(A happy new year: in true sense)
What does the New Year’s Eve mean to most of us? Celebrating the arrival of new year with food, drinks, friends, families….right? How about adding some value or meaning to this grand celebration! I mean what’s the point of welcoming new year if we don’t commit any changes for good! What’s the big deal about count down, looking at the dropping ball in Time Square! What’s the significance of sparkling skies with fire works?
Is it just about drinking and eating on the New Year’s Eve and getting sick with nausea and hangovers on the very first day of the year? That cannot be an ideal start to a new year!
A lot of people make some resolutions for new year. What’s your new year resolution? Be sure you are practical or realistic about making any resolution because resolutions are usually broken more often than applied. According to me, the true sense of celebrating new year should be to take One Step Forward towards a healthier and happier life. Because it’s this One step forward that’s gonna not only bring value to our lives but also inspire our children and younger generations to stay committed and healthier.
Here are some of the things you might want to Cut down or Add on, One at a time, so you don’t feel the burden from sudden change.
Cut down….
(Cutting down ONE is just a minimum. If you can, avoid these items for good.)
- ONE coffee per day
- ONE cigarette per day
- ONE day per week of alcohol consumption
- ONE meal per week of junk food (eat home made food or freshly cooked food from outside)
- ONE hour per week of screen time
- ONE plastic use per week (minimize use of bottled water)
- ONE bad characteristic in your behavior like anger, jealousy, lying, cheating, etc. Trust me all of these are related to bad health.
Add on….
(Adding a minimum of ONE is a suggestion, not a rule. Feel free to add more than one if needed or tolerated)
- ONE serving of fibrous food (vegetables and fruits) per week in your meal
- ONE day per week of cooking fresh food at home
- ONE day per week of physical exercise, if your doctor allows
- ONE day per week of monitoring your blood pressure
- ONE reading per day of your blood sugar
- ONE hour per week of family time
- ONE dollar per day to your savings (reduces financial stress on a long term)
- ONE act of gratitude per week (reduces stress, anxiety, depression and other mental disorders)
- ONE act of charity per year
Celebrate the new year with a real meaning!
Don’t just celebrate the new year for name sake or to show off your lavish lifestyle or your grandeur villas or expensive clothes! Celebrate it with a sense of gratitude towards the past year and committing loyalty towards new year with all the good habits.
Feel accomplished for the past year and don’t forget to thank everyone (and even God if you are not atheists) who participated or contributed towards your success. If you haven’t accomplished during the past year, it’s still okay to thank people for challenging you and providing you those valuable feedbacks. And most importantly, commit the new year, about chasing your dreams with solid intent and hard work.
It’s said the “an aimless life is a miserable life”. So on the last day of the year, take a few moments to account for all the goods and bads in your lives and like an accountant, devise a plan for the next year how to reduce items in bad column and increase in good column, just like we try to increase our assets and decrease liabilities every fiscal year. To me, that’s a celebration in true sense. There has to be something special about so many humans getting together on one night- can’t be just superficial celebrations!
Finally, to all my family members, friends and well-wishers, I bow to you for all the good things you have blessed me with and I wish you all health, peace and prosperity.
Happy New Year! Have a blessed 2020 and also decades thereafter! New year, new beginning:
Over the Counter 