7 Habits For A New You This New Year-Lessons From Sri Sri's 2015 New Year Message !

1) Practice Contentment

It is normal to want more. Achieve more. Grow more. But look around you- don't you already have more than many others? Aren't you already better endowed, more skilled, happier, than thousands in the world ? Practice Contentment. Be happy with what you have, how you are, how you look, the situations in your life. It doesn't mean you don't strive to improve. Being contented will make you peaceful. Make you less feverish. Then anything you do, will come from a space of relaxed dynamism. Active acceptance. It will reduce your cravings and aversions. Improve your relationships with others and with yourself!  

2) Be Grateful

You can either compare yourself to those who have more than you ( and this is good, coz  it will inspire positive effort from you to do more) or compare yourself to do those who are not as blessed as you ( this will make you more grateful).  Make a habit of being Grateful. For everything in your life. The good things that come along and the not so good things too. Take the lessons from the unpleasant events and move on. The more grateful you are, the more grace, more abundance, floods into your life. Sri Sri said in his new year message,"Just like a mother doesn't give her child only desserts even though he may love only sweets, similarly nature is offering us a balanced diet of sweet,salty,sour". Accept all these. Being alive is reason enough to be grateful. Everything else is a cherry on the cake. Isn't it?

3) Let Go

When we breathe in, we have to breathe out. We won't survive otherwise. Letting go is inherent to our nature. That's why we feel stressed and tired when we hold on to things. Make a habit of Letting Go - of unpleasant experiences, of sad memories, of hurt & pain, of the past. Let go of all that feels heavy for your heart. Holding on is not serving you anyway.  Sri Sri in his new year message said, "Don't fill your new calender with old events". Let go. March ahead.


4) Have Faith

Have faith that good will happen to you. Have faith that the Divine loves you dearly. Otherwise the sun won't shine everyday (unless of course you are in the North Pole in winter!). The Divine is giving us thousands of signs every day of how dear we are to Her. Or Him. Recognise it. Have faith in yourself- that you are capable of handling all that will come your way in your life. Sri Sri in his new year message said, "Having faith in yourself, will increase your self confidence and having faith that good will prevail in society, will keep your morale high". Have Faith.


5) Be Happy, Take Responsibility

The best way to get depressed is to keep thinking of yourself. "What about MY needs?" "What about MY feelings and emotions?" "What is MY value?" etc etc.  Change that. Meditate, de stress yourself and stay happy. Think of what you can contribute to others, not just yourself. When you take responsibility, you become powerful - to manage yourself better and to make a difference to the world. Sri Sri said yesterday, "Just like the onus of keeping people in good health lies on the doctors, the onus of spreading happiness in society lies in those who are happy". Take the responsibility -to stay happy yourself and spread happiness to others.


6) Know that you are special

The fact that you are on this planet, means you are important in the cosmic design. Sri Sri said yesterday," Twice a day, become empty to connect to the one spirit that is beyond the 5 elements. You are that". You are the pure, eternal, blissful consciousness. Know your true self. Your real value. There may be times you feel low or not so good. Its fine. Move on. Meditate. You will feel clearer and more empowered. Sri Sri said ,"Match the time, Catch the time and Move the time !". This means you ARE capable of moving time. Realise you are the spirit and move yourself, time and the world!  

7) Share and Give

The more you give, the more you will get. Share your skills, your love, your knowledge, your time Many in the world need it. Give unconditionally. Think of the joy it will spread around you. Sri Sri said "The way to spread happiness is by spreading wisdom". One of the key questions you will face when you reach the other shore is how much love did you give? So. Give.

I will keep a journal of tracking how I am doing on each of these habits every day. I encourage you to do the same.  I wish that they help shape a new you, this new year !

Happy 2015 !