NEW YEAR, NEW BEGINNING

Sunday, January 1, 2023


After the previous two years of extremely challenging time due to Covid-19 pandemic, the year 2022 has been a mixed one – hang over of the pandemic and the urge to recover fast from that crisis. Undeniably, every Indian deserves big thanks for resolutely fighting the odds of all sorts during the period of pandemic to prove the inner strength and also to send a loud and clear message to the world community that as the largest and oldest democracy we can face any situation collectively. Now it is time to say goodbye to 2022 and be ready to welcome the New Year-2023 wholeheartedly. Interestingly, we are celebrating the platinum jubilee of our independence as Amrit Mahotsav. As such, it is appropriate time to take at least one special new year resolution from the list of the following five to contribute in a befitting way towards making our society and country stronger - politically, economically, psychologically and socially and also a better place to live and enjoy in all respects. 

1. Think and act positive:  We know that a well begun is half done and a robust beginning sets the tone for the days to come. All wise persons say emphatically that to think and act positive in all situations brings splendid results for us in whatever sector we are engaged in. We normally maintain very good mental balance besides our physical health.  We seldom lose focus and direction and are firm believers in trying our best to achieve the set goals. Enjoying the journey of life, good or not so good, becomes our basic character. In fact, we are successful in finding solutions to seemingly insurmountable problems even in adverse circumstances. The people around us get influenced, inspired, motivated and benefited knowingly or unknowingly. World famous company Apple’s co-founder Steve Jobs was actively and firmly practicing the “think and act positive” principle.  

2. Stay healthy and motivate others too: It is our prime duty to do our best in order to stay healthy, both physically and mentally, especially after the traumatic phase of the pandemic. Without being in good health, whatever we wish to achieve in our life is just very difficult, sometimes just impossible.  When we are sick, our productivity at all places goes down, we are compelled to incur medical expenses, and the whole family including the patient goes through an avoidable phase of stress. On the contrary, by staying healthy we not only perform well and enjoy life better but also look after our family especially children, ladies and senior citizens in a far better manner. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to add more healthy inputs – be it diet, exercise, sleep, workplace engagements, yoga and meditation and so on, in our daily routine. Not only this, we should try our best to motivate and inspire people around us  towards this end as nobody can remain healthy for long if he is surrounded by sick people. All of us have experienced this during the period of Covid-19 pandemic.   

3. Remain Young: Everybody wants to look young, but only by looking young or remaining young by age parameter can really be termed as being young. In fact, leaving aside the age factor, it is necessary to possess certain qualities to be truly called as young. According to many social reformers including Swami Vivekananda, youth means to place your firm confidence in yourself and exercise your hopeful determination and resolution. He is full of enthusiasm, energy, confidence and creativity, has a strong character and an enormous appetite for learning new and good things, and is always ready to fight against the social evils and also to serve his motherland in all respects. Let us take a vow at the beginning of the New Year that we would review and evaluate our engagements and performance from time-to-time and continuously improve ourselves to remain young in the true sense of the term and consequently always contribute significantly towards the progress and development of our country besides our own.   

4. Build and value relationship:  The inner urge to build, value and maintain relationships is very important for self-development and for enjoying life. In Indian culture and tradition, we have been talking about the whole world being our family. It being so, we relish and cherish togetherness in our family, society and country. In fact, it is one of the few very important leadership qualities. This is the reason why in management institutes and in the corporate world people are made to learn and appreciate the multi-dimensional value of relationship management. If we go through the success stories of widely successful and acclaimed people all over the world, we find them very good at building, maintaining and nurturing relationships and thereby solving many critical problems easily and living a more fulfilling life.

5. Maintain peace and tranquility: In a country like ours which is the second most populous and the biggest democratic country in the world and where there are many languages, caste and religion, it is absolutely necessary to maintain brotherhood, peace and tranquility for the all-round progress of the country. To ensure this in practice, personal and public discipline together with excellent law and order machinery are a must. Helping others in need and distress is a basic human quality which everyone should practice in day-to-day life. This helps create an environment of goodwill, trust and empathy. Undoubtedly there are a handful of bad and anti-social elements whose prime agenda has been to create social tension and unrest through different means. Not falling prey to their nefarious designs and misdeeds is the first step we should take. We know that law of the land deals with these unscrupulous elements appropriately, but the job of law enforcing agencies becomes easier if we as the responsible citizens of the country do our duty of cooperating with them in maintaining law and order, particularly in abnormal or adverse situations.   

Believe me, by taking one or more such small yet life changing resolutions and practicing it sincerely during the next 365 days in 2023, we can definitely register personal progress besides contributing well for the good of our family, society and country. Only then we become really entitled and happy to say “Happy New Year” to one and all.

(hellomilansinha@gmail.com)

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