Unequivocally and eminently the best year!

How many times has the same phrase, in different articulations, reiterated itself throughout all of the past "new years"? It wouldn't be a fantasy to imagine all of us, some time or the other, have said it to ourselves. I can't help but ask myself, why does it take the earth to complete a full revolution around the sun for one to make a resolution?

_{A mesmerizing view of Cologne as a treat for deciding to read a thousand words}

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle is an excellent book that explains why and how the present should always prevail and outweigh the worries and anxieties from the past. It, however, only dives very deeply into a small portion of what I'm coming on to. Sure, if the power of now is absolute and used effectively, it will inevitably reshape the future and align it with goals.

Does that mean New Year's resolutions are the way?

It certainly is in the right direction but flawed massively. I disagree with giving a singular calendar day so much power. Not because I think of myself as bugger than resolutions or that following a sheep of people who think becoming determined and hard launching the actions after a whole night of fireworks, screams, and celebrations is purely vain. No, not at all. If giving the 1st of Jan so much power is in the books, then what was wrong with the 31st of December?

It would have been very attractive to throw my chip on the table with all the other billions of resolutions and go all in if it truthfully made any difference. But it doesn't, does it? What about the remaining 364 days? I could wake up on one random March 23rd and still decide to execute a newly found resolution. Why would I wait for the entire calendar filled with opportunities and potential to expire before latching on to my resolution?

Every day is a new year. The calendar is just the physical form of an arbitrary time management tool we humans created to stay in sync. 365 days from now would be a new year. The Gregorian calendar is simply a tool we have all agreed to use for scheduling. The Earth and Sun couldn't care less about our calendars, Gregorian or other. Or else the Earth would have to make an apology video directed to the Mayans and get cancelled for doing a terrible job.

I have had many experiences in life to learn about discipline. Football, dance, leadership roles, literary circles, and whatnot. The one thing about discipline that always stuck to me like a Remora to a Shark was that discipline isn't an intrinsic attribute, nor can it be engraved into anyone externally. It is a mindset that only comes by detaching emotion-fuelled decision-making and doing what needs to be done consistently. You have to develop discipline yourself, hence, a mindset.

_{If you're wondering what's with all the pictures from the gym, then it is simply because I had a lot of these thoughts, much of which wouldn't fit in one post, during the workouts.}

The gym is by far one of the most popular venues where resolutions are realized. So many people decide This year I'm gonna get fit and everyone's gonna be staring at me when I heroically take my shirt off and my rock-hard abs reflect the bright sun and blind half of the fish but not the ladies because they'll faint at the glimpse of my chiselled chest. But who goes on with that resolution?

I purposely didn't hit the gym for the first 3 days since New Year's Eve. I knew with utmost certainty that the gym would be packed to the brim and there'd be no singular outcome where I'd get a good workout.

I already go to the gym when it's most empty. After the entire day of working and whatever, it fits my schedule perfectly and when the gym is pretty empty I can get a solid workout and feel satisfied. But after New Year's, I had to debate if I wanted to go simply because I knew there'd be a crowd even on the most empty hours. And I was right!

On the 4th day of the new year, the gym was still very crowded, but less than I expected. The reality of determination and discipline became outstandingly clear on the 6th day. The gym was back to looking empty. Wow! The resolution lasted a good 6 nights?

If we're still talking about physical betterment, some of the biggest names in sports are simply the best because of their discipline. You can debate that talent plays a huge part but some of the most talented people never really make it to the top - because they don't have the dedication and discipline. Don't get me wrong. The best of the best are incredibly talented and hardworking. But the creme of the crop is crowned to but a few. Mayweather, or even C Ronaldo, among the goats of their sports, are extremely disciplined. Did they do it by making a resolution and then actualizing it on a random 1st of Jan? No. They got to where they are by treating every day as a new year. They put in the work every single day and do it now and will do it till they can. Mayweather runs home after partying, not in one of his fancy cars - that is a discipline. That is determination. That is pure resolution.

There'll be a couple of new friends I'll make in the gym, but it could have been a lot more. It's always fun to have a good workout with more friends than a few. I wish all the people who I saw on the 4th day would still be there along with all the others who I didn't see on the 1st.

The thought of the new year being a chance to reflect on the past year to recognize flaws and rectify them in the coming year did cross my mind. It was swatted down pretty swiftly when the antithesis that the same reflection and rectification can be done on any arbitrary day came up.

Small drops, right? Every day is a chance to add a drop. Sometimes trying to carry a heavy bucket of water can be very difficult. Maybe that is what happens with the majority of the resolutions made for the new year. Instead of waiting for the next calendar year and pressuring oneself with the sudden weight, take it drop by drop every day.

I remember a monologue I heard a few months back that said something along the lines of "We always wish we could go back in time and change that one small thing and our life would have been much better. But now is the chance to change something small and if you make the right decision you could reshape your future forever."

Isn't that beautiful?

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