My New Year resolution for 2014 is ...

... to not keep a resolution. Seriously. Why ? Because, every year in December, just as the new year's around the corner, I make some resolutions only to break them within the first 10 days of the new year.

So this year, I have decided - "No more resolutions". Instead, I am going to have a "wish list". 

Source : Google images

A wish list, in so many ways, is similar to a resolution yet different at the same time. Many of my blogger friends have their own wish lists or bucket lists published and I've seen them work towards it successfully. So drawing inspiration from there, I think I should give it a try too. 

Firstly, you get to build your goals in a Work-In-Progress list. You can keep adding on new stuff as and when you like. Secondly, you get to decide by when you wish to accomplish the items on the wish list like in the next year or coming years, so the deadline depends on you entirely. And last but not the least, it's much more inspiring and makes you feel great when you get to strike off items on your wish list.

Now, having my own wish list was something I longed to do much earlier. Something that I regret not doing and putting it off all the past years. I think the main reason behind it was I was afraid of not being able to accomplish it. But this year, I'm not going to let that affect me. If I do 'complete' everything on my wish list, good for me. And if I don't then I just need a pretty good reason for not achieving it. Atleast this way, I'll take out the fear within me and give myself a chance to retrospect on how well/worse this is going.

Having said that, the next question on my mind was - So what do I want on my wish list ? In order to get a head start, I decided to write down the first thoughts that come to my mind - 

• Read at least 25 new books -
  2013 was pretty disastrous in terms of my reading. On one hand my reading challenge never got completed while on the other, I read few books but didn't bother to keep track of them. Since I don't want to repeat that next year, I am starting with a small target and hope to achieve a little bit more than with every passing year. Fingers crossed on that one.
• Write a book review - 
  Another item which has been on my mind for quite some time, I think it's high time to give it a shot. 
• Lose weight - 
  Now that the post-pregnancy phase is slowly returning to normal, I want to lose weight and firstly return to my pre-pregnancy weight. Once that's achieved, focus on managing a healthy weight. This also means that I am going to stick to more healthier foods and stay from junk food altogether.
• Stay away from chocolates and caffeine - 
  Ok ok, you can remove that "who-is-she-kidding" look from your face. You know what, even I feel like I'm gonna cave in on this item in the first few days. Maybe I'll grab a cup of Joe or sneak on a choco once or twice but this item stays on my wish list :) Stay tuned to see how I fare.
• Control my anger - 
  This year has been pretty much disappointing in terms of controlling my emotions. Blame it on my pregnancy hormones or not, I think I can do much better if I stay away from certain people and situations in order to not get affected. 'Forgive and forget' will be my motto to help me be on track. :)
• Visit at least 3 new states in the US - 
  This is going to be a joint item on my and LP's wish list. After our last relocation from Illinois to New Jersey, we really haven't got a chance to do much long-distance sightseeing. So 2014 will be the year to break that jinx and do some serious exploring. Can't wait for it.
• Learn to read and write a new language - 
  Out of the 4 languages that I know, I can't read or write in 2 of them. So I am going to work on that in 2014.
• Learn classical music - 
  Ever since childhood, my mom has struggled to teach me classical music. Unfortunately it never took off and I always ended up learning just the basic notes. Also, this was at a time when I was not too keen on learning the art. However, as the years flew by, I noticed that the desire to learn music grew stronger and stronger in my heart. It's reached such a point where I long to nurture this art. So this goes into my wish list for sure. 

Obviously, this is not a very exhaustive list but it's a decent start. This list will soon make its way as a separate page on this blog for better tracking.

Now you tell me, what's your resolution for 2014 ? Or do you have a wish list like mine ?

Your's truly,