11 New Year Resolutions for Senior Citizens!

The New Year is around the corner and it is time for thinking of those resolutions again! Whether you resolve to be fitter and healthier, connect more socially or to tick off some points on your bucket list, this is a time to take stock of the year gone by and to think of the year ahead.

Given below are some thoughts and you could consider adding some or all to your list of New Year resolutions.

Eat better for your Health

Take your health into your hands. Change your eating pattern. Take baby steps toward eating right. After all, if you have been careless with your food habits, you cannot change these overnight.

Less fats, more fibre with a healthier mix of fruits, vegetables and nuts is always advisable for most people. As seniors, it becomes even more important and relevant for us to regulate our diet. Eat smaller meals more often. Most experts recommend eating 5 times a day but with reduced quantities. As some wise people say “stop eating just before you are full!” Others say that at least half of your plate should be fruits and vegetable.

Add a mix of vitamins and supplements to your diet to balance what you are not receiving through your normal diet.

Remember that eating better is the only answer to reducing your weight.

Find a New, Healthy Activity

As we get older, whether or not we have been active earlier, now it is much more important to be active. Build exercise or yoga into your daily routine. A round of tennis or golf, a brisk walk for at least 30 minutes every day (150 minutes per week of walking is the minimum recommended), yogic breathing exercises, swimming or cycling would be great to get into your daily schedule.

I have met several seniors who have started running and competing with people of their own age. In the process of staying fit, they have also found a whole new community of like-minded and passionate friends. It is best to experiment and find the right activity for your personality and activity level.

Complete some points in your Bucket List

Give yourself a break. You have earned this. Over the years, all of us have been adding to our bucket list. This list has kept getting longer since we were not able to find the time during our work life.

Resolve to tick off at least two significant items on your bucket list in the coming year.

Connect More with Friends and Family

Re-establish old connections that you lost while you were busy at work. Don’t wait for someone else to take the first step. Once start to reach out to your family and friends, you will be surprised at how much warmth you will receive.  

Weekly lunches or coffee mornings with a group of friends, WhatsApp or Skype calls with your family members spread across the World are great ways of re-connecting. Time spent talking and laughing with those that mean the most is time well spent.

Reduce your belongings

Resolve to clean out your closets and your home. Think of the difference between “want” and “need” before you start this exercise. Keep things you need and give away those you want. This may sound philosophical but try and give away whatever you have not used for the past one year. Your challenge will always be “what if” you suddenly need the item again. If you decide to give it away, keep this as an active resolution till the next year and then assess whether you felt the need for the item(s) you gave away. Chances are that you will never miss these items.

In addition, this will start a process of de-cluttering your belongings and clearing up your home over a period of time.

Brush Up on New Technology

Technology, as you are well aware, is changing our World. If you have not already understood the many forms of communication and connection through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube and so many others it is time to do so now. Get familiar with the operating systems of your phones and other devices. Learn and understand these platforms since more and more of our lives will revolve around applications being developed on such platforms and around such communication medium.

To brush-up your own knowledge and skills, there are on-line tutorials for every possible question that you may have. You can also request a younger person at home or in your neighbourhood to tutor you.

Tell Your Story

You have had a wonderful and fulfilling life and now is the time to tell your story. Write your blog and publish it on a daily or weekly basis. Think of all the anecdotes in your life and write about these. Think of the milestones in your career and the time you spent as a child and record these. Think of your parents and your extended family and store these memories carefully in writing.

If you are not comfortable with writing out your blogs, dictate these into your mobile phone. Most phones now have the feature of “voice to text” which should quickly convert your voice recording. If this too does not work, send the recording to anyone who will transcribe it for a very small fees. A dictated blog will also preserve your voice for posterity.

Not only will this record your own memories and thoughts, this could also become a record of your family history for the future generations.

Give your brain a workout

The more you exercise your brain, like your body, the stronger it will be. Remember that diseases of the brain like Dementia and Alzheimer’s are increasing.

Read more and beyond your daily newspaper. Join or start discussion groups on subjects that interest you. Try Sudoko, Chess, QuizUp or Scrabble. All these games are available free on your smart phone. Play online with people you do not know and compete with the best. Nothing prevents you from becoming the best in the region or for that matter in the World, using your brain and not brawn power.

Once you take the lead you will find lots of followers who want to play with you but were hesitant to take the lead.

Remove negativity and anxiety from your life

Life is too short and at our stage in life, we are already on the “back nine” of a round of golf! Now is the time to remove all the negativity we have carried inside us about family, friends and the World in general. All this negativity is only hurting ourselves.

If you are feeling anxious about someone or something, speak about it to your family and friends. Bottling this up inside you will only make it more challenging to deal with.

Resolve to celebrate the little joys that you will have and don’t hold back.

Get enough sleep

Most people seem to believe in a myth that as you get older you need lesser sleep. Nothing is farther away from the truth. If you are sleeping late or getting up very early, stay in bed longer than you normally would have and soon you will be sleeping longer and waking up much more rested. Avoid your daytime nap in the early days till your night time sleeping pattern becomes normal. Then you can easily go back to your power siesta as well!

Get regular medical check-ups

Monitor, manage and record your blood pressure, your blood sugar and your weight in a regular systematic manner. If you don’t have any of these challenges, consider yourself blessed. It is necessary for you to get annual medical check-ups done and if you did not get a checkup this year, resolve to undergo a comprehensive check up in the New Year.

Finally, as you celebrate during this festive season with your loved ones, raise a toast to the coming year, but with a smaller glass!

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The author is a Business and Executive Coach, a Storyteller and an Angel Investor. He hosts the highly successful podcast titled The Brand Called You. A keen political observer and commentator, he is also the founder Chairman of Guardian Pharmacies. He is the author of 6 best-selling books and writes for several online newspapers.

