Relationship Blues

Somehow, New Year resolutions and I have never got along well. There have been a lot of disagreements, fights and heartburn amongst us. The relationship has always been rocky and brief, generally not lasting for more than a few weeks. Due to this, I had adopted “My resolution is NO resolution” policy for the past few years. However, like with an old flame, the spark was never fully extinguished. I found myself being drawn to it time and again, but lacked the courage to take the plunge.

I want to give this relationship one more chance and will try to make it work this time around. I realize that I will have to change my tack to have a happy and successful relationship. My game plan to tackle this is as follows.

• “Resolution” does not seem to have a nice ring to it. It sounds like something that our parliament passes (other than gas with all those old farts). I am going to call it “Guidelines” instead. While at it, I am going to categorize them into Short Term, Mid Term and Long Term buckets.
• Use technology to bridge the communication gap. One of the classic reasons for any relationship to fail is lack of communication. I plan to use technology to communicate with my goals on a periodic basis. Alerts, reminders & alarms have all been loaded in the tech platforms I use like mobile, email, calendar etc.  This will help me not forget the “Guideline” and keep an open dialogue between us.
• Spice up the relationship and try something different. This is a golden rule you will hear from any agony aunt. I am going for variety this time. Instead of the missionary style “Loose weight, Join Gym, Quit Smoking”, I am going to adopt “Trek, Find humour in everyday life, Sleep with under the stars” kind of goals.
• Celebrate the milestones. I like celebrations as there generally will be food and booze. Now that I think about it, I just like the food and booze. So, it may end up that I end up creating milestones. Now that will not be such a bad thing. I like this idea.

Hopefully these techniques should do the trick.

Guidelines for happy and successful 2014

Short Term

Move that lazy butt off the couch. Walk, jog, pedal & swim through 2014.

Write a few lines everyday.

Mid Term

Connect more with nature. Hit the trek trails on a regular basis.

Read, read, and read more. Explore new genres and authors.

Long Term

Sample a new cuisine. If possible learn to cook a couple of dishes.

Travel to a destination not visited before.

Still be active on “Swalpa Adjust Maadi…kindly adjust” at the end of the year.

Share your “guidelines” if you have made any. J