You start with emotional fasting. There's no point in making new year resolutions when we don't flush out the underlying issues.
1. Minimise the time you spend on watching and reading the news. By all means get an overview of what’s going on but don’t indulge. To know what’s going on in the world and to have an objective view of it, we can be more effective in deciding what we can do, or are willing to do. But to indulge will make us unnecessarily sad, angry, frustrated, and distressed. Compassion is empathy and sadness with a limit. When we go over that limit, we cease to be helpful to anyone. Not only that, but it’s harmful to ourselves.
It’s time to examine why we are overly emotional about something. We’ll see a more balance picture about ourselves. When we’re calm, we hear the wisdom inside of us, and our understanding of how the world works, how life works increases because deep down our soul knows everything. We just have to delete all the noise outside.
2. Stop engaging in arguments physically, or on social media. Instead, observe without judging. You’ll have a clearer mind when you observe others. This is because it’s very hard to look at ourselves. I’m not saying to judge others, I’m saying observe them and then relate their behaviour to your own. Very often you’ll see that both sides are arguing from their ego. The ego is the biggest stumbling block to awakening.
After eliminating the external noise, you can absorb positive and healthy emotional nutrients in the coming year. There are just 2 things you need to do. But do them diligently.
1. Treat yourself like you’d treat a good friend. You know they’re not better than you. You know they’re flawed human beings too, and yet you’re kind and compassionate to them. So why don’t you do that for yourself? Why hold yourself to a higher standard?
Imagine you’re that person who’s your good friend. How would you talk to them? How would you advise them laugh with them or take care of them when they need your support? Do that for yourself.
2. Have forward moving internal dialogues with yourself. Acknowledge a mistake you’ve made, and move on to the solution. This has 3 benefits. You’re teaching yourself to be more forgiving. You’re replacing the voices of other people who belittle you, ridicule you or scold you. And thirdly, you're training yourself to see that many mistakes have simple solutions if you stopped focusing on the mistake itself, and instead, on the solution.
So, that’s it. Just do these 4 things. If you do it diligently, I guarantee you your mind will be so clean and spacious, your soul can finally breath. And all the other resolutions will just fall into place effortlessly. Well, over time if course. Just don’t be caught up in the resolutions themselves. Focus on the foundation, which is a clean empty space, that’s where healthy habits grow.
Remember, big changes happen effortlessly when you make the small changes.
All the best. I wish you a Happy, fulfilling and spiritually rewarding 2024!