How to make 2023 your best year yet

Santa Claus has climbed chimneys, spread some wintry cheer and left humans with a smile on their faces, hoping for a great new year ahead. With the countdown to a brand new year in motion, we have bid adieu to the old one. Complete with all its hits and misses, the old year has slowly bowed out, leaving us with a bittersweet feeling. Rest, rejuvenate, travel, party, spend time with the family, whatever it is that you have planned to do next, just make one thing certain – let this year be your best year yet.

Soulveda finds ways to make this year your best year yet. Live it up while being true to yourself. Choose self-care and self-love over the noise. And understand what really matters in the big picture.

Travel more

There are very few things that are as exciting as travelling. Unfortunately, a lot of us have been stuck indoors or in our own cities due to the pandemic and travelling has taken a backseat. But let the new year be a bright new start to exploring again.

But remember to choose new experiences this time round. Instead of the typical tourist spots, go for the forest stay where you get to see that rare bird or animal of India. Choose a mountain range known for its hamlets and monasteries. Go for that long trek that you have always dreaded taking due to fear of heights. In simple terms, make your travelling count by doing something interesting instead of going the usual touristy route like most people do every other year.

Do not multi-task

This is something that has taken me years to figure, but doing a lot of things at once doesn’t help ace any of them. There was a time I would write, talk to my colleagues, listen to music and also read up news on other tabs open on my computer. As the years passed, I kept multi-tasking more and more, the tasks becoming increasingly bigger in nature. Babysitting, helping in the kitchen, talking on the phone, keeping the laptop on for work, it went on and on till too many things added up and resulted in me suffering from anxiety. I realized I was as they say, a mess. When I did start to sort out the way I work and cut out multi-tasking from my daily routine, I found my work got better. Most importantly, my stress levels reduced and mental wellbeing got better.

So to have my best new year till date, I have decided to quit multi-tasking. Having a routine that informs me of my work for the next day and doing only what I have assigned for that day will be my mantra. Of course, some days will have pressing work or emergencies and one has to consider those exceptions. But on most days of the week, I will refrain from multi-tasking. The idea is to savour every work done, value every meeting and enjoy each moment, little or big.

Go for that big dream

No new year’s resolution is complete without a big goal that everybody including you thinks is impossible. It may be very realistic and achievable if you set it into smaller, monthly goals but while making a list of new years resolutions right at the beginning, it seems like a mammoth task to accomplish. But that is exactly what we are urging you to go for!

Write that book you have always wanted to. Visit your grandfather’s roots in a different country. Return to Hindi classical musical training and finish the degree. Discuss and work for the overseas promotion you have always eyed but never found the courage to ask for.

Remember, doing any of these glorious things this coming year will require us to show up at our best. Work with full focus if we want that promotion. Make time in one’s week to fit in music, writing or dance classes. Plan for that trip in advance and prepare for every possible situation while in a new place. The coming year will be a landmark year if you get to pull the unachievable. So aim big and tick off that fabulous goal in 2023!

Learn to say No

The art of saying no is an important one not just for the coming year but for a lifetime. It is a very hard thing to do at first, but once you start practicing it frequently, you will discover its amazing benefits.

Saying no may seem like an anti-thesis, but picture this; when you say yes to something trivial, you say no to something important. So in the new year, learn to pick and choose. Say no to things that don’t feel right after thinking them over. Also say no to being imposed upon, if your time is being stretched or divided too finely by a work or commitment. See how the coming year becomes the best kind when you understand the true value of your time and talent.

The act of saying no also brings with it more time for things that soothe one’s mind and soul. We will find time to rest, relax and get a good 8 hours of sleep more regularly in the coming year once we remove all that is unnecessary from our routine.

New years resolutions may sound cliché, but they have stood the test of time and tradition. These goals make us take stock of what is important in life while also discarding what’s unnecessary. However, we tend to go hard on ourselves when we can’t stick to our goals. So learn to take a slightly healthier approach to keeping new years resolutions by choosing few, select ones. And remember to make some super important goals that make you a better, happier person – by giving yourself some leeway when things don’t work out, by prioritizing your health and wellbeing when chaos tends to threaten you and by loving yourself with all you got.

As the millennials say, you only live once!