Take time to heal what’s broken

I absolutely love the outdoors and even a small walk outside makes me escape the monotony of life, allowing me to get lost in the beauty of the outside world. Sometimes, the outside noise you hear when walking through the streets of a busy city seems to quieten the train of thoughts that flood your mind. When you are a person who just can’t sit idle for a long time in the confines of your home, life sure does seem difficult when you are stuck at home for a long period. Hence, being able to step out of my apartment after almost a month due to a leg injury surely felt like a huge deal!

However, it has led me to tell myself that it’s okay to let life change gears and set it on “cruise control” mode for a while. Generally, when a driver feels exhausted, they can set the car on cruise mode which controls the speed of the car and maintains a constant speed. Whatever you want to do in this life and whatever you are currently doing, gets affected if you don’t focus on your health first. Being sick takes a toll on you physically and mentally. January being the start of a new year, just like the majority of people out there, I was pumped up to begin this year with a bang. Life seemed to have other plans for me. However, I took this time to focus on healing my injured leg so that it heals faster and catching up on some tv shows I had been meaning to watch.

With one of my goals for this year being getting healthier, I haven’t been able to exercise right from the second day of this year. Life has been slower. But the only option for me was to rest and let my leg heal, so that I would be up and running soon. Jumping into the 2nd month of this year (not literally :P), all I can say is, if any of you are having a rough start like me, we still have the rest of the year to hustle. Whatever you’re going through, it’s okay to take some time off to heal from it. I am not just talking physical injuries, but mental trauma too. Our mind and body need time to process the curveballs life throws at us. Get some rest, relax for a while, get back on your feet and chase your goals with all you’ve got.

New year, Better me

I am one of those people who rarely go out to celebrate New Year’s eve. Most of my life, I’ve fallen asleep even before the clock struck midnight. But after entering the somewhat grown up phase of life, I began to see it is for what it is – a reason to celebrate the start of something new. It is also a great way to assess what you did last year, look for growth opportunities, let go of the bad habits or cutback on them and have a rough draft of how you want the upcoming year to look like. The beginning of a new year gives you an opportunity to have something to look forward to for the rest of the year. Well, I may be late to the party, but here I am!

Ditching the new year clichés like ‘New year, new me’, I now look forward to ‘New year, better me’. This entails that with the start of a new year, I don’t need to change into a completely different version of myself. A lot of us don’t really want to turn into a whole different person. I would rather do things that would turn me into a better version of myself and even if you like where you are at right now, there’s always an opportunity to learn, to grow.

Previously, a new year meant creating multiple resolutions that I generally lost track of in the first two weeks itself. Most of the times, I didn’t even bother to get back to them fearing it was already too late to begin. As I had mentioned in one of my previous posts, this blog itself had lost track because I had failed to follow-through on my yearly resolutions to write more. However, a few years later, I realized that all I needed was a start. Even if it wasn’t on the first day of the year, what mattered was to write, to finish an article and post it. Once I got into the rhythm of it, the next step was consistency.

Even today, procrastination gets the better of me on a lot of days. But let me tell you a secret, sometimes, all that matters is showing up. Build little by little. Because at the end of the day, even a small step means you’re improving, going ahead rather than being stagnant. I still dream of posting at least one blog every day. Even though I haven’t gotten there, I have also realized it’s okay to take small breaks or even long ones. What matters is, not letting go of the things that you really want in life. Which is why, here I am again, hoping to write more this year!

Here’s to looking forward to a healthier (COVID-free), happier (inside-out) and flourishing year ahead!

New Year, Upgraded Me.

The start of a new year acts as a cue to hit the reset button in our lives. We see this as an opportunity to reassess our lives and find things we would want to get done in the upcoming year. However, rather than the cliched “New Year, New Me”, I’m more of a “New Year, Upgraded Me” kind of a person. I feel that you don’t need to uproot your whole life right away in the name of change. But what we can do, is choose to focus on things we’ve been wanting to achieve since so long and tackle it one day at a time.

Also, I believe it’s important for these “resolutions” we set to be realistic as well. I remember when I used to try to quantify these resolutions just to feel like I’m achieving something. And a week later into the new year, I used to forget about them because they felt far-fetched. However, I feel it’s more helpful if you choose a niche you really wanna improve at and give it your honest try. Change takes time. For example, instead of directly trying to cut out sugar from your diet, why not focus on being healthy first? Find a diet plan that’s going to help you stay fit and gradually decrease your sugar consumption .

This blog, too, was a part of my last year’s goals. And well, here I am! Finally after years of convincing myself that I need to start writing again rather than just talking about it, I finally did find the strength to do it. During previous years, I had set a goal of writing one blog post a day and I failed in doing so. So instead, now I chose to focus on getting into the habit of writing first. I can now choose the frequency of my posts because I can anticipate the amount of time and efforts it takes to finish up everything.

So, whatever you are working on or want to, keep going. You don’t have to take the giant leap of faith every time. Sometimes, even one baby step towards your goal is all you need to get going. It’s only the first month of this year. So, even if everything is not going according to your plans, you still have the rest of the year ahead of you. Don’t give up now thinking it’s already the end of January, rather, focus on utilizing the remainder of your time. Trust me, it’s never too late to start something. Just go for it!

Chasing sunsets.

We were literally chasing after this sunset during our drive through the Florida Keys. Our phones showed that the sunset was in 10 minutes and so we started running towards the point where we could see the sun going down. Later, I just sat on one of the stones nearby watching the beauty unfold. I couldn’t help but think about the magic of this universe and how it just naturally paints the whole sky with all these vivid colors. I purposely chose not to add any filters to this picture because the twilight sky did a pretty good job here!

With the start of a new year, I hope you all too, chase after real happiness, run towards things that brighten up your life and run away from those that suck the light out of you. I hope you find work that motivates you and takes you one step further towards your life’s purpose. And most importantly, I hope you’re surrounded by people who bring out the best colors in you and genuinely make a conscious effort to be a part of your life. Choose people who choose you and hug them a little harder next time!

This past year was really a roller-coaster ride of events and emotions. But, it also helped me to re-evaluate things I never really had time to ponder over. Mostly importantly, it has taught me that happiness is a choice. So when things go awry, if we begin to focus on the positive things in life and let go of all the things beyond our control, life does seem simple and less complicated. And whatever you’re chasing towards, don’t forget to cherish the little joys of life! 💫

PS: I’m finally back to blogging after a two-week break in Florida. This picture was taken at the Bahia Honda Key in Florida Keys. I already miss the Southern warmth in this New York cold. Looking forward to creating and writing more this year. ✨
Happy New Year folks! 🎈