The last week of each year is full of celebrations – giving and receiving gifts and catching up with friends and relatives. In the midst of all this, it is also a time to reflect and to plan ahead.
Had you set any goals for yourself for 2025? How did you do on them? And have you set any goals for yourself for the new year 2026? If not, it’s time to do it now. This time, I am planning to do it a bit differently and you may want to adopt something similar. It’s not going to be just a list of things I want to do or books that I want to read or fitness goals for myself. I am looking at how I can incorporate spiritual progress into my new year resolutions. Now, this is a bit different from setting SMART (specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and timely) goals as we would in the case of financial and fitness goals. That’s because the outcomes of spiritual growth are all internal – an improvement in how peaceful you feel and how ‘present’ or mindful you are in everything that you do and how connected do you feel to something bigger. This could be to a higher power that you may call ‘God’ or to nature or just to humanity around you; and something that’s at the core of your purpose.
Now, it’s is not a bad idea to turn to meditation, pranayama (breathing exercises) or restorative yoga every time you encounter a stressful situation. What is better is that these practices are a part of your daily rituals so that you are better equipped to deal with any challenges that come your way.
Not all of us want to be full time yogis, avoiding contact with the people or mediating for hours at a go. Yet, we want to achieve a sense of calm, a sense of control over our thoughts ensuring that they are always neutral or positive and our wants are reasonable, keeping in mind our capabilities and resources at hand. As working professionals, business leaders or housewives we are always rushed to get things done. Rather than living two separate lives, we have to find a way to incorporate spiritual aspects into our professional and personal lives. Start by creating a compass based on your own values. What would be, say, three non-negotiable values for yourself? The ones I strive for are Empathy, Transparency and Trust. Then, all your actions at work and home are driven by these values, enabling you to find harmony between your professional and spiritual goals.
To make spiritual progress, we need to shift one’s focus from self to others. This is where the practices of Karma Yoga (performing your work with dedication but without attachment to the results) and Seva (selfless services either through physical effort, using your knowledge or by contributing material resources) come in. This does not mean neglecting your own well-being as that will not work. Overcoming difficult moments of your own past, forgiving yourself for any errors that you may have made is a precursor to making spiritual progress.
At our workplaces and homes, we do encounter situations that involve some conflict or place demands on our time and attention, more than what we may have anticipated. When dealing with these, it is important to keep in mind your personal spiritual framework. If you are an employee or run your own business, start with a broader perspective of how you see your career or business goals. Think of them in terms of how you are serving others (customers and partners) or solving their problems. In other words, it’s about finding the right purpose, called as “Dharma” in many spiritual traditions. An important aspect to note here is the detachment between diligently delivering our duty and claiming credit for one’s contribution in a successful outcome.
Here are some strategies that you can adopt to stay focused on you spiritual journey:
- Start small – even 10 minutes of meditation a day (especially in the morning) can make a big difference to the rest of your day. And you don’t have to find those additional 10 minutes in the morning as you have to rush to work or drop your kids to the school – you could practice a mindfulness session while having your cup of tea in the morning, simply focus on your breath, say a prayer, read a couple of pages from a scripture or holy book of your choice or simply express gratitude to people and events of the previous day. NOTE: It’s best to do this before you catch up on the news headlines (as bad news usually shows up first).
- Associating the new resolution for spiritual progress with another activity that you may be regularly doing will make it that much easier to stick to it.
- Consider sharing you plans with a friend or a family member who will encourage you or simply maintain a diary to monitor your own progress. Being a part of a spiritual community or a study group also helps.
- Acknowledge that in order to succeed with your resolutions for spiritual progress, the motivation has to come from within.
Our lives are not isolated: No man is an island and how each of us feels is impacted not only by how others treat us but also by how we treat others. So, do set goals for one act of kindness at home or in your neighbourhood or volunteer to a social cause with a frequency that your schedule allows. Do bear in mind that acts of kindness or volunteering are to be done without an expectation of any form of gain – financial or even a recognition.
Wishing you all the best for 2026!
Milind
Yogalaya Singapore 