Book of life - 6

Today marks the completion of the second month of this year; a good time to reflect on the progress of this year's New Year resolutions.

I often heard, one can get motivated by an inspirational story, a book, an incident etc. and get a transformative life experience. While I concur with the former; I would like to disagree with the latter. Despite the wide spread belief, perpetuated through countless biographies and movies, that one profound encounter can create a radical shift, my observations over time have led me to a different conclusion. I think if a single incident transformed everything in a person's life, then its an exception rather than a rule. People typically do not undergo a sudden transformation of their core beliefs simply because someone imparts a compelling message. There needs to be a sustained momentum. 

For e.g. I can watch a motivational movie like 'Rudy' n number of times and still persist in my established ways. I can read 'The Alchemist' cover to cover, enjoy the feel good factor for sometime, and then back to my normal ways. Even bad experience, don't bring in 360 degree transformation. Change, in my view, is not the consequence of a single impactful event but arises from sustained efforts comprising countless endeavors. The reason for this argument is tied to the New Year resolutions I took over past fourteen years. My friend Gokul often jests about my new year pledges and the struggles to hold it over coming months. Earlier, I broke many of these pledges within weeks of taking it; but I was very reluctant to agree on the same. Often I came up with wired justifications that, its not broken. 

Does New Year pledges hold intrinsic value? Can we truly improve ourselves by adhering to principles or embracing a motivational lifestyle? Certainly, but the transformative journey is seldom instantaneous, like the clock strikes midnight and new day starts. Change is a demanding process that necessitates passion, patience, and an incremental approach. Altering habits, for instance, is more effectively achieved through gradual progress, recognizing that setbacks may occur, requiring a restart, but each attempt positions us in a better place.

Reflecting on past years, I may successfully followed a couple of pledges; but rest all are broken at one point of other. However, it's crucial to emphasize that even in instances of perceived failure, New Year pledges did make some improvements in life. Therefore, my advice is to strive for a 100% adherence to your pledges, but if broken, don't be disheartened – you're still in a better place than where you began.

Sajeev