Of new year Resolutions and Goals

Contrary to what interpreters of the Mayan calendar would have us believe, 2013 had arrived. Sitting on the couch at Choudhary’s house we were celebrating the New Year’s Eve with our customary “Apple Juice” imported from Scotland. I am sure most of the world was doing the same to welcome the New Year but the question I was asking was: were we really celebrating or just drowning our sorrows? My so called intellectual reverie was shattered by the mini quarrel between my friends. I decided to understand their issue and realized that it was the age old discussion on New Year Resolutions. Rinku was all in for a New Year Resolution on weight loss while Ravi planned to continue his resolution of no New Year resolutions.  Choudhary and I had different plans. We knew that like Rinku there would be many who would try the weight loss thing. We decided to see for ourselves if the number of morning walkers increased post 1^st Jan. We would continue this observation for a week and check out the failure ratio.

True to our resolution we woke up early the next morning. The warm blanket on a chilly Pune morning beckoned us to bed but we were not deterred. Braving the cold conditions we went out to the nearby park frequented by Morning walkers and true to our expectations the numbers had surged tremendously. We jotted down the numbers had our plate of Poha and went back. Barely four days later, more than half of the new people vanished.

The results although expected, sent me looking for my thinking hat. Why is it that most of the people do not honour their own resolutions? A few minutes later I arrived at a conclusion which is not an original. It has been said by many great thinkers and leaders of the world, albeit differently. The resolutions or goals that people generally set for themselves are not what they really want. There goals are mostly society imposed and are not compelling enough for them to sacrifice things to achieve the same. The people who succeed in life have a clear cut goal and a compelling reason to achieve the same.

The answer though satisfied my curiosity, it also raised another question. I had not set my own goals for life. First time in my life I realised that I did not know where I wanted to be. I had been merely moving in a herd. The shock lasted a few minutes and then I took out my pen and paper. I decided to chalk out my plans for the year. I would put solid goals and device plans to achieve them. It would not be mere one night resolutions from today. So far it is looking good. The first step has been achieved with the completion of this piece.