THINGS TO LEAVE BEHIND IN 2024

If all you did was survive, I am still proud of you. People are so focused on end results that sometimes efforts and small aims go unnoticed. If all you did was get up from bed on days you didn’t feel like yourself, carried yourself to work, pretended to smile, and still could be kind to others, then you are there, my friend, very strong.?

There are people who lack regulation who bring their home to the office and never say “good morning”, or never smile even. So all they did was their ‘to-do list’, and didn’t survive the turmoil. Something is still troubling them. Wish them healing!!

Let us reflect on a few elements that we should leave behind to cater to better harmony in the coming year:?

1) Let go of anything that doesn’t serve your peace. Your peace is like a luxurious elixir. Feeling drained over something or someone? Let it slide off.?

2) The habit of not setting boundaries.

A very famous Zen saying is, setting boundaries. Setting boundaries may make you look tough but it doesn't make you an impolite person. You can still say, ‘No’, and be kind to everyone or be friends with people.?

3) Not being gentle with yourself.?

Not everything needs to be done and be perfect. The fact that we are carrying out our duties is still a major win. Maybe someday if you decide to do nothing, that is also pretty rewarding. The French call it, ‘ Dolce far niente’.?

4) Not celebrating small wins.?

Raise a toast for anything and everything that feels like a win to you. You don't have to fret about the pipe dream. But all you have to do is pat your back on every small effort that you have made.

5) Not forgiving yourself for the things you committed but couldn't change.?

We mostly speak to our minds and wonder, “What if I did this differently?”, “What if I emoted a little less?”, “Am I disparaging myself again?”.

But it takes time to change oneself and the process may be harsh. So let it go if we can’t stand by the promises we made to ourselves sometimes. There’s again a new day waiting for you.

6) Your ego.

We can hardly let go of our ego. But when you ascend towards becoming a better person, you may find mocking at yourself. The feeling of ‘I”, “I am the male of the house”, “I am the boss”, “people should listen to me”, “I am the bread earner”, and the like, don't make you any superior. Your ascension towards God makes you superior.?

7) Even if no apology or closure.

You cannot force people for either of the two. There are many people who are broken because they received no apology they ought to, or there was no closure in due time. They were in an ambivalent state. For them, they need to accept, and release since these energies do not serve them anymore.

Trusting that everything is unfolding is for your highest good.?

8) The thought that closed doors are not ideal.

Ever banged on a closed door? There is always an anxiety going within. Now there are litanies of assumptions raveling in your mind. Who knows you might have been calm if you never knocked on that door.

Sometimes a closed door comes as a blessing. That door is not a jinx now. It is a spiral toward new opportunities.

9) Traditional mindset.?

With the Beta generation incoming, if we millennials remain fixated on our ideologies, it may be worse than anything. You may lose people at the wink of an eye. Being adaptable is the biggest flex anyone would have now.

10) People pleasing.

Well, there are a few people who will stand with their voices. When some people cannot make things work, they resort to the concept of people pleasing or turning into sycophants. That seems much easier for these people. But what about your integrity then? You are no longer ‘you’, because you choose to be a ‘Yes Man’, than being you, who is also a unique creation.

And enumerating more of such will have endless words.

Let’s leave these energies behind before we step into a new year, a new possibility, a new endeavor, since to start with new hopes, you have to let go of certain unwanted actions or energies.?

Plan yours nicely today!?