How To Make 2008 a Better Year Than 2007

These are some tips to bring a new perspective into your life during the new year. There are several simple but effective changes that we can make to enable the new year to bring in real change and new opportunities.

Be Bold

Don’t spend another year sitting on the fence. Don’t spend your time complaining about little things. Look to the bigger picture and be willing to follow your heart’s aspirations, don’t be limited by the mind’s doubts and criticisms of other people. Being bold doesn’t mean being reckless; being bold means that we do things with confidence; it means that we live true to ourselves and avoid living upto the expectations of others. Being Bold means to value life and live life to the full

He who does not love life,
To him life is a taut
And rigid grasp.
He who loves life,
To him life is a beautiful
And powerful clasp.

Sri Chinmoy

Decide the Balance that you need in life.

We cannot underestimate the importance of balance in our daily activities. If we give all importance to earning money, we may get a lot of money; but, have no opportunity to spend time with our family. Similarly, if we have a habit of taking life too seriously, it is important to give more time to activities that create joy. When we take life too seriously, our mind comes to the fore with many complaints and judgements.

Make A Dream Come True

If you have dreams and aspirations, you always think are not possible – why not resolve to make them come true? We can always find excuses not to start something; the mind will always give a long list of complaints and grievances. But, also if we want to do something special we have to have the confidence and faith to give it a go. Don’t fear failure, you have nothing to lose.

“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. “

George Bernard Shaw

Get Up Earlier

Time is precious. If you can get up earlier in the morning, there are many potential things that you will now be able to do. If you can get up early in the morning, you can use this time to practise meditation, yoga or take exercise. Often the mind and body are lethargic, taking longer amounts of sleep than necessary. Get into the habit of getting up earlier, especially at the weekend. Once you get used to the extra time, you won’t want to lose it.

Make an effort to be Kind.

Sometimes the most significant changes we need to make are the simplest. Being kind to others does not necessarily require lots of words and speeches. Often we can be kind, just be avoiding saying unpleasant things. If we are willing to be considerate of others unconditionally, we will find that over time people will seek to reciprocate this action. But, the main reason for being kind to others is not the hope that we will get favours back. The main motivation for being considerate to all is that we gain satisfaction from doing the right thing and bring to the fore our best qualities. Virtue is its own reward.

Get Rid of 3 Unnecessary Desires

We all have many desires, some more illumined than others. The fulfillment of our desires, will not necessarily make 2008 a better year; inevitably when one desire is fulfilled, two come in its place. Instead try to gain happiness from your current situation, whatever it may be. Try to minimise 3 unnecessary desires; by reducing desires we will gain increased simplicity in life. This offers a real opportunity to gain more satisfaction.

Begin 3 Good Habits

If it is hard to overcome bad habits, just concentrate on the positive – cultivating good habits. Starting good habits is often the best way to overcome bad habits. It is more effective when we concentrate on the positive, rather than the negative. For example, if you have difficulty losing weight through eating, why not try to start a new habit of daily exercise.

Photo by Ambarish, Sri Chinmoy Centre Galleries