Review: Year 2016

I started the year 2016 with a resolve that I would be reading one book every 15th day. I had committed to myself that I would be blogging on a regular basis. I wanted to keep a check on my fitness level and wanted to engage myself in my general hobbies of music, teaching, and other items in the to-do list. As per the philosophy of SMART principles, I had set following goals.

Finishing one book every two weeks and writing a review for the same.
Writing Daily blogs.
Exercising at least 5 days in a week
Reading newspaper at least 5 days in a week
Learning one new technology every three month
Registering my NGO and company
Starting a book readers club
One fun trip with friends
Writing 3 articles of newspaper grade
Sleeping before 11 in the night at least 5 days a week
Meditate daily
Learn to set realistic goals

In the light of above goals, let me evaluate my performance of the year 2016.

The year began happily. I shifted from Bangalore to Noida. The sister's wedding was scheduled for February. With the grace of god, It went really well. Soon after, I joined the new job in Noida. So the platform was all set for me to take up new things and fulfill all the commitments. But sadly not much happened. I was again trapped in the spiral of Civil Services. It left me with no time to spare. When It comes to UPSC preparation, everything else takes a back seat. The same happened this year.

I could read hardly 7-8 books in the entire year. The notable one being The tipping point by Robert Gladwell, Infinite Justice of Arundhati Roy, India Shashtra by Shashi Tharoor, Emotional Intelligence by Travis Bradberry, Company of the women by Khushwant Singh, The 50 Psychology Classics, and Kashmir in Vajpayee years by A.S. Dulat. Some were left unfinished. The social animal being the notable one in the list. The one under progress is Sapiens by Yuval Noah Hariri. I wanted to read 4 more books but my other commitments, slow speed, and my lazy being held me back.So the task remained incomplete.

Blogging came really well. I was able to make a century of the posts. It felt really good. I wish I can continue the tempo and keep writing on a variety of topics of socio-economic-political importance. But here also, My target was of writing a blog daily. I could hardly do that. So it remained incomplete.

The fitness routine took a blow because of my inability to manage so many things at a time. Somewhere the lethargy had set in and after initial months of consistency, I slipped off the track and did not pursue it with as much vigor with which I should have done it. So it remained incomplete.

As far as the newspaper is considered, I was fairly consistent in current affairs coverage. The insights coverage was regular though it could not reap many dividends. But It was good and somewhat satisfactory.

One place where I miserably failed is in learning a new technology. I had bitter experiences on the job. It served my purpose, though. I learned a lot about organizational politics, negotiations, and skills of identifying good apple from the bad apple.

I was able to register my company. As far as NGO is concerned, The association with Vishwa Ahimsa Sangh flourished to the next level. So performance on this task was satisfactory though the task itself was less important. Though I could not hold on to my schedule. A lot of improvement was desired but It was OK.

The most notable and satisfying achievement of the year was my trip to Kailash Mansarovar. In the heavenly abode of Lord Shiva, I feel so blessed and fortunate to be invited to this serene place in-person. Even now I have all the voice recordings of my journey and I feel the temptation of writing them in my blog. I feel so much empowered and so much calm when I close my eyes and think of those moments when I was standing at the feet of Lord Shiva and was looking at the Kailash mountain with mouth agape. I think that moment would be added to my list of blissful moments which I would choose for my deathbed.

The biggest disappointment of the whole year occurred when I faltered in the prelims examination. This one possibly trumps everything else except the great Kailash. Even today I wonder, why is it that I need to exhaust myself for scoring a victory? Why does it not happen with less effort? Why was I not so motivated and focused in the month of July when I needed it the most? Anyway, whatever is gone is gone. The best way to overcome a failure is to look forward and keep walking.

Overall, a mixed year. Did some wonderful long pending things. Was fortunate to visit the heavenly abode. But when it comes to my dream, the dream was disturbed even before it began properly. Anyways, now is the time to prepare a new vision and new list of things for the year 2017. Hope to do well in this year.