I mentioned yesterday that I was excited for today's post. It's about 20 things that I wish to do in 2020. I don't see these as resolutions since I've kept them more fluid rather than as rigid goals. They are mostly either things I was doing earlier but have stopped in the recent past due to some reason, or things I've always wanted to do but never gathered motivation enough or things that I know explicitly will make me a better person.
I've been thinking about this list for a while now and it's taken some time to come up with these. I'll be happy if any of you want to jump in with me on one or more of these action areas. It'll be good motivation to work on some of these as a club. Write to me via email, text or Whatsapp if you're interested.
I have also intentionally kept most of these very generic so I'm sure a lot of you would be able to relate to them or make them your own with little or no modifications. If any of them resonate with you, go for it!
1. Read atleast one book per month. (The perfect candidate for a club - it'll be great to read something together and get discussing about it)
2. Learn atleast one new skill during the year
3. Practice mindfulness and learn mindfulness meditation - this has been known to help in improving productivity and interpersonal relations and I've wanted to pick this up for the longest time
4. Give back to society in a meaningful way - work back with an NGO or help a needy person. To really make this meaningful, try to give in terms of your time rather than your money.
5. Work towards a fitter and healthier you - because the importance of this can never be over-emphasized
6. Identify one character flaw or bad habit that you have and work on correcting it - admit it, none of us are perfect!
7. In relationships, give more than people expect and expect less than people are likely to give. This works magically in maintaining and improving relationships!
8. Reach out to one person in your family or friends network every month for no specific reason other than to catch up and do this in rotation so that you keep in touch with different people. An interesting way to do this is if you find a book, video, article, song or movie that you think someone in your circle will like or reminds you of them, take the opportunity to share it with them to initiate a conversation. And then take it from there.
9. Do something new every once in a while - take a new route to a regular destination, sleep on the other side of your bed, visit a new restaurant or try a new cuisine, try listening to a song that is not in your typical genre - anything that will break routine for you. Change always gives an adrenaline rush which releases happiness hormones in the body. See this link for some ideas.
10. Pick one topic every fortnight and read up / watch everything on it
11. Appreciate someone genuinely and if you can, not only appreciate them directly but also tell others about their talent or actions. Complain less, if possible not at all and definitely not about one person to another. If you have something nice to say, say it and spread the word. If you have something not-so-nice to say, say it only if you must and don't spread the word.
12. Become environmentally conscious - watch what you're eating, how you're disposing things and what impact your actions have on the environment around you.
13. Regularly practice compassion and gratitude; Keep someone in your prayers and wish them well; be thankful for what you have and generous in sharing your blessings.
14. Listen more than you speak.
15. Help someone learn something new, teach someone or help them grow in any way you can - whether it is by sharing your knowledge, teaching them a new skill, helping them hone their skills or giving them constructive feedback.
16. Learn to say no when required, especially when you don't want to say yes. Here's a book that can help with this
17. When caught in any situation, respond rather than react. Stop to think, evaluate if you really need to say or do what you're thinking and what impact your words and actions will have on others. If it won't help the situation, or worse - if it'll aggravate it, then take a step back.
18. If you're anything like me and find cooking therepeutic (or eating, for that matter!), try cooking a new dish once every month. Follow the recipe to the T, be diligent and conscientious in your measurements and soak in the aroma and taste of your handiwork!
19. Find some 'me' time everyday. Indulge in your hobbies and pick one to hone this year. Pay attention to your personal grooming and revel in looking, and more importantly, feeling good!
20. Make at least one person smile everyday by your thoughts, words and/or deeds. Tip the Swiggy delivery boy, smile at a child in your building, help an old or differently-abled person cross the road, feed the pigeons or crows that come to your window, surprise someone - there are so many ways to do this! Never miss an opportunity to spread some love, whenever you can - whether it is to your family, friends, a stranger, an animal or a plant!
