3 Life-changing Goals For 2014
Though we are more than 10 days into the New Year, I hope I can still talk about the goals, right? I choose to call them simply ‘goals’ rather than ‘parenting goals’, but each one of them, if pursued passionately, will have profound impact on my life as a parent.
1. Go Slow: Since my son started school recently [a week, to be precise], technically I am supposed to be having more time on hand. So, this should have been the year when I could have stepped up my professional commitments. But I feel, at 2.5 years, my son is at a really interesting age. He is delightfully curious all the time. This is the age when he is actually able to frame his questions well and anticipate an articulate response. [What is ‘shadow?’ What is ‘miss?’ What is ‘option?’]. By choosing to be a stay-at-home-mom and by choosing to delegate a few household chores, I have consciously slowed down my pace of living.
This year I would want to slow down further by being more mindful of the moment. I think it is a unique challenge of our times when everything is moving at an incredible pace, it takes a resolution to give life a break. So, I will intentionally let go of the temptations to commit to professional work and live a more fulfilling life. I would consciously take time to enjoy the little things in everyday life and focus on things which are far more important like health and fitness. When you are also not thinking about 10 other things to complete, you are more patient. And honestly, multitasking is a myth.
2. Explore Minimalism: I want to break away from a materialistic mentality to a minimalistic mindset. I usually don’t hoard too many things but there are always those clothes which I might wear some day or books which have been read [and I would never re-read them]. Moreover, it is not just about hoarding, it is also about not buying unnecessarily. When you choose minimalism, you choose to look beyond consumerism too. For example, what is the most usual way of spending a weekend for a middle class family in cities? Go to the Mall. Invariably, you end up buying stuff and eating unhealthy food. And we get so used to doing it that we have started calling shopping as ‘therapy’ or ‘instant pick-me-up’. This year I would make efforts to explore world beyond the glitzy Malls and Multiplexes. The toddler and I also need to join a Library and do justice to it.
3. Disconnect: I have never really been into Apps and latest technology. We already have a no-TV household and we hardly ever listen to the radio. Now that I wrote it, I feel like we are living in the Stone Age! But Jokes apart, this article was really the last push I needed, and I uninstalled all the Apps on my Smartphone. Honestly speaking, these Apps are big time-guzzlers. Every few seconds the mobile pings and we are tempted to check it. They don’t add value to our lives. I would not miss a thing if I did not get a few inconsequential messages or some random jokes on Whastapp or if I checked my mail a little later in the day. Nothing is really that urgent.
It is not uncommon to find husbands and wives busy checking their phones while complaining about not spending enough time with each other. The use of gadgets has also been linked to increasing stress and fatigue. Moreover, it is our own addiction to these gizmos that rub-off on our kids. It is time to break free. We must learn to let technology work for us and not the other way round.
Remember these are my goals for this year, and I am really quite far from achieving them. But these are the changes that I want to pursue, and each one of them has the power to be life-changing.
So what are your goals for the year – parenting or otherwise?
Reema Sahay is a Stay-At-Home-Mom, Freelance Writer, Voracious Reader, Passionate Blogger, Social Media Enthusiast, Internet Junkie and Ex-Marketing Communication Professional. She spends her days running after her very curious toddler, ‘the star’, and catching up on books when he naps. She writes about charms and challenges of life at Pen Paper and shares her passion for books at Recommend Books. She sometimes feels that her 5.5 years stint in Marketing Communication was in another life.
