It is that time of the year again when we are ready to bid goodbye to the old times, and welcome a fresh new year with thrill, enthusiasm and lots of anticipation. Making a resolution every New Year is a tradition as old as time, as is the fact that most resolutions are meant to be broken. The problem with resolutions is that we treat them as targets and goals, instead of guiding principles that can help us improve and get better.

As we enter into a brand new decade, we at MindIInsight have tried to put together a few guiding resolutions for students gearing up to start their journey on a path that will be key to shaping their life and career ahead. The idea is to give you a resolution template that is actually effective and will help you start the new year on the right note and with right motivation.

1. Resolve to take better care of our physical health

Health is wealth is not just a grandma’s saying. It is a fundamental foundation of a successful and happy life. Our productivity and capability to mine our own excellence relies heavily on how mentally and physically fit we are. Fitness is not just about diets and weights. It is about eating right, and getting the adequate amount of exercise, and not fall for or be driven by today’s Instagram inspired vanity standards. Instead of relying on fitness fads, we must resolve to pay attention to our own body and its peculiar requirements, seek help from trained practitioners if needed, and stick to a health regime that is intuitive and personal.

2. Pay attention to our mental health

Mental health issues have taken the form of a global epidemic, especially among the over-stressed, over worked students. This New Year, let us resolve to pay attention to our mental health as much as our physical well-being, if not more. When it comes to mental issues, awareness is the key, as is our willingness to seek and find requisite help. Taking care of our mental health is the key to a happy, fulfilling, successful life, and much like our physical health, we need to find routines, tools and techniques like meditation, therapies, exercise regimes, hobbies and most importantly friends and support systems who can help us take care of our mental well-being. This new year, let us all resolve to be aware, be informed and never be shy or embarrassed to seek help if and when we need it.

3. Break a habit, take a risk

We know it sounds like we have merged two separate resolutions into one, but if you look at it, breaking patterns is one of the biggest risks we can ever allow ourselves to take. Growing up, we are all bound by our routines and habits that we have inculcated since childhood. A lot of them are good habits and patterns, essential for maintaining discipline in our lives. But some habits are best relegated to childhood and need to be thrown out once we as students get ready to step into the adult world.  Breaking a habit or a pattern is hard. It is also risky, considering we are scared of what would happen if it doesn’t work out for us. However, it is a risk worth taking, and will help us reap rich rewards in the long run. So, this new year, let us all resolve to identify a habit or a pattern that is no longer serving us well, and try to break it to the best of our capability.

What we need to remember is that none of these resolutions are goals or targets that are measurable or quantifiable. The operative word here is try. And so long as we promise ourselves to keep trying to stick to our resolutions to the best of our capability, we can hope to have a new year that is productive, fulfilling and joyous in every sense.