My Top 10 Lessons of 2019

In the beginning of every year we make resolutions but a month passes and we are already derailed. And this happens almost every year. Precisely that’s the reason I don’t make New Year resolutions. Instead I work on my short term, medium term and long term goals.

But yes, without fail, I publish my top 10 lessons of the year, by the end of the year.

Continuing the habit, the following are my top 10 lessons of the year 2019.

1. Spend good amount of time with family.

After an extremely hectic 2018, I had decided to have a much relaxed 2019. Thankfully, I succeeded in doing that. Working full time as a life skills trainer and writing as an indie author was becoming a little difficult for me. So I slowed down my pace as an author and came out with just four short stories in 2019.

With that said, I spent good amount of quality time with my family and friends, especially with my children. Spending two to three hours with my young kids in the evening was always a dream, which came true this year.

You would be happy to know that it was an outstanding experience seeing them grow in a year that is almost towards its end. Their innocent questions, their mischievous smiles, their naughty laughter, their lovely expressions of surprise and happiness, it was all an amazing experience. 

I could spend some good time with my wife talking and listening to each other’s experience during the day. We assessed the family’s financial situation, discussed things in general and planned for the vacations and celebrations of the year.

It was one of the much better years as far as socializing was concerned. Taking out time to meet friends, partying with them, picking up the phone and talking at length, was a reality this year. I was much less dependent on social media to connect with people, who I was unknowingly distancing away from.

As a lesson, I would love to continue the same way this year too.

2. Writing is my passion not a contest.

As said by the famous Ruskin Bond, “At this pace, there will be more writers than readers in India”, I remained overwhelmed seeing the plethora of upcoming writers in India. The current generation of writers in India is coming out with books and novels at such lighting speed that I often get overwhelmed. Majorly because of the indie publishing becoming such an in thing.

Writing and then publishing books one after another with five to six full length novels every year is so very maddening. I too at one point in 2018 had decided to go at express speed and publish at least eight books every year. But when I realized it will only hamper the quality, I decided otherwise. For me writing is my passion and not a race that I have to win beating all the other in the business.

No doubt, I too wish to succeed commercially but not at the cost of writing and publishing anything and everything. 

So one of the lessons I learned in 2019 is to write at my creative best and put forth before my readers the best of the bests.

3. Work on one project at a time. Multi-tasking can take a backseat.

For the last few years, I had been working on multiple projects, although of similar nature, quite successfully. But after a point I felt, this cannot become a reality for the rest of life. So in 2019 I began working on one project at a time without crossing timelines. Focused only on Life skills training sessions and writing one book at a time. Happily I succeeded in making a mark, although no work done during this period got acclaimed. 

4. Health is of prime importance.

 The year 2018 passed by as a year where I focused a lot on physical health and managed quite successfully. But 2019 was more focused on the mental health. Although I couldn\’t continue to keep my physical routine of running 5 kilometers every day, I managed to keep my mind happy, relaxed and charged. 

As a lesson I would like to maintain a good balance between my regime for physical exercises and mental well-being. 

5. Practice creative visualization.

Over the past many years I have successfully practiced and benefited from creative visualization. 

Creative visualization is a manifestation technique which uses the power of the mind. My belief in this technique has become stronger every year. From the time when I was physically, mentally and financially drained out to this day when I have managed to prosper in every aspect of life, I can only credit this technique as my saviour. 

Now that when I know there is no lack in this universe for anything, everything is abundantly available I stay chilled and always sure that the event, situation or the object that I am manifesting is going to become a reality around the time I have visualized. 

As a lesson, I would continue to practice this technique with all the more vigor and enthusiasm. 

6. Know your people – Family, Friends and Professional connections.

It is not only important to know that you have a family, few friends and professional connections; you should also take out time and know them better. For that you will have to spend good quality time with them, stay along when they need you the most, engage much more often at emotional level and involve them in your life in much bigger ways.

I know things changes with generations. There is always a gap between two generations. May be the millennials would disagree with me and would keep their stance on maintaining their own private space more than anything in this world. But let me confess, I have, over this past one year felt, come what may, however big and accomplished you become, you still need to have a great family, rock solid friends and humane professional connections. 

As a lesson, I would continue to explore and know them better in the coming years.

7. I have my own time zone, a unique time zone.

This is a lesson that I learned a decade back, so what if it was the hard way. And in the last one year I have gracefully believed and practiced on it. So what if the entire world is progressing at lightning speed, so what if every new author is topping the national bestseller charts, so what if most around me are minting unbelievable money, I continue to believe on my path and the journey of life, of which 2019 was just a small part.

I am in my own unique time zone, others are in theirs. Everything has its own sweet time to arrive. By practicing positive thinking and creative visualization, I have successfully been carving my life at will. And trust you me it feels wonderful, when you know you can create things by your thoughts. You feel powerful and magically empowered.

8. Read successful stories but to create one follow your own dream.

For almost two decades I have been reading success stories of how people became famous from being a no one to the most famous ones. Not because I simply liked them or got attracted to, but because I myself wanted to be famous.

What I have realized after reading umpteen of them is that if you have to become successful you have to follow your own dream. For the major part of 2019, I have reflected back on the dream I have been following for past so many years.

Lesson I learned from this is that I should look back at the journey travelled more often. It will help me keep the minor goals in line with my dream goal.

9. When you know you\’re in the right direction, keep walking.

It is difficult for most of us to discover early in life what we want out of our life. But those who are able to, know the right direction to move on. They should simply continue to walk in that direction, however slow the pace be.

For the entire 2019, I remained consistently persistent in my walk towards my goals, although the pace was small, the steps were baby but I remained persistent.

I wrote four more short stories but because I was not myself thrilled I dropped the idea of getting them published and started re-writing them.

As far my full length novel is concerned, I have written one third of it. I know it has been really slow but that’s fine, I am not in a race to finish first. I want to put forth my best work.

10. Being grateful every day. The practice is simply magical.

One act you can unfailingly do every day is thanking people, situations, events and things around you, for all the happiness they have brought into your life. I do it every day, as and when I get time, mostly two or three times in a day. It is so beautiful. I don’t know about others but it gives me the immense strength and power for the days, weeks and months to come.

Once again I take this opportunity and thank the year 2019 for all that it has given me and my people.

With these top ten lessons of 2019, I thank you too, my readers and patrons, who have brought me from nowhere to the space I own today.

With heartfelt gratitude, I bid adieu to the year 2019 that is going to become a past in few hours from now and welcome the much greater year 2020 which is to begin few hours from now.

I wish you all, a wonderful new year 2020.