This is the first article of the new year, after Diwali, so first of all, happy new year to all readers. I pray that the new year will bring happiness, prosperity, health and peace in your lives. What will you do in the coming year? Everyone has many desires and aspirations from life. People also strive to accomplish them. Some attempts succeed and some remain incomplete. As our time and energy are limited, it is an art to use them in a way so to get maximum results. To live a balanced life, it is necessary to co-develop four important pillars of life and these four pillars are: health, career, family and spirituality. These four aspects I call pillars because none of them should be neglected. If you want to set five important targets in the new year, you need to think about the following things:
Thirty-minute walk
People do different types of exercise according to their age. But walking is an exercise that people of all ages can do. Half an hour of daily open-air walk not only enhances physical fitness but also improves conceptual and mental richness. Why? Because by walking in the open sphere, we see trees, birds and the open sky and they make our mind happy. Our thoughts become positive when we see refreshing scenes. So walking in the open fields improves physical and mental health.
Reading one book a month
Nowadays, people spend a lot of time on TV and mobile so it may not be possible to read one book a week but reading one book a month will also allow you to read a dozen books throughout the year. This target is said to be very small but completing it is also an achievement. If you haven't read a single book in the last two months, this target is right for you. And if you have read two books in the last two months, you can aim to read two books a month instead of one. Choose books from different fields. One can decide to read four or five novels, one or two short storybooks, three or four books on society, politics or science and one or two autobiographies or biographies.
Call a friend or relative on their birthday
Wish personal friends and relatives by calling them on their birthday. In the age of copy-paste messages, we are wishing everyone on Facebook and WhatsApp. If you have time, call for five minutes and try to convey greetings to your loved ones. It may not be convenient for a person to receive your call at midnight, so call at a time when s/he is comfortable. If possible, you can call a day in advance so that you do not interrupt the birthday planning. Remember not to make the call longer than five minutes.
Skip a meal once a week
We are not suffering from malnutrition but from obesity and over-eating. In the age of fast and junk food, we have almost forgotten about nutritious food. So the nutritionist's advice is to skip one meal at least once a week and allow the body to relax. That is why all religions have given importance to fasting at least once a week. It is better to give the body some relief from the task of digesting food three times a day. and sometimes even more.
Take out time to rest
It has become our daily routine to keep running, to work and not to rest the body and mind at all. It exhausts both body and mind. Give some time every day when we are not doing any physical activity, TV, mobile or any other activity. Close your eyes, spread your legs and sit in a comfortable chair. One of the purposes of meditation is to calm the body and mind, but nowadays people take meditation also as a task! Therefore, it is better to give rest to the body and brain for some time. So these five activities are so simple that one can ask the question as to why we need to plan them?. But when did you last do any of these five activities? The answer is clear.
(Expressed opinions are personal).
