The first of January every year marks a new beginning. It would not be an exaggeration if I say that every new year is like a new birth. As we move into a fresh year, we resolve to complete the unfinished tasks of the previous year, set new goals for ourselves and get rid of our bad habits. There are new plans and new resolutions for the year ahead. The new year gives us renewed strength — we feel excited, elated and inspired. However, at the same time, we experience anxiety and feel unsure of the unknown—the future. After all, we cannot predict the future. We constantly ask ourselves: Is it possible to achieve our goals? Can we quit old bad habits? In a nutshell, we question our ability to change ourselves for the better.

The year 2020 was absolutely a terrible year. Professor Arun Kumar, a veteran economist, in his recent book, Indian Economy’s Greatest Crisis, calls 2020 one of the worst years in the history of mankind. According to him, the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic has caused suffering at a massive scale — there have been job losses, pay cuts and the worst kind of human suffering all around. The situation created by the pandemic, to say the least, is unprecedented. Rajesh Srivastava, a leading management thinker, defines the present situation as disruption, and offers useful insights in his book, The New Rules of Business, to navigate these tough times.

The year 2020 was one we all would like to forget. We are now in 2021, and it is now time for us to think about the future and leave pain as well as suffering behind us. Just as every new year, 2021 is like a blank slate and it is entirely up to us how and what we write on it. The key here, as Seth Godin, the author of many bestselling books, puts it, “embrace the blank”.

Think positive

A year is as good as we make it. To make 2021 a memorable year, we need to treat each day of the new year as a new beginning. Oprah Winfrey once famously said: “Every day brings a chance for you to draw in a breath, kick off your shoes, and dance.” The message, therefore, is treat every day as an opportunity and try to make the most of it. Think positive and attract positive should be your mantra. Feel that you are happier and better than before. Experience the joy of happiness and feel that some great things will happen in your life. Research shows that by adopting positive thinking, you can change your whole perspective towards life: You become more confident, avoid negative thoughts and start expecting success. In other words, you develop a positive attitude towards life. Martin E.P. Seligman, professor of positive psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, and a bestselling author believes that instead of cribbing about the painful past, human beings should focus on what makes their lives complete and fulfilling. Saurabh Mukherjea and Anupam Gupta in their latest book, The Victory Project, highlight the impact of positive and negative events on our lives. They advise that to be happy, we should stop whining and comparing ourselves to others. Instead, we should focus on our own individual lives and find ways to get better at everything we do. In fact, success comes to those, who continuously improve themselves, says Chandramouli Venkatesan in his bestselling book, Get Better at Getting Better.

Use the new year as an opportunity to cultivate the best in you and look for the things that make life worth living. Positive thinking will not only enhance the quality of your emotional experience but also strengthen your ability to achieve the best in life.

Sourced by the correspondent

Be perseverant

Have you ever wondered, why we often fail to keep our new year’s resolutions? It is because motivation and inspiration, which act as the guiding force behind our resolutions, disappear over time. Whenever we embark on a new journey, motivation and inspiration keep us going. However, when we face difficulties and impediments on the way, and if things do not go our way, our enthusiasm starts waning. It is only at this stage that we begin to question whether it is worth pursuing our goals. Hackneyed as it may sound, do not give up! The world of business is replete with numerous success stories. T.N. Hari and Sanjeev Aggarwal in their recently released book, From Pony to Unicorn, discuss how great companies are built. However, just as Rome was not built in a day, it takes time to create great entities. Building a great company is a long-drawn, step-driven process, which requires years of hard work and, more importantly, perseverance. This is exactly what Saurabh Mukherjea trenchantly analyses in his bestseller, The Unusual Billionaires.

Perseverance is a typical trait of all great leaders. Remember what Hotelier Conrad Hilton once said: “Success seems to be connected to action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.” So, don’t give up even on your stupid, little dreams; they all matter. To remain focused, think about the fruits of your labour, that is the satisfaction you will get after achieving your goals. According to positive psychology, people pursue success as it empowers them. It won’t be wrong to say that the sense of accomplishment far exceeds any other sensory pleasure. Read about the people, who have challenged themselves and conquered their fears. I, for instance, draw immense inspiration from the life of Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi. Bachi Karkaria beautifully summarises his life in his biography, Dare to Dream. So, promise yourself that you will keep going in the new year, come what may. Muster self-discipline and persevere with your efforts. There will be failures, but always remember, “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them,” as Walt Disney once rightly said.

Get out of your comfort zone

Human beings are psychologically designed to feel safe in a known environment. In fact, we all crave safety and belonging. However, feeling safe and secure restricts our ability to go beyond our boundaries and do things differently. The comfort zone is nothing but a danger zone. Judith Bardwick, a renowned management thinker, first coined the term “comfort zone” in her 1991 book, Danger in the Comfort Zone: From Boardroom to Mailroom. According to her, “The comfort zone is a behavioral state within which a person operates in an anxiety-neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviors to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without a sense of risk.” People in their comfort zone do not find much incentive in taking their performance to the highest level. They are rather happy with their routines, which lack risk, thus stalling their progress.

Make a commitment that in the new year you will be intrepid enough to get out of your comfort zone and expand your boundaries in search of excellence. Start looking at things differently because when you look at a thing differently you find new ways of doing the same thing. Don’t be afraid of doing things that you have not done earlier. Fully deploy your skills, abilities, attention and strengths to carry out a challenging task. According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, when we completely devote ourselves to the task at hand, we become one with it. This results in a state called “flow”, which is extremely gratifying. When you are in flow you can successfully perform any challenging activity. Since human beings generally resist change it won’t be a surprise if people around you — your friends and family members — doubt your intention and discourage you. In fact, your own mind may cast doubt on your ability to cope with change. However, be prepared to take risks because if you don’t take risks you won’t be able to bring positive change in your life. Jim Rohn’s often-quoted remark is apt for the occasion: “If you are not willing to risk the usual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.”

Your three mantras for the new year should be: think positive, be perseverant and get out of your comfort zone. A new year is a new start. Forget about the past and move on with your life. Make resolutions and plan on fulfilling them. Always think positive and have faith in your ability to carry on despite difficulties and challenges. Nurture and value your relationships as they are fundamental to your well-being and give life purpose and meaning. Don’t forget that human beings are social beings, who find pleasure in connecting with and serving others. Make 2021 the best year of your life. It is you and only you, who can do it. Treat each day of the new year as a fresh start to a more fulfilling and enriched life. Just follow what Charles Kettering, a famous American engineer, once said: “Every time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas and progress.”

The author is a business editor at Penguin Random House India