New Year Resolutions--Model Resolutions

People usually make only ten New Year Resolutions! Neither 7 nor 8.

Usually these Resolutions contain many common points cutting across age, sex, and nationality.

So, what are these 10 top New Year resolutions or 10 best or most popular New Year resolutions?

Based on various 10 great New Year Resolutions and my own view-point and philosophy of life and universe, I would recommend these 10 top New Year resolutions regarding the higher values of life:

1. RESOLVE TO BE HAPPY!: If we consider deeply the aim of human life is to Be Happy! God created the world, and human beings added many things for people to Be Happy! Even when we go through hardships for some aim that also is a sort of happiness. Nirvana, Moksha, Liberation, are noting but eternal and permanent happiness. This includes such resolutions as enjoying life more, traveling, having more quality time with your family and friends, etc.
2. RESOLVE TO BE HEALTHY!: To enjoy this happiness we must be healthy. Here health is defined in its wider mental, physical, spiritual, and social, etc. context. We cannot Be Happy! without healthy body and mind. In fact, we cannot Be Successful! also without health. This includes all your resolutions like reducing fat, being less stressed, joining a gym, etc.
3. RESOLVE TO BE SUCCESSFUL!: Life is incomplete without realizing your full potential and being successful. However, the definition of success may vary from individual to individual. Whatever your definition is, you must resolve to be successful in life. Success is great tonic for happiness and health. This includes your resolution to earn more money, set up a new business, time management, and organizing oneself.
4. RESOLVE TO EMPOWER OTHERS TO BE HAPPY! BE HEALTHY! AND BE SUCCESSFUL!: No person is an island. One does not live for himself or herself. One cannot be happy without others around being happy. If one is happy, healthy, and successful, it is also because of the family and society at large. It is our moral duty and debt to make others also realize the goals of happiness, health, and success. This includes doing charitable work.
5. RESOLVE TO EMBRACE CHANGE: New Year resolutions are all about change. If you are not ready to change why resolutions? Change yourself, change your environment, if necessary, and change your relationships. Don’t be afraid of change. Change your routines, change your habits, change your working habits (organize workplace and home), if necessary, change your job, your priorities, and the way you have been living. This includes learning something new, being tech savvy (utilizing full potential of computer, internet, social media, emails, mobile phones, etc.)
6. RESOLVE TO BE ADDICTED TO, OBSESSED WITH, POSSESSD BY YOUR TOP PRIORITY RESOLUTION: This is a must for success of New Year Resolutions. Be in touch with them constantly. Write them down, read them often, substitute your morning and bed time prayer and meditation by praying to God for realizing them and meditation on them. Review constantly and revise, if need be. Above all don’t abandon them if forgotten for some time. There are many New Year days in a year (various religions and nations have their own New Year days). Utilize them and festival holidays to review your New Year resolutions.
7. RESOLVE TO DO BETTER TIME MANAGEMENT: The key to success is hard work and working more time than others. However, time is limited and distributed equally to all (so that in a competitive situation all have equal time allotted). Better time management can give us the required edge over others. Organize and better manage time. Generally, one can save much time by limiting or altogether eliminating time spent in reading newspapers, seeing TV, or surfing internet. Organize your work space, computer, etc. Even organize your thoughts.
8. RESOLVE TO SET YOUR PRIORITIES AND ACT ON THEM: Even after making our New Year Resolutions, we fail to implement them because we don’t find time to do them! If I have made writing a novel my top New Year Resolution, I may be so much busy with other things that I may not even start writing!
9. RESOLVE TO PERIODICALLY REVIEW NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS AND CHECK PROGRESS MADE: Our New Year Resolutions may be too ambitious. A few weeks into the year and we will realize what is possible and what not. We may review our resolutions.  Similarly, we must periodically check progress made. In case of total failure, we must remake our resolutions. The more time we resolve, the more there are chances of success.
10. RESOLVE TO BE READY TO ABANDON YOUR WORLDLY AIMS TO HIGHER VALUES AND THINGS IN LIFE: Sacrifice all your resolutions regarding worldly progress to higher things in life. For love forsake everything. For family forsake everything. Our New Year Resolutions should not be unadulterated to selfishness and self-centric life.

The second set of New Year Resolutions should be totally different from the first set which deals with the bigger general questions of life. The second set is for personal life and the goals set for it. However, most of the people will ignore to formulate the first set. Therefore, I will include some overlapping goals in the second set so that it in itself is complete without the first set.