Some of there are truly club-worthy or doable in groups. Do reach out to me if you'd like to exchange notes or need some motivation to pick any of these or indeed, need help making your own 20 for 2020 list!
Ta-da!
I've been thinking about this list for a while now and it's taken some time to come up with these. I'll be happy if any of you want to jump in with me on one or more of these action areas. It'll be good motivation to work on some of these as a club. Write to me via email, text or Whatsapp if you're interested.
I have also intentionally kept most of these very generic so I'm sure a lot of you would be able to relate to them or make them your own with little or no modifications. If any of them resonate with you, go for it!
1. Read atleast one book per month. (The perfect candidate for a club - it'll be great to read something together and get discussing about it)
2. Learn atleast one new skill during the year
3. Practice mindfulness and learn mindfulness meditation - this has been known to help in improving productivity and interpersonal relations and I've wanted to pick this up for the longest time
4. Give back to society in a meaningful way - work back with an NGO or help a needy person. To really make this meaningful, try to give in terms of your time rather than your money.
5. Work towards a fitter and healthier you - because the importance of this can never be over-emphasized
6. Identify one character flaw or bad habit that you have and work on correcting it - admit it, none of us are perfect!
7. In relationships, give more than people expect and expect less than people are likely to give. This works magically in maintaining and improving relationships!
8. Reach out to one person in your family or friends network every month for no specific reason other than to catch up and do this in rotation so that you keep in touch with different people. An interesting way to do this is if you find a book, video, article, song or movie that you think someone in your circle will like or reminds you of them, take the opportunity to share it with them to initiate a conversation. And then take it from there.
9. Do something new every once in a while - take a new route to a regular destination, sleep on the other side of your bed, visit a new restaurant or try a new cuisine, try listening to a song that is not in your typical genre - anything that will break routine for you. Change always gives an adrenaline rush which releases happiness hormones in the body. See this link for some ideas.
10. Pick one topic every fortnight and read up / watch everything on it
11. Appreciate someone genuinely and if you can, not only appreciate them directly but also tell others about their talent or actions. Complain less, if possible not at all and definitely not about one person to another. If you have something nice to say, say it and spread the word. If you have something not-so-nice to say, say it only if you must and don't spread the word.
12. Become environmentally conscious - watch what you're eating, how you're disposing things and what impact your actions have on the environment around you.
13. Regularly practice compassion and gratitude; Keep someone in your prayers and wish them well; be thankful for what you have and generous in sharing your blessings.
14. Listen more than you speak.
15. Help someone learn something new, teach someone or help them grow in any way you can - whether it is by sharing your knowledge, teaching them a new skill, helping them hone their skills or giving them constructive feedback.
16. Learn to say no when required, especially when you don't want to say yes. Here's a book that can help with this
17. When caught in any situation, respond rather than react. Stop to think, evaluate if you really need to say or do what you're thinking and what impact your words and actions will have on others. If it won't help the situation, or worse - if it'll aggravate it, then take a step back.
18. If you're anything like me and find cooking therepeutic (or eating, for that matter!), try cooking a new dish once every month. Follow the recipe to the T, be diligent and conscientious in your measurements and soak in the aroma and taste of your handiwork!
19. Find some 'me' time everyday. Indulge in your hobbies and pick one to hone this year. Pay attention to your personal grooming and revel in looking, and more importantly, feeling good!
20. Make at least one person smile everyday by your thoughts, words and/or deeds. Tip the Swiggy delivery boy, smile at a child in your building, help an old or differently-abled person cross the road, feed the pigeons or crows that come to your window, surprise someone - there are so many ways to do this! Never miss an opportunity to spread some love, whenever you can - whether it is to your family, friends, a stranger, an animal or a plant!
Some of there are truly club-worthy or doable in groups. Do reach out to me if you'd like to exchange notes or need some motivation to pick any of these or indeed, need help making your own 20 for 2020 list!
Ta-da!
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