Another year older and none the wiser! Sounds familiar? I don’t know which one is more hard hitting – end of a calendar year, financial year or your next birthday. For me, I guess it has always been my birthday. It is usually about a month before my birthday, when all my ugly procrastinations come flashing back in front of my eyes. It’s almost as if reaching the end of the tunnel and reviewing the journey in a snapshot. The only difference, however, is that it does not come in a snapshot; it flashes, slowly and steadily, one image at a time.

Remember all the promises you made to yourself last year on your birthday? About losing some weight, finding a better job, finding your real purpose? And how did that work out for you? Wait, don’t answer that. For some people birthday is just another reason to celebrate, get together with loved ones, etc. But for others, it is rather depressing. Since most of us refuse to live by the day, we have a “sort-of” plan of action for our lives. For example, I will be married before my 27th birthday. I will make sure I am earning X amount before my 30th birthday. It’s these expectations we have set for ourselves that create the menace.

Once we fail to follow through on our own charted plan of action, we feel nothing’s going as planned. But if complaining without taking any action could show direction, then most of us would find ourselves in peace by now. As overwhelming as it may sound, it is important to take action, even when you are feeling down in dumps. And the willingness to accept that change is required is itself a big step forward. So let this birthday be a trailer of what you want the year ahead to be like. So make sure, you refrain from doing anything that you don’t wish to do throughout the year, on this special day.