Why not even more fun and fizz?

You see, I’m a fan of new year resolutions. But not the self-improvement kind which I never keep beyond February anyway but the self-uplifting kind. The way I look at it, I try to make smart, ethical, positive choices throughout the year in every area of my life, be it business, family, social, or spiritual, so why not start with resolutions aimed at just fun? (That way I at least start off the year with a few tick marks!)

Here are my top 3 for 2017:
1. I’m going to aim for one genuine belly laugh every day. Not a smile or a chuckle, a real solid laugh that starts in the stomach. Maybe it is a radio channel with a great RJ. Or a joke site. Or that old college friend who always tickles my funnybone. Could be anything, but I’m going to proactively seek it out.
2. I’m going to find the answers to these questions: what is my favourite movie of all time? What is my favourite song? Favourite book? Favourite food? Favourite drink? And so on. Not just a genre – a specific movie, a specific song. (This is not as simple as it sounds – I tried. I came to the conclusion that to answer this will need a lot of research, and that research can be a lot of fun!)
3. I’m going to find at least one thing this year that truly inspires me and gets me ‘pumped up’ and ready to go. In the past, there have been quotations, people I admire, maybe a businessman or sportsperson, or it could be just a slogan or a phrase that caught my eye in an inflight magazine, a hoarding on the way to an airport…as long as it lifts my spirit and makes me roar.

And that’s it! Easy, right? I thought so when I started. Now I’m not so sure. But what I AM sure of is that it will be a lot of fun.

The reason I decided to do this is the same reason I decided to shift the core of my company operations from the bustling cosmopolis of Bangalore to the quietness of my hometown, Kochi. There were business factors also of course, but the main thing was a better quality of life for myself and my family. Could the company have grown faster and bigger had we stayed in Bangalore? Of course! Without a doubt. No telling where it would have gone, frankly. But it would have been 99% business and 1% life…and I did not want that. I did not want to work now and live later, as most IT people do. I wanted to work and enjoy life ‘concurrently’, as we say in EPC project management.

And yes, this way of thinking goes against conventional wisdom and today’s mantras and gurus. But I’m stubborn. (See blog title). It’s what made me start my company in the first place. But I never was one to go with the flow so even my way of being stubborn is my own, I guess. I’d rather have a bit of everything even if it means I will never have the whole of anything. I may never achieve 100% in anything but I will try – with 100% effort and passion – for everything life has to offer. And that is why this year, among all the (good and necessary) adages to improve, learn, grow etc, I’m choosing to remind myself of another one: All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

I encourage anyone reading this to chase a bit of fun and ‘fizz; this year, along with the career goals and family goals.

Cheers to 2017!