New Year Resolutions and Making them work

The last couple of weeks of the current year which lead up to the new year are full of resolution making activities. People indulging themselves into pursuits which they resolve to quit being a slave to as the old calendar makes way for a fresh new one.

Newspapers, blogs, websites dedicating exclusive space for articles helping readers out with creating their lists is common place. But all the enthusiasm fizzles out before the January page wears out! ( sounds familiar?)

Well apart from the reliable family I'm blessed with, I have had two other guiding lights.
one, "The Secret" - a book by Rhonda Byrne and second, Celestine Chua's blog about personal excellence.

One of Celestine's latest blog lists 58 noteworthy resolutions one can make. I've included them below.
I'm working on the ones which apply to me with a few additions of my own. ( might  will share them later on! :-)

1. Stop procrastinating on your goals
2. Spend more time with your family
3. Widen your social circle – Meet new friends!
4. Become more organized
5. Exercise more and keep fit
6. Lose weight: Achieve your ideal weight
7. Eat more healthily
8. Wake up early every day
9. Be on time
10. Express gratitude to people who have made a difference in your life
11. Do volunteer work
12. Do more kind deeds
13. Further your education
14. Learn a new language
15. Cultivate at least one new skill that will enable you to perform even better at work (presentation skills, public speaking, effective writing, etc)
16. Be emotionally generous
17. Drop caffeine
18. Reconnect with old friends
19. Make at least 5 positive, like-minded friends and foster strong relationships with them
20. Take your family out on a vacation
21. Revamp your room into your personal, inspirational haven
22. Run a marathon
23. Don’t bad mouth other people
24. Stop complaining
25. Be a more positive person
26. Be your real self
27. Read more books
28. Read one meaningful self-help article a day
29. Visit the holiday destination of your dreams
30. Deliver your best performance at work ever
31. Double your business revenue (for business owners)
32. Get a career switch to a better career
33. Or better still, pursue a career of your true passion
34. Earn a million dollars
35. Earn a billion dollars (for those who have achieved #30)
36. Find your soulmate
37. Move out and get your own apartment
38. Get out of debt (if you are in debt)
39. Save more money
40. Help other people achieve their dreams
41. Get rid of clutter
42. Take up a class in something of your interest (dancing, singing, roller blading, ice skating, swimming, photography, web design, rock climbing, piano, guitar, yoga, pilates, etc)
43. Drink more water
44. Reduce your alcohol intake or quit drinking altogether (for people who drink)
45. Quit smoking (for smokers)
46. Learn to see the positive side of everything
47. Turn every challenge into an opportunity
48. Let go of any past baggage
49. Meditate daily
50. Go on a Vipassana Meditation Retreat
51. Write a book
52. Visit a new place you have never been to
53. Stop beating yourself up when bad things happen
54. Love yourself more
55. Start your life handbook and use it document everything it takes to live your best life
56. Limit your mass media exposure – Stop watching television or reading the papers (remove negative stimuli from your environment)
57. Take time out to rest and rejuvenate every week
58. Live every moment to the fullest! 

Let's see how things work out for me or rather how I make them work for me ;-) 

Paradise Lost?

The images you see above are those of paramilitary forces passing through my colony on their way to the Osmania University campus, which has been in the news for all the wrong reasons for the past year or so.

When we moved in to this area, habsiguda, it was one of the most serene places in the city of Hyderabad. With the lush green Osmania campus  next to our apartments it was a wonderful sight from the terrace.

Political equations in the state have changed for the worse. Language is no more a unifying factor in this region of India. When riots break out over the telangana state hood issue, my lane is one of the first to bear the brunt. It’s as if Satan can strike at will here.

The next couple of months will reveal whether if my worst fears are true? Is paradise indeed lost?

Facebook - closed my copy

phew! I never thought I would be doing that - deactivating my facebook account. But what's even stranger is that after having deactivated my FB account early in the day, I watched "The Social Network" in the evening! and this wasn't planned.

But the point i'm trying to make here is that social networking sites like FB, Orkut and the like are very addictive and we end up spending a lot of our valuable time on them. I, for instance, used to check my FB page the first thing when back home from work! All this time can be better utilized and I am gonna spend mine learning a new skill, helping around the house and of course looking for ways to improve my fortune!

and yeah btw the temp here in Hyderabad hit 9 point something this sunday, the lowest in 5 years and I was the first casualty in the family - down with a cold and fever. much better now. back to earning bread tomorrow :-)