Watch our podcasts at www.tbcy.in | www.equationcoaching.com

• Twitter: @gargashutosh
• Instagram: ashutoshgarg56
• Blog: ashutoshgargin.wordpress.com | ashutoshgarg56.blogspot.com

Lessons from State Elections – Will the BJP Learn?

 

                                                                   Courtesy: News18

One more election loss in Jharkhand after Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and barely scraping through in Haryana.

It seems that losing elections at the States has become a habit that the BJP is not being able to reverse. State leaders keep satisfying themselves by saying that they are the “largest party” in the state. Justifying performance with an increased or similar vote share is relevant only if you the victor otherwise it seems like “sour grapes”.

BJP state leaders must remember the old line “no one remembers who came second”.

Nothing is more brutal or painful than coming second in politics.

It will do well for the BJP leadership at the state level, while going through their “chintan baithaks” to analyse the reasons for consistently not making it past the winning post in the last several elections despite a resounding victory in the Lok Sabha elections.

Let us look at some of the reasons the BJP has been losing the plot in so many state elections.

Lok Sabha Elections are different from State Elections

The message that is coming through loud and clear after the various state elections is that the Indian voter has now become far more discerning than the politicians thought they were. The voters are willing to now recognise that they want leader a who addresses National issues at the Centre. However, they want a different leader who addresses their local issues, who can help to resolve their daily challenges. State chief ministers cannot keep talking about National Security issues, Pakistan, India's international reputation or India's large Foreign Exchange Reserves.

The Chief Ministers have to perform. Too much reliance is being placed on the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. Yes, they are leaders of the BJP, and their presence definitely boosts the party’s prospects. But their charisma can do very little with the voters if the state leadership is not performing. This evident from several sitting Chief Ministers of the BJP losing the elections.

At the end of the day we are back to who addresses the basic needs of the people which are simply – Roti, Kapda Aur Makaan. It is a pity that these 3 basic requirements have still not been met across the entire country after 72 years post-independence. This commitment to be delivered to the people no matter what it costs, irrespective of which party that maybe in power in a State.

Is Corruption Back in the States?

The voters have trusted the Prime Minister with his famous comment “na khaunga na khane dunga”. The voters trust him and know that he is absolutely clean. This is why they have reposed their trust with an unprecedented second term with a larger mandate.

While the BJP government at the centre is seen as the cleanest the country has seen for a very long time, the same story is clearly not being heard in the several States where the BJP has lost power in the last few elections. There is talk of corruption at states and the general comment is that the BJP government in the Sate is no different from earlier Congress or Regional Governments.

If corruption is back, then the election results should not be a surprise.

Anti-Incumbency

Anti-incumbency is always one of the reasons why parties lose elections. But when the loss is wiping out the significant games that the party has seen at the national level then the reason for the loss goes beyond anti-incumbency.

It would be interesting to analyse the performance of all the sitting MLA’s who have lost the elections. Have all these local leaders delivered on the promises they made to their constituencies in the previous elections? Have they remained in touch with their voters? Or did they, like most politicians, starting pontificating and blaming from their ivory towers once they were elected?

Only when their elected representatives are not performing will any voter take the decision to vote for someone else. This is the harsh reality and must be accepted by all.

The Opposition is Coming Together

Opposition parties are coming together and though their ideologies are completely different, most of them are willing to bury the hatchet, forget their diverse ideologies and come together on a single platform of defeating the BJP at all costs. They have realised that a united opposition could create the wedge they have been looking for to prise open the ranks of the BJP.

To all these parties, delivering on the promises made in the diverse manifestos of these parties is not relevant at this stage. These parties know that their differences will certainly become an issue in the next few years. However, they would have achieved their short-term objective of slowing the BJP juggernaut.

What this will do to governance in the States that are now being run by coalition Governments is yet to be seen. But that is another subject altogether.

Infighting in the BJP

Infighting in the BJP is clearly increasing.

It is a pity that State leaders, instead of working together are busy destroying their opponents. If this is happening at the top, then it is certainly percolating down the ranks.

Are these differences cropping up because the BJP has, indiscriminately admitted various opposition leaders who simply wanted to “jump ship” and join the rising star of the BJP? It would be interesting to see what happens when most of these leaders who had crossed over now look for opportunities to go back. Once they are back in their original party, they will become a thorn in the side of the BJP.

Or is it because, like the Congress and other opposition parties, BJP leaders have also become prima donnas? Are these BJP leaders also forgetting that they too are mere mortals who can be defeated if they don't perform?

Clearly, the voter is turning away from the BJP not because they have changed loyalties to the other parties who they have rejected in the past. They are doing this because they are disappointed with the BJP leadership at the State. Unless this changes, the saffron colour from the map of India will keep reducing.

Can the BJP reinvent itself in the states as it has done at the centre fast enough for the forthcoming elections in Delhi, Bihar and West Bengal?

Will the voter see BJP as the party with a difference, with very different standards of ethics or will they see the party as just another party that can be tossed aside if they are not performing.

Only time will tell.

*******************

The author is a Business and Executive Coach, a Storyteller and an Angel Investor. He hosts the highly successful podcast titled The Brand Called You. A keen political observer and commentator, he is also the founder Chairman of Guardian Pharmacies. He is the author of 6 best-selling books and writes for several online newspapers.

Watch our podcasts at www.tbcy.in | www.equationcoaching.com

• Twitter: @gargashutosh
• Instagram: ashutoshgarg56
• Blog: ashutoshgargin.wordpress.com | ashutoshgarg56.blogspot.com

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