02 Jan Why I Choose ‘Less’ as my New Year Resolution for 2022

With all the year-end recap posts that are doing the rounds – whether it be art or books read, I felt as if I was missing being part of something by not participating in those. Everything has become a competition now, hasn’t it? If X and Y and Z are doing something, G should do it too. Or else, you risk not being counted, not being seen. Even worse, you risk being forgotten.

If you want to be noticed and noticed consistently, you got to stay relevant and visible. Even if that means doing something everyone else is doing. (Instagram reels, anyone?) Maybe this is why, I’ve been forgotten by you all. After all, I’ve not written a word or gotten one story out in the past year.

Don’t have a book out this year? That’s it, you’re over.

Don’t have a post out today? That’s it, you’re forgotten.

Sometimes I wonder if we’ve all become so busy living our lives on social media that we’ve forgotten to actually live our lives. As an attempt to reclaim my life from social media, I consciously refrained from posting recent updates, even happy ones, about my life. That is why you saw no pictures on social media of my recent trip to Pondicherry (yes, yes, will share them soon!) or my New Year celebrations (never mind that I was sound asleep when 2021 became 2022.)

Instead of curating it for social media, I’ve been busy living my life. The last year was hard, as everyone knows. Is the worst behind us? I don’t know. Are the days ahead better? I don’t know that, either.

What I do know is that we have this day, this moment, and this one opportunity to make it count.

That’s it – we have just this one day. And the past year was a lot about that – living each day as it comes.

And so, while writing had deserted me (the pandemic affected my mental health just as it did everyone else’s), it was Art and Teaching that came to my rescue. Sharing my joy and knowledge with others only increased it. (With the revamped website, I’ve been able to take that one step forward with offering you both. You can directly place your orders for artworks and paintings, or book creative writing sessions through the website.)

As I write this, a dozen blog ideas come to mind. Listicles and articles I could write – 10 lessons I learnt in the last year, 20 Things I did that kept me sane, 30 Activities to keep yourself busy during the pandemic. Maybe I will I write about these, maybe I won’t.

But the one thing I won’t do is ‘fight’ to stay relevant. Fight to be noticed. Fight to not be forgotten.

Because the fight, I’ve realized, is not just futile, but one that I’m never winning.

I choose to lose instead. I choose to not be the ‘next best thing’. Because the alternative is too exhausting.

Don’t get me wrong. This isn’t a post about quitting or losing hope. I’m not doing either. Neither am I renouncing social media or giving up on the things I love. I have no intentions of disappearing in to the oblivion. In fact, I plan to do paint more, write more, teach more, live more.

Expect to see more of me in your feeds and in your inboxes. And, yes, those pics of Pondicherry are coming too. Just not with the intention to stay relevant.

That’s my resolution for 2022 – to be more by being less. Hopefully, this is one resolution I won’t break.

Did you enjoy reading this post? What is the one thing you reject going forward? What’s your resolution for the new year? Do share your thoughts and opinions with me via the comment box.