd like to talk a littleabout âNew Beginningsâ and yes, itâs slightly similar to New Years Resolutions except that it isnât as drastic of a resolution like some of us take and break the next day. Heh! For some it may have been a wonderful year, filled with excitement and new discoveries and bonds but for the others it may not be the same. Now the idea to talk about this post came from re-reading my previous post, âFinding Myselfâ and I saw that I talked about âHealing"âŠbut, never quite mentioned in details HOW I did. But this isnât going to be a continuation of the last, just expect little cameoâs here and there!~Â
As New Years is just around the river bend (Get it?) a lot of you must be thinking of what things you can change or work out for the next year. Maybe a new diet plan? That youâll work out regularly? Get better grades? Or at least attend most of the classes? Now now, Iâm not here to pop your bubbles, Iâm only here giving you what I think, so itâs really your decision on the whole thing. One thing Iâve noticed about New Years resolutions is that not a lot of people can really keep them for long. I feel itâs the nature of the resolution itself. You make a rule or a statement and somewhere down the line you kind of end up breaking it or contradicting it. I mean isnât it something we do a lot on a daily basis? Breaking rules? So I feel itâs in the nature itself of man not wanting restrictions..at least some restrictions. Secondly, the resolution is one drastic change which canât be done by one snap of your finger. For example, if I decide the following, â For my resolution, I will go vegan! No meat!â. Now hereâs the problem, Iâm someone who literally craves meat every hour and to think I will stick with THAT resolution is kind of crazy for me and to expect that from January 1st, 2015, I will NOT eat meat is beyond my capabilities. I will cave at the first sight of meat. So these drastic resolutions donât really wrap around my head that well and the fact that one resolution per year? I mean, what? (Say âwhat; in a British accent, Iâm typing this whole thing out while speaking in a British Accent. Itâs hilariously fun.) I canât really focus myself on one task. Iâm like a browser, multiple tabs everywhere! Must work on all of them!
So my idea of New Years Resolutions is to break it down into small yet achievable tasks. These are not only much more easier to work with but also you can add more tasks of the same kind. So when it comes to following them itâs much more easier and achievable rather than a drastic resolution. Of course thereâs the fact that you may pressure yourself with multiple tasks but thatâs where you need to prioritize. I usually list out few things that Iâd like to work on. This year, I worked on eating cleaner, working out and getting out more. How I started this was with working out. I set up a schedule with my dad and followed my workout sessions diligently and weirdly enough with the working out my eating habits fell right into place. How so? Simple. I felt better after working out and since Iâm a fairly aggressive person (I donât really come across as one) I noticed I felt much more lighter and calmer after my work out. Then seeing my progress I kind of made conscious decisions on eating better and regularly. (yes, I have a horrible habit of skipping meals.) Another thing which I do is set smaller time periods in which I follow my tasks. Since working out & changing eating plans have effects only after regularly following them and after a certain period of time, Iâm somewhat mentally prepared to wait till I actually see my results. The same really goes for studies and work as well. Instead of going, âIâll attend every single class for 100% !â Is a tough one. I mean unless you donât really fall sick then gee, you lucker. Break things down one step at a time. Say how about Iâll attend enough so I donât get restricted from giving my exams then move onto the 80-85-90% so on so forth process. Like I said, same goes for studying and exams too.Â
As for something more on emotional terms, in relation to my last post I talked about getting better. Iâll only elaborate a little bit since I feel itâs a post in itself. Initially, I didnât really see a lot that I could do to feel better. I was really in my own self-dug grave at that point and was very comfortable with my state. Of course I didnât really like the mood and emotion it got me feeling but, I was somewhat comfortable. (Which is dangerous state to be comfortable in) What I did to âTurn a new Leafâ was by actually letting the phase take itâs time it needed. I didn't really feel the need to interact with a lot of friends and family so I didnât. I didnât feel the urge to study or do something crafty so I didnât. I let every single emotion take itâs time before I was ready to take the next step. Often Iâve seen denying yourself to feel a certain way only amplifies it to a great extent and usually it comes out far worse. As for the next step I took, it was simple. I decided put some time and effort into myself. I pampered myself with good food and spent some good time on retail therapy and treat myself with some knick-knacks (because why not?) although, it didn't really excite me a lot like it does but it did do the trick for a while. When I started to feel more confident with stepping out and talking with friends, I did so. I didnât really push myself into fantasies and behaving as if it was alright, If things were wrong, they were wrong. I didn't pretend to hide it and plaster a fake smile on my face. I think once I started speaking with friends and also getting help is when I noticed things went for the better. I did small things during this time like, I decided to paint something every now and then, I watched the newest movie out whether it be Hindi or English also learned to cook a new recipe or work on some new tiny projects. It kept me momentarily occupied while I focused all my energy on something else besides feeling gloomy. I also took dance classes for a while. The point is whatever I mentioned is something not very drastic, it was totally in my capabilities to do and was easily achievable. Once I finished them, for example, a painting, Iâd feel a bit more happier with what I made. (The above is just what I did, but I didnât try to do something really out the box or different cause I know it doesnât work for me.) I did have moments where I felt lost and back to square 1, but I quickly got out of it. Itâs also a mental game.Stopping halfway through the whole process wasnât really going to help my state so I kept telling myself just take things a day at a time instead of planning and focusing on the end result, "Iâll get there eventually." is the sentence I had to spam my brain with. So as the sand dunes changed from time to time (Donât question the example.) I continued to spam my head with the same sentence, continued with my tiny tasks and every few months or so would make some more effort. There came a day, when I felt different and much more lighter. This is where I feel it relates to the whole idea of "New Beginnings". In order to move ahead, accepting what happened and forgiving yourself or another (truly forgiving. True forgiving is not where you constantly bring it up later. Accept and let go. Let it go! Let it go!) what one went through is important. It isnât a lingering emotion around you anymore and nor would it pain/hurt you. Accepting led to a lot more positive changes in the later months. So, it was a done deal! So as one chapter ended, I closed it up and began on the next one!
So any of you who are facing any tough times or maybe slightly confused as to how to go about the next year, I say, take it day by day, easy as she goes. Donât force yourself to change suddenly or feel differently in a blink of an eye, itâs a strenuous process but if you wait around long enough youâll see the flower bloom with all itâs colors. So continue to smile, try something new and of course, know youâre never really alone. Weâre all in this together! (Yes, I did a High School Musical Reference. Deal with it. ) Take things one step at a time instead of of going all out right in the start. Imagine yourself like, NOS, If you use it too early, you might lose out in the end! (NFS Reference for the win!) So go ahead! Go around the River Bend! (Yes, Pocahontas reference as well.) and take the new year in stride.Â
Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year everyone!
I was listening to Pocahontas soundtrack while writing this post. Favorite Disney movie by far.
Image Source :Â http://cdn.singularityu.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/photodune-714916-winter-scene-with-spectrum-light-bokeh-s.jpg
