What do you think about 'New Year's resolution'?: What are your resolutions for 2020?

By Jophen Lama 

“Am I the only one who has mixed feelings when it comes to making New Year resolutions?”, I thought, as I sat on a chair in the balcony, feeling the cold breeze of a brand new year. I realized I have never made a resolution in 20 years of my life. Then, there was a whiff of determination: 2020 had to be a special one. So, I took out a notepad and some colorful pens to keep it interesting. Even though I drafted my New Year resolutions, I wanted to know what the other students of AUW thought about it. So, I took the chance and asked two of my friends for their opinions. 

Pema Yangzom: New Year  resolution is a very good idea, but what is more important are the intentions when you’re drafting them and working according to them. I recently attended a workshop by Jay Shetty about resolutions and he said that resolutions don’t work a lot of times, but it’s about intentions. There are five intentions: active, attention, attitude, action, and one that I can’t remember. He was trying to convey that even though we set so many resolutions, if we don’t follow them and are not consistent, these resolutions will only remain as resolutions till the end of the year. We should have good intentions, like the five he mentioned, in order to accomplish them. So, I think making resolutions is a good thing, but it will be relevant only if we are determined to follow them throughout the year instead of giving up after a week or a month. 

My first resolution of 2020 is to learn Bangla. Second is to finish reading three books, towards which I’ve already read two books and I have only one to go. And the third one is to improve my way of thinking and stay positive. I have a lot more, but these three are the major ones.  

Riya Chakma: Every year in December, I used to make a long list for the upcoming New Year's resolution. The reason why I used to do that is because I wished to accomplish something and I wished things to be better than in the previous year. However, I could never follow my New Year resolutions, as a lot of things get changed over a  year. No one can tell fortune and everyday is a new day. This harsh reality can make you do things that you were never supposed to do.  In fact, resolutions are broad and vague, which is why most people tend to fail. One may argue how do you move towards success if you don't have "Resolutions" to become successful and achieve something, we can set goals rather than making resolutions as goals are more specific and actionable. Thus, this year I do not have any New Year resolutions, but I have my goals which will keep me moving forward.