Informative

Sticking with New Year’s Resolution

Did you know that February month is named for the Latin word februum, which means purification? February is the month of Magha Gupt Navratri, valentine’s day, Superbowl, and Chinese new year. But February is also known for something notorious as well. 

Research says that almost 80% of us abandon our new year’s resolution by February. We all know that a goal without a plan is just a wish, and hence, we are coming up with a few tips to keep on going with your new year’s resolutions.

New Year Resolution

 New year’s resolution is not a contemporary fad. It’s an ancient tradition much older than you think. Romans used to start their year by making specific promises to God Janus. During the mediaeval era, knights would take ‘peacock vow’ at the time of year-end to reconfirm their commitment to chivalry.

As per a research study conducted in 2014, 35% of the people who could not stick to their new year’s resolutions later admitted that their goals were unrealistic. 33% of the participants failed due to not keeping track of their resolutions. One in every ten participants who could not keep up their solution accepted that they had made too many resolutions.   Keeping this year’s resolutions

 1. Break down. 

 Get a promotion, get in the best shape of your life, or get graduated. These all goals look terrific on paper, but when you begin, they look terrifying. The first step is to realise not taking significant steps and breaking down the goal into smaller steps.

 Instead of looking at the big picture, it helps focus on the smaller goals. If you are committed to losing weight, exercising for three days for a month is always better than exercising every day for a week and taking a break for the next three weeks.

2. Pen it down.

 When we write down our goals, we feel higher accountability. We can accomplish our purposes when we feel accountable and responsible for our purposes. Write down your goals on sticky notes, and post them on your fridge. Write them down on your whiteboard.

Journaling is another good way of self-commitment. As you change your diary every year, write down your resolutions on the first page of the log. If you feel like you have been losing focus, it’s always better to rewrite these resolutions first of every month.

3. Get help from the machines. 

 Thousands of reminders, mental health, self-help, and meditation apps are available on your cell phones. There are plenty of apps that will teach you how to tackle negative thoughts, goal setting, and mindfulness.

4. Take it public. 

  Sharing our goals with the world makes us responsible and accountable. It makes it harder to give up when others are involved with our resolutions. So, go ahead, and post your resolutions on social media or share them with your friends and family. Here, the aim is not to be pressurised and compelled but to keep you on track, consult others and seek help from them if necessary. Especially if you are looking forward to changing certain habits like smoking, drinking, or getting angry, going public with it will be a good idea.

5. Plan. Plan. Plan. 

 Do not treat your New Year’s resolution as just another to-do list. It’s a self-commitment. But sheer willpower and commitment will accompany you to certain limits. Post that, you must have a solid plan to stick with.

If you want to lose weight, write down a daily workout chart, along with the meal plan. If you are looking forward to meditating every morning, hitting the bed early, and investing in a good meditation app.  

6. Triggers. 

 Its February. Most of us have made new year’s resolutions, and about 80% of us are about to give up on them. Why? We ignore the triggers. We need to check ourselves regularly for the triggers to get back to our old ways. We can convert our new resolutions into habits, and it becomes easy for us to stick with them for longer durations.

If you feel like you are about to give up on your resolutions, take a step back and observe from a third perspective. Retrace your steps. Figure out your responses, and without giving up, repeat the cycle without getting discouraged. Next time, when you understand the emotions behind triggers, you can deal with them more efficiently instead of giving up on your yearly goals.

7. Celebrate small wins. 

 Let’s assume that you plan to lose 10 kgs at the end of the year. And at the end of the month, if you lose one and a half KG, it’s still a win. Reassure yourself that you are on the right track. When we focus on the end game, it’s easy to feel pressured and discouraged even after the monthly mark. Don’t wait for the year-end when you are 10 kgs lighter. If you have lost one and a half kg in a month, celebrate it with a good book, new music or a T-shirt. Congratulate yourself. Note that achievement in your journal and keep on going, maintaining the newly gained self-confidence and enthusiasm.

8. Self-forgiveness.

 A lot has been written on how people make a lot of new year’s resolutions and fail to follow them. But you know what? It’s okay to lapse now and then. It’s not about how many times you fall down. There is a problem when you give up picking yourself up. Many of us keep on feeling guilty over our missteps for several weeks. Instead of stewing, when we figure out where we went wrong, we can prevent the lapse by identifying the loopholes in our plans. When we acknowledge the screw-up and accept our flaws, we improve as human beings, and it helps us to get back on track.     

Resetting the New year’s resolutions.

 -Get in a comfortable position, wearing loose clothes and eyes closed. Take a few deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling completely. 

 -While being in meditation, ask yourself, what were your goals, intentions, and resolutions this year? Have you begun your journey towards their completion? What obstacles are you facing in achieving these goals?

 -Visualise your Guru Dev, your Ishta Dev, or Divine Mother and ask them for their guidance. They are the ones who can make your intentions come true.

 -Focusing on your Guru or your Ishta Dev, keep meditating further for ten minutes. And then open your eyes and continue with your day.  

 -Every day, pay close attention to little things that you will come across on a day-to-day basis. Divine or the Universal powers might be sending some signals towards you about your resolutions. 

 -To get over the impediments, you can perform the Puja for Divine Mother Bagalamukhi under the supervision of your Guru or experts. Maa Bagalamukhi is known for removing obstacles, as well as for boosting confidence. If you are facing issues with lawsuits, business, academics then, we suggest you chant the Name of Mother Goddess Baglamukhi under the supervision of your Guru Dev.

Please feel free to reach out in the comments below, via email, on Facebook, or over Instagram to tell us what you’ve found the most helpful in your own practice!

We hope this blog helped you gain insight into sticking with your new year’s resolution. Please subscribe to our mailing list to connect and receive information about spirituality. In case of any queries, please write to us at info@chamundaswamiji.com. You can check out our YouTube channel Chamunda Swamiji where you can learn Tantra, Mantra, Yantra, and Meditation from His Holiness Shri Chamunda Swamiji.