Poem- Healthy Habits for Achieving New Year Goals-Response to Brenda Arledge’s Word Prompt Week 34-Habits

I love poetry. I am a voracious reader and am passionate about writing. I have recently started my foray into poetry.

New Year Resolutions

We make new year resolutions every year. In the beginning we follow with great interest but as the days do by, we lose the enthusiasm. It may be work related issued, personal problems, situations, and a host of other reasons for us to avoid keeping up with our resolutions. We do not seem to find the inspiration to reach the goals we had listed and start feeling that it is very hard to keep up. There are too many distractions and we feel that nothing seems to work. What is the reason for this? This is because we do not realize that to achieve any goal in life, we need to develop good habits first. Our habits determine the success in achieving our goals.

What are Habits?

So, what are these habits that help us in achieving our goals? Habits are those actions or steps that we repeat so often in our daily life that we stop thinking about them and do them automatically every day. Habits like brushing the teeth after waking up, getting ready for office, having breakfast, checking our phones are ones we do routinely. But some habits need to be developed for achieving success and realize our goals in life.

First and foremost, in this journey of self-development is the belief in ourselves that we can achieve our goals. Knowing that any accomplishment is only possible with hard work and dedication, we should develop a strong will towards a life of discipline, hard work and dedication. Identifying ourselves with our goals make it easier to achieve them. Positive affirmations and visualizing our new selves help us in this journey. When we identify ourselves with our goals, it becomes easier to achieve them.

Word Prompts Help Creativity-Week 34-Habits by Brenda Arledge

Brenda gave us the word prompt ‘Habits’ this week. While reminiscing as to how fast this year had gone by, I recollected my resolutions of last year and knew that I had not kept up with many of them. We all know how difficult it was to achieve the goals which we make a list of, at the beginning of the each new year. I realized something other than will power is required to be consistent in keeping up with the goals.

After a lot of research and reading many articles on the subject of habits, I realized that developing healthy habits can help us achieve our goals. Aligning our habits with the goals ensures success in achieving them. Stacking new habits to already existing habits and identifying and aligning ourselves with our goals help us in achieving them. My poem is based on the premise that by developing healthy habits we can achieve our goals easily. Hope dear Brenda and my hubber friends like my poem.

A habit cannot be tossed out the window; it must be coaxed down the stairs a step at a time

— Mark Twain

Healthy Habits Help Achieve our Goals

Habits are important for achieving our goals because most of our actions, emotions and behaviors stem from an unconscious level. When our habits align with our goals, it is easier to achieve them and gain success. Adding small healthy habits to already existing habits, is a quick method to make healthy habits a part of our daily routine.

This helps us in achieving our goals faster. For example, in our morning routine of checking our emails, we can also incorporate listening to some soothing music to start the day on a fresh and cheerful note. Or adding meditation routine after yoga, or exercising can make us calm and composed to face a busy working day. Creating a habit of reminding ourselves of our goals every day, making a list of the goals, keeping track of the progress made each day, help in achieving the goals smoothly.

In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions. It's not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently.

— Tony Robbins

The Poem

I made New Year resolutions last year

Which I achieved not for sure

Resolutions to develop good habits

And to do my best without fear.

Habits that help me in my journey

Of self-development and improvement

Of waking up early and doing daily exercise

Of time for reading and learning to set aside.

To make decisions and not waver

To start meditating and to do yoga

To be calm and start enjoying

And not waste time procrastinating.

To start developing healthy habits

The first step I realize is

To embrace positive feelings

Leave the house more often

And to connect with nature.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit

— Will Durant based on Aristotle’s teachings

Any time is good time I found

To change habits and turn my life around

To get in touch with my higher self

And make my life worth cherishing.

As another New year is just around the corner

I know that no goal gets accomplished

without developing healthy habits first

the journey of self-development is indeed tough.

I vow that I will develop healthy habits first

and achieve my New year goals with great earnest

I know I only have this time to set things right and

To look forward to a new year of health and happiness.

Habits, An Acrostic Poem

We are all creatures of habit. It is not our fault; we have evolved that way. When we repeat an action again and again in a given context, and get a reward when it is done, our brain learns to associate that context with that behavior. James Clear in his book ‘Atomic Habits’ calls this the habit loop. As clear points out in his book, it is difficult to break bad habits because they are hardwired into our brain and are persistent. The best thing would be to replace the bad habits with new, better habits. In time they will also become automatic and will overwrite the habits that no longer serve us. My acrostic poem is based on this theory suggested by James Clear.

The trick to success is to choose the right habit and bring just enough discipline to establish it

— Gary Keller and Jay Papasan

Habits-An Acrostic Poem

Habits are persistent and are difficult to overcome

As long as you experience the same cues your

Brain will react with the same routine

Identify the habits you want to eliminate

Time to find alternate habits to replace them

Substitute good habits with unwanted ones

© 2021 VIDYA D SAGAR