I am 3 days late in documenting my resolutions for this year which means I have lost 3 days in actually making them work – however, some of these have been occupying my mind over the last few days and instinctively I have started following them. Now I feel the need to put it down electronically& nbsp;for my reference.

 

So another year has just flown past and while I sit to take stock of my life – I feel that precious time is running out and there is a need to act fast to fulfil the ambitions and dreams I need to realize. 2008 has in many ways been a year of mixed experiences – one which the industry and political experts would love to sweep under the carpet as a year best forgotten. However, we must not miss the valuable lessons such experiences present before us – savour the joys, the highs and good times of victory, celebration, love and adulation. I have seen re-runs of the year gone by on TV and feel that it has been a dramatic year. Give the economic slowdown, power struggle, war and hostility, terror and hatred raging across the continents. We also experienced highs when an Indian won an individual gold at the Olympics for the first and others who emulated their counterparts and surpassed their personal records. Saina Nehwal broke into the World Top 10 in women’s badminton and promises to do better this year. Viswanathan Anand, the chess maestro won the World Championship yet again and of course the many laurels and accolades won by the Indian Cricket team which stands in the threshold of another glorious year as serious contenders to the number one ranking in both versions of the game. We already know that they are the reigning world champions of 20-20 cricket.

 

On the personal front, a few things went fine but I had to cope with a very difficult phase in my life. However, as I pledge to overcome the setbacks that have hampered my progress this year. My aim is to chart out a road map for this year in order to enable me to get there.

 

But first, a quick review of last year’s resolutions:

I think I have been partially successful this year as far as fulfilling my resolutions are concerned... in some cases it was not the lack in efforts but rather the situations being out of control that resulted in partial success.

Firstly, I received the biggest setback in my career in August due to being dismissed summarily from my job. I am till today grappling with the impact of that one decision which brought my world crashing down. I have introspected, reflected, pondered and even admonished myself for letting the situation get to this level, I have searched for answered on how I could have salvaged the situation but the solution still eludes me. As Bharat, Dimple and Bala have told me – it is not my fault but a blow of fate and the best course is to come to terms with it and get on with my career. After a lot of soul searching and subsequently looking for a suitable opening in the job market – I am still nowhere close to finalizing one. So, the promotion which I was aiming at sounds rather farfetched now. More on this topic, I keep reserved for the future.

 

Secondly, on the weight loss programme – I have done a descent job by others standard but didn’t live upto my expectations. I am much fitter and there seems to be a semblance of the woman’s figure – nowhere near the hour glass though. However, I take inspiration from the past and work towards a better results. As they say, miles to go before I sleep – though sleep, I won’t. My diet plan is much better but I need to strictly follow the weekly once salad and fruit diet.

 

I managed to let go of the past rather had to cope up with a situation forced onto me somewhere in June. I have suffered so much pain thereafter that till today I try to vigorously drive some disturbing thoughts out of my mind. This year I firmly resolve to permanently overcome this and need to have more control over my mind.

 

That kind of sums up everything ... 2008 wasn’t a good year. I feel it has taken me backwards – by how much remains to be seen. However, it has inflicted some lifelong lessons that I need to take heed of as I move forward. So here are the promises for the New Year, rather the resolutions –

 

1.    & nbsp; Devote more time to spirituality. I have made a start already but now I need to take it to the next level. I will continue to read the “Bhagwad Geeta” and the “Hanuman Chalisa” atleast 15 minutes daily.

2.    & nbsp; I need to follow the teachings in “The monk who sold his Ferrari” and plan the day in the morning and reflect on the day at night. Would ideally note the achievement, failures, learning etc in the day. I now feel serious reflection should not be left till the end of the year or when a situation crops up. I wish to chronicle this in my weekly account on the blog. This needs discipline and rigour I promise to do that.

3.    & nbsp; I need to enhance my personality through reading good books. My aim is to read atleast one book a month and then write the book review. I plan to read both fiction and non- fiction which can be easily achieved but the challenge would be to balance them.

4.    & nbsp; I would also like to spend some quality time with family and friends at the end of each week but this would largely depend on where I manage to get a job and if I manage to relocate my family also to that city.

5.    & nbsp; I want to seriously keep tabs on my expenses which hopefully I will keep curtailed. I don’t want to sound thrifty but these days it is not a bad word.

6.    & nbsp; Will continue with the works – healthy living, fitness, beauty and hopefully even start meditation sometime later this year. My weight loss target is 57 kgs which somehow seems doable given the regime that I am following. Just a little bit of an effort and more discipline.

7.    & nbsp; I need to keep a stronger control over my mind and the thought process. It should be channelized in the right direction – which is more creativity and productivity. To let go finally and completely. I need a little bit of divine intervention here ...

 

Finally, I end with a little prayer and to seek the Almighty’s blessings so that I can achieve what I have set out to do this year. I need His help so that there are not too many unexpected situations out of my control without there being a workaround like it happened last year.