Improving oneself

The latest edition of the much loved popular magazine Reader’s Digest has an interesting article on 75 ways to improve one’s life. Being part of the January edition, the article can be deemed to be suggestive of adoption of these 75 ways, in full or part, as new year’s resolution.

Of these 75, some are very common and are probably much talked about lately by experts and in social media. 5 ways that I will like to adopt this year to improve myself , I share with you as below:

(1) Call your parents; they want to hear from you. One day you won’t be able to – My octogenarian mother is in Delhi and sometimes there’s a gap of days for my communication with her. I plan to call her twice a week from now on, come what may.

(2) Smile at people you pass on the street – it’s true most of the passers by on the street would either be busy talking or surfing on their mobile phones, but even one stray ordinary walker like me doing plain walking that I come across while being on the street is going to be a recipient of my smile, irrespective of his or her response. In Johannesburg, where my daughter stays, there’s a healthy tradition of wishing any one who passes by you with hello and smile.

(3) Follow social media? Take a day off – This would perhaps the toughest, but a day off the social media that crowds one’s brain with information that’s not important, is really a great idea, worth trying.

(4) Call a friend you haven’t spoken with lately- Thanks to publishing of my book, I am receiving messages from unexpected quarters. Other day a school friend called me with whom I connected after 44 years and it brought so much joy to both of us.

(5) Celebrate and encourage other people’s talent, even if they are better at something than you are- This is also a tough call, given that we seldom accept the position of being inferior to others, especially in domains that we consider as our strength. A social platform to which I am a regular contributor attracts very few eyeballs, while the same platform used by more connected and popular contributors sees thousands of likes and comments. I used to feel belittled by this, but now I shall celebrate their success too, while incessantly continuing to making my contribution.

These are not new year resolutions, but no stage of life or part of the year is late for improving oneself or at least for making an attempt to doing so!