One and only RESOLUTION for 2019!

Wishing everyone a happy new year. I wish this New Year will bring happiness, joy, and peace in our everyday life.

When I look back at 2018, I can say it was a transformational year in my life. There were moments of laughter, sadness, helping others, criticizing others, acceptance, and fear. Definitely, I can say 2018 made me a better person than I was.

In 2019, I am looking forward to doing things that can make me a calm and happy person. I have been thinking about what RESOLUTIONS I should take to achieve these. I came up with things like going to the gym, reading books, donating money, visiting places with friends, playing new games etc etc. I made up my mind to do these RESOLUTIONS for the rest of the year.

But, I set aside these RESOLUTIONS when I read this idea of the day on LinkedIn said by philanthropist Melinda Gates: Instead of starting the new year with resolutions,

“I choose a word of the year—a word that encapsulates my aspirations for the twelve months ahead.”   

Now, I started to think about what could be that one word that can fulfill my aspiration to be calm and happy. The Only word that I can think of is "Mindfulness".

What is Mindfulness and why I choose that word as a RESOLUTION for 2019?

Wikipedia says mindfulness is the psychological process of bringing one's attention to experiences occurring in the present moment. There is a documentary on Netflix named "Wake with me" where speaker Thich Nhat Hanh talks about mindfulness beautifully,

"Arrive in the here and the now. We have been running a lot but we have not arrived. We are always looking for something, searching for something, longing for something, and we have not found it. And we continue to run. And we don't know how long, how much more we have to run and look for what we are looking for. Maybe we are looking for some conditions of happiness that we believe we don't have. And running and searching has become a habit. And life and all the wonders of life are available only in the present moment. Because the past is no longer there, and the future is not yet there. There's is only the present moment. So the practice of mindfulness helps us to go home to the here and the now in order for us to learn how to live our life deeply. That way we will not waste our life."

I choose that word as 2019 RESOLUTION because there is no other choice. I realize that if I am not mindful, I will be either living in an imagined reality or repeating old memories in my mind. This is very dangerous to me and to the people around me.

How to Practice Mindfulness?

Now, Mindfulness being my new year RESOLUTION for 2019, I will be successful when I fulfill it. I like to be successful every day, every hour, every minute, every second and every moment in 2019.

These are some of the Mindfulness practices I took from thichnhathanhfoundation.org that can help fulfill my RESOLUTION this year:

1. 'Mindful' Pauses: Pausing once every hour to relax the body and become aware of our breathing. With just three conscious breaths, we can release the tensions in our body and mind and return to a cool and clear state of being.
2. 'Mindful' Breaths: Taking conscious breaths can help us to be mindful during the day. Conscious breathing is the key to uniting body and mind and bringing the energy of mindfulness into each moment of our life.
3. 'Mindful' Eating: Chewing each mouthful 30 times until the food becomes liquified can help us to enjoy every bit of our food and also be mindful.
4. 'Mindful' Moving: Conscious movement of the body can help us become mindful instantly. When we move with ease, others around us will also feel light and relaxed in our presence.
5. 'Mindful' Silence: Mindful silence during before hours of going to bed can help us have a deep and restful sleep. This is very healing.

Now, I know what to do for the next twelve months ahead. Wish me success.