2013: No Resolutions. Just Follow the Es

Another year has come to an end. The lesser said of the year that has gone by, the better it is. 

Once again, we have stepped onto the pedestal of the first day, which will be the harbinger for the rest of the 364 days that lie ahead. We will once again have to start with a clean slate. 

As humans, the eternal optimists that we are, once again there will be New Year Resolutions that will be formed all around, only to wither with the passage of time. The biggest flaw in a Resolution is that it usually gets broken because there is a leash or a constraint of not doing something and as soon as you do that, the Resolution dissolves in thin air. 

I realized this last year itself and committed to not putting Resolutions in place but rather going for something that does not have the fear of getting broken. I flipped the whole concept of a Resolution into something where the more I do something the more I gain rather than constraining myself from doing something. 

I devised a model for myself, which I call the ‘E Model’ as everything that I would like to do in a year can be easily encapsulated in this model. This is a dynamic model and keeps evolving every year, basis my needs. (Did you also notice the use of E words in the last two sentences…just to warm you guys to the E Model that is going to be explained J ) 

Following are the key points of the E Model for 2013 for me: 

1. Extraction: To learn something new, it is critical to extract maximum possible from various sources. 2013 will also be a year of reading, learning and evolving. Extraction is not only about external sources but also about me. This means writing and blogging much more. 

2. Exploration: According to me, one is truly not living a complete life if one is not travelling. I would also like to make 2013 a year of exploration just like 2012, which would mean seeing a few new places either in India or outside. 

3. Experience: What is the point of ending another year with the same and mundane things that you have done before. This is all about coming out of the comfort zone and trying out new experiences of life. It could be a new adventure, a new skill, a new course. As long as it is something I have not done before, it will go as part of the experience. 

4. Entertainment: There is no dearth on the plethora of options that exist out there. What this also means that there are so many movies/shows/songs/music videos that I still have to see, not to forget the ones that will release during the course of the year. 

5. Expansion: This is the new E that I am adding over the four that I had put in place last year. Expansion is all about stretching the borders and boundaries of friendship/relationships/networks. The intention is to strengthen the bonds with the existing set of people in my life, renew some weak ties and also meet new people and form new bonds. Personally, this will be one of the most difficult as well as interesting E that I will venture into and it would be a test and challenge for myself. 

If you go through all the 5 Es, you will realize that they are strongly interlinked and there are chances that while I am following one E, the other is also getting achieved. So if I travel to a new country and indulge in some bungee jumping, it would allow me to explore as well as experience. 

Such a thought makes me find this model extremely interesting and engaging. To add to that, I do not have to bother about it getting broken as this stays valid till the last day of the year. 

The success of these Es would also entail a few other Es though – Execution and Expenditure. Any wrong estimation on one of the two, would lead to not achieving what I set out to do. 

To keep myself on target, I am also putting in place a few quantifiable and measurable targets as part of these Es, so that I can monitor myself as I go along. 

I would conclude by saying “Let’s do Eeet!”