Anti Resolutions for 2025

Things I am NOT going to do this year

My fingers feel cold as I sneakily let them out from my oversized sweater, which is, by the way, my fourth layer of clothing. While my feet are well-guarded by thick Himachali socks, my fingers have to do their job and write the first newsletter of 2025.

My newsletters have been constant over the past year, but unfortunately, I have taken the liberty over the past few weeks to extend their duration from weekly to sending one every 10 days. For the upcoming year and the years ahead, I promise to send one every week, come what may. I feel Saturday is a good day to send a newsletter, provided it’s the weekend and might allow all my wonderful readers some time to read what a lone writer has to say!

It’s 2025! My greetings to all of you and your loved ones. I celebrated this New Year nestled in my home in Bir. No fancy plans, no elaborate planning—just welcomed the new year with a hug, and that’s it.

Unlike most years, where I sit with myself and plan to create a space of reflection and resolution-making, this year I decided to shake things up and plan the opposite:

Anti-resolutions

The idea of anti-resolutions had been brimming in my mind for quite some time. Anyway, resolutions, no matter how intentionally they are planned, fall flat in no time. I decided to give some thought to doing the opposite, and it seemed more promising.

Another interesting insight I got from an article I read on anti-resolutions was how every year people make resolutions on January 1, only to not adhere to them after a few days. That’s because they’re constantly adding new things they want to bring into their life without reflecting on what they want to remove from their existing life. This made so much sense to me. It’s like filling a basket that’s already full.

When I cut out the things I don't want, it makes room for the things I do want.

What I am trying to do this year is to intentionally make some space in my basket first, hoping that the created space will itself allow newness to flow in. Again, it’s an experiment, and there’s no better way to test things than on yourself.

5 things that I will NOT do this year

1. I will not consume processed food.

When I turned vegan five years back, magically my access to a lot of packaged products almost declined to nil. It gave me the opportunity to reflect on my eating habits and pay attention to the ingredients of all that I was consuming. When I discovered that it takes about 100 odd ingredients to make a packet of chips or biscuits, I felt disgusted by the idea of putting them in my body.

However, sometimes at parties, events, or when I am at my parents home, I tend to get carried away and nibble on a few products. I haven’t bought a cold drink or a packet of chips for myself in years now, but still, when it is offered and I am hungry at that time, it becomes really hard to say no. Even biscuits are mostly just sugar and processed wheat, devoid of any nutritional value. Chocolates of most brands are pure sugar too. I will deprive myself of anything and everything that is packaged and processed and will instead depend on fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, legumes, pulses, and nut butters for nutrition.

2. I will not guilt myself into believing that because I don’t earn as much as my peers, I am any lesser than them.

If you read my last newsletter, you know what I am talking about. As a full-time writer, my sources of income are not as linear as those of people in other professions. I won’t say there is scarcity in being a writer, but at this point in my journey, I am financially behind most of my peers. It’s unfortunate that money as a resource is given the most attention—more than relationships and health. My resolution for this year is to rise beyond feeling guilty for not doing much or wasting my life just by virtue of earning less than my peers. I have to constantly remind myself that no matter how much I earn, there are a lot of things that I have designed in my life that allow me immense freedom and creativity, and I should be grateful for that.

3. I will not plan new projects or get excited about new ideas until I am well through working on the ones I am already working on.

My mind is always brimming with new ideas, projects, and opportunities. As a creative professional, I find myself getting attracted to every idea that crosses my mind. While I have loved working on several projects in the past few years, I wish to spend a lot more time focusing on only a handful of things. I have realized that it’s impossible to give equal attention and depth to so many things at once. I can’t go on writing a book, being active on all social media platforms, wanting to go on photo walks every day, and to be physically active. I will be realistic about my ideas and projects for the year.

4. I will not buy anything big or small unless I have slept on the decision and thought about it.

As a proud minimalist, I don’t own much stuff. My clothes date from my college days a decade ago, and I have rarely shopped in the last few years unless it was absolutely needed. This year, I have spent money mostly on workshops, books, groceries, and my home requirements. I had the temptation to buy a new camera and the new iPhone this year, and I almost went ahead and purchased the camera, only to realize that I didn’t actually need it at that time. I am proud of myself for being able to take that call. I will buy the camera when I need it, and I will certainly buy other stuff too, but only if it’s needed and important for me. Regardless, I will sleep on the decision to make sure it’s not impulsive.

5. I will not spend most of my time indoors.

My house in Bir has the best sunlight! From 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., my house is lit with the many colors of the sun. I have never switched on the lights at my home during the daytime. I have always loved being indoors with the curtains open, cocooned in my little studio. This year, however, I plan to be a lot more outdoors. I want to incorporate movement in my schedule—be it walking, running, hiking, trekking, cycling, or just any physical activity that makes my body move. I can’t promise that I will hit the gym that often, but by promising to not be indoors as much, I hope to slowly get started on my journey of building my physical health.

Also, I want to actively work on my screentime and make sure that by being outdoors, I am also spending more time in the sun rather than on the screen.

I will never feel guilty for eating, creating, reading, resting, traveling, loving, being vulnerable, or not being able to do any of the above.

Resolutions and anti-resolutions can be powerful ways to set intentions. However, I feel that as humans, we also have to respect the natural rhythm of the heart and body. While I set my intentions for the year to come, my most important intention will be to be kinder, softer, and more compassionate with myself. If I am able to work on all five anti-resolutions, that would be amazing. I will not be cruel or unkind to myself if, for whatever reason, I am not able to work on any of these intentions.

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I invite you to reflect and write on the following prompt:

Write about your anti-resolutions for the year.
What are some things that you will NOT do this year?

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As a feature of all my newsletters, I share one song, one book, one plant-based meal, one film/video that inspired me, and some photographic updates from my life.

• Song: I have been hooked to Thagyan —a Coke Studio Pakistan song.

• Book/Newsletter: I loved reading this newsletter on the theme of New Year.

• Meal: I enjoyed having this easy-to-make meal as my breakfast today: Banana + Peanut Butter + Flax Seeds! Easy to make and super healthy.

  

• Film/Video: Sharing this particular video(s) feels like parting with something I hold sacred, but what good is watching something beautiful and not sharing it? Here is a playlist of short films based on Munshi Premchand’s stories.

• Photographs: Few photographs from Bir. I love winter.

  

  

  

  Winter in Bir