Goals/ Resolutions – Knowing them and More

Somewhere in February, I came out of a paid interview on goal facilitation a lot more enlightened. At that time, I had no new year resolutions written down (and I still had none a month later) but I knew that if I were to note them down somewhere, I would have a clearer idea on how to make them work realistically. In the one hour session I attended, I had already wrote down or told the clinical psychology doctorate student conducting the study what were my thinking styles, beliefs on goals, and what facilitated or conflicted with my goals. All the scales I filled up along with the notes and think-aloud recordings I produced were perfect draft material behind my list of resolutions. I roughly knew what my goals were, but being asked to list the immediate ones out were different. I had to be specific. I had to be so specific that I had to rate how did each goal facilitate or conflict with the other. This was rather new to me, as people generally work towards a number of goals set but not think about how these different goals might sometimes work against each other. Say if I wanted to be more diligent in work as well as being healthier, would it not conflict each other if the night owl in me worked late nights for most of the year? If one goal happened to be increased focus and thoughtfulness, it would facilitate the goal of attaining good grades easier. The idea is this: how can I integrate all these goals into a lifestyle instead of merely independent entities to tick off at separate times?

On the penultimate day of March, I finally took the time to write down a list of goals and resolutions, categorising them into eight major sections, while songs from my Spotify Top Songs 2017 played through my earphones. It was not a conscious pairing. I had just decided that I needed a break from hours of deep house and trance, and went with familiar songs I hadn’t played much lately. It was only when I started writing all these hopeful plans and hearing what I thought was Flume’s saddest track – Weekend (taking the top spot for my list), that I felt a poignant contradiction. Hearing this now really hit home how different last year was from now. I can no longer relate as strongly to my frequently played songs from last year because I am living so differently now. It has been more conscious and deliberate, instead of floating in a vapour-like state and getting caught up in confusing interpersonal relationships around me.

Eight aspects of my life are going to move its cogs without stopping this year, and so far they are not showing any signs of stopping. From academics to light-hearted leisure, conscious living is going to be a permanent theme. Take it slow, but make it productive. It is high time I de-clutter further and make space for what matters lest I get lost in the recesses of stagnation.