Here is the second set of goals:

1. RESOLVE TO START YOGA OR WALKING/JOGGING IN THE MORNING: Yoga is more than physical exercise. It is for physical, mental and spiritual development and a way of life. With yoga peace of mind, happiness, success, health will follow automatically. Our way of life and dietary habits will change drastically. Morning walking/jogging is the easiest yet very beneficial physical activity and it is generally easy to stick to this routine as in the morning there is hardly any distractions/engagements. One could combine both yoga and morning walking/jogging or set, for example, three days for yoga and three days for walking/jogging. One day rest is recommended. Of course, these activities can be done in the evening also.
2. RESOLVE TO START SOME OUTDOOR GAME/SPORT: Outdoor games/sports are easy to follow than exercise routine like gym etc. One enjoys games/sports and if part of a partnership/team one is bound to be regular. Any game/sport is good depending on your personal choice. Apart from playing game/sport, be generally active during the day.
3. RESOLVE TO EAT BALANCE AND NUTRITIVE DIET: Enjoyment of food is a matter of habit. We enjoy food eating which we have grown up. Variety is also enjoyed. Junk food can be enjoyed only occasionally. One can not, and of course, should not eat junk food regularly. If one becomes health conscious food habits automatically improve.
4. RESOLVE TO DEVOTE MAXIMUM TIME AND EFFORT TO YOUR SINGLE OVERARCHING PASSION: This is the main goal and aim of making New Year Resolutions. What do you want to do specially in life apart from eating, drinking, and be merry and working hard and earning money? Is there a writer, painter, or musician within you desperately trying to express him/her? Don’t commit feticide. Resolve here that you will write ten pages of your novel daily or you will write your novel this year.
5. RESOLVE TO ORGANIZE YOUR THOUGHTS, PLANS, COMPUTER AND HOUSEHOLD: Disorganization is the thief of time and energy. One wastes lots of energy in finding information and things if one is disorganized and works in haphazard way. Resolve to organize your life and things.
6. RESOLVE TO TIME MANAGEMENT: Though time is the most precious commodity in the world, most of us do not manage it properly. Are you wasting too much time in activities which are not related to your New Year Resolutions? Is newspaper, TV, or email/internet wasting too much of your time? Are you bogged down with the small issues of life never finding time for bigger and really important issues of your life.
7. RESOLVE TO BE ON TOP OF YOUR OFFICE/EMPLOYMENT WORK AND RESPONSIBILITIES AND MAINTAIN GOOD RELATIONS WITH YOUR BOSS AND COLLEAGUES: Generally office does not find a prominent spot in our New Year Resolutions. It is, in most cases, because in most work places just doing what is required is enough. In bureaucratic set up promotions and salary increases are time bound rather than efficiency bound. Office life becomes important only for those working in private sector where efficiency is demanded and rewarded. However, both in public and private sector not being able to cope with one’s work and colleagues creates great tension and may not be good for one’s health and personal goals.
8. RESOLVE TO VALUE HAPPINESS, HEALTH, FAMILY AND FRIENDS MORE THAN MONETARY CONSIDERATIONS: New Year Resolutions are generally for success. That is OK. However, don’t make monetary gains the only measure of success. Be after success but at the same time don’t sacrifice your happiness, health, family and friends on the altar of success. A fine balance is to be kept. On the other hand don’t blame your family and friends for your failure or make them scapegoat. Here you should also be willing and ready to help others, especially the needy and poor. The more you are successful, the more you have a responsibility towards them.
9. RESOLVE TO WRITE DOWN YOUR NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS: A written thing is a commitment. If you write down your resolutions you commit to them. In writing you organize your thoughts and decide your priorities. You can refer to them time and again. Write them in your diary, write them in your Notes in your computer or desktop so that they are instantly available.
10. RESOLVE TO MEASURE YOUR PROGRESS OR ADHERENCE PERIODICALLY AND DON’T BE DISCOURAGED: This is very important. Making New Year Resolution is one thing, following them another. Measure your progress and adherence periodically. Revise your resolutions, if needed. Recommit yourself. Don’t be discouraged if you fail. Making New Year Resolutions and trying is better than not making them at all. Don’t develop the mentality of all or nothing. Follow your New Year Resolutions to whatever extent you can.

WISHING YOU A HAPPY, HEALTHY, AND SUCCESSFUL NEW YEAR!
LIVE THE LIFE BEAUTIFUL!
BE HAPPY! BE HEALTHY! BE SUCCESSFUL!
TODAY, TOMORROW, FOREVER!