Meetup 15th Beyond Resolutions: Crafting a year of Purpose

4th January 2026

Bracing Emotions held a meet-up in the first week of January marking the fifteenth session. The spirit of the new year was reflected in the topic: Beyond Resolutions: Crafting a year of Purpose.

New year brings new resolutions and all of us aim to achieve them in the following months. But as the months pass, the gap between our set resolutions and their completion seems to widen. What started as an empowering, hopeful endeavour, turns into a frustrating and tiresome labour. By the end of the year, you are left with incomplete resolutions instead of the ticked off list…

Why does this happen? What obstacles do we face in completing our resolutions? Such questions were pondered on by the speaker, Mr. Aniket Deshpande. He is a counselling psychologist and the founder of Balance and Bliss.

The session started with introduction of the speaker given by the host, Swamini. Then the speaker took over. He asked everyone to relax their posture and take a look around their surroundings. Everyone, seated amidst vivid nature, became relaxed and calm.

The speaker asked members about their resolutions of the last year and their experience. Members shared stories of successful completion and also of failure. The speaker asked them to elaborate on the causes of incomplete resolutions. The chief causes were lack of clarity and inconsistency.

The speaker explained that our resolutions tend to be on the superficial level and also vague in aspect. Instead, you can set goals. Resolution is the declaration of intent whereas goal is the action to be taken.

Goals should be:

• Specific

• Measurable

• Realistic

• Practical

• Achievable

• Time-bound

Example of a resolution:

“I want to get fit and get in better shape.”

Example of a goal:

“I will attend the gym for an hour thrice a week.”

As you can see, the goal is clearer and more specific action. By setting goals, instead of resolutions, you get closer to achieving them.

However, achieving goals can also be challenging as some factors are beyond our control and inconsistency can persist here as well. To tackle this problem the speaker suggested aligning the goals to our core values. Core values are developed over time, shaped by the experiences of a person. Your goals change but values remain. Hence, the constancy of values is helpful in achievement of goals. Values give meaning to life and human beings strive for meaning throughout their lives.

Then an activity was carried out to help produce this kind of meaning. Members listed their five values. Later they marked three important from them and lastly, selected one non-negotiable value. Then the speaker gave three ways to produce meaning:

1. Creative

2. Experiential

3. Attitudinal

These ways of producing meaning fulfill basic needs of humans. These needs are survival, love and belonging, power, freedom and fun.

Goals are more likely to be achieved when they are attuned with your core values and fulfill basic human needs.

Conflict arises when our mental picture does not match with reality. This can occur while you are trying to achieve your goals. In such a case, many times, we may indulge in self criticism. Everyone resonated with this experience. But it is important to note that you should practice self-compassion while dealing with such a challenge. It is not to be mistaken with toxic self-love. You can practice self-love in the following ways:

• Self-kindness

• Common humanity

• Mindfulness

The session ended on this positive note.