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Surprise yourself this year with happy moments

As you drive to work, change your radio station from the regular. Wear something you normally wouldn't.

There's something about January vibes that refuse to get overshadowed by the monotony of routine. As I pen this down, forwarded messages like 'This will be your year' are still doing the rounds. Optimism  is in the air. Most of us are convinced that in 2018 we would be able to realise our dreams, fall in love, earn a million bucks, and stay in shape. In short, we are certain that we are on the path of surprising ourselves, which by the way happens to be my favourite annual takeaway from this month of the year.
How does one surprise oneself, you may wonder? Do we change careers? Do the messy ones get organised? Or do we self-order (deliver) flowers or balloons?  It's actually simpler than that. We need to simply rearrange our thoughts, a little. It's not about exercising self-control, it's the exact opposite that is losing control. It's about freeing your mind.
How to begin? Let's start from a different plane. What's your foremost reaction to an argument - rebuttal? How do you receive a compliment - with pomposity or apprehension? What do you do when invited to a social gathering - make excuses or RSVP? Change that. When you make surprising choices, you surprise yourself.
As you drive to work, change your radio station from the regular. Wear something you normally wouldn't. Think orange and blue don't complement each other? Give it a try, just for a day. Combine unrelated thoughts, too. Choose a new medium to express yourself. Write a speech, start a blog, scribble down a poem or break into a song! You never know, you may discover a new talent. Surrender yourself to an unknown destination or experience.
Soon enough, you'll realise that you are just preparing yourself for unforeseen circumstances. Are you someone, who dislikes working last minute? Challenge yourself to do just that.  Can you still deliver? It will bring in self-awareness. While you are at it, remember these changes aren't goals or resolutions, think of them as messages that pop out of fortune cookies. You will be surprised by just how much and what all you are capable of.
Of course, some surprises will fall flat. Plus, walking on this path will require some courage. You will establish a few habits, voluntarily. At the same time, you will leave behind some practices that until now you felt were core to your being. You will identify your strengths and weakness. You will be thrilled and you will experience disappointment.
But, as the year flies by, you will be creating lovely lookback moments - some embarrassing, few pride-worthy, many bright ones, a couple laughter-tickling; but mostly surprising.
purva@khaleejtimes.com