18 mantras for a vibrant 2018

Every New Year comes with a fresh chance to start again – to make the changes you want to see within and the world around you. And what better time than the first day of the year to fix a few mantras that you want to follow the year ahead. To give you a head start, we have gathered advice from experts of 18 different fields that are sure to spruce up your 2018 holistically
1.Let go of fear, anxiety and hatred
Mata Amritanandamayi, spiritual leader
Let us resolve not to go to sleep without doing at least one act that brings happiness and comfort to others. A loving letter or email to someone who we know feels enmity towards us will help put out the fire of anger and instead allow flowers of happiness to bloom in their heart. Let’s let go of our fear, anxiety and hatred, and allow the mind to become peaceful.
2. Combat climatic change individually and collectively
Sitaraman, environmentalist
Every person on this planet should have a commitment towards nature. Water scarcity is real, and we have to pay more importance to water conservation. Global warming and climatic change are not something you can ignore anymore. To combat them, we have to think not just collectively, but individually as well.
3. Don’t react with anger and suspicion when a woman speaks
J Devika, feminist thinker
In the past one year, women have started talking. They have been saying relevant, important things. Start taking women seriously. Don’t react with anger and suspicion when a woman speaks. Respond, instead.
4. Have a balanced diet and exercise regularly
Neethu Annie Ajai, dietitian
Keep yourselves away from junk food. Eat small, frequent meals and never skip breakfast. Include more fruits and vegetables in your diet and drink plenty of water. Start doing exercise regularly. People are under the presumption that grilled meat or chicken is good for health, but not anymore. It is also important to cut down on processed foods, salt and sugar.
5. Understand your soul and love yourself
Arun Nair, life coach
Understand your soul and owe it to yourself to discover inner happiness. Build a strong relationship with yourself to maintain healthy relationships with others. Don’t get tempted to settle for mediocrity. Stop waiting for things and people to change as the only guaranteed change we can make is within us.
6. Have empathy for others
Lakshmi Ramachandran, educationist
We should not be critical and should have empathy towards each other, be it between students, teachers or parents. The perception that a school is a battleground must be changed. We should support students’ progress in life but that is not just limited to their marks. We should be less judgmental and believe in the best in the other person than their worst.
7. Pursue healthy interests
Nuthan Manohar, yoga teacher
A positive mind leads to a healthy body. Similarly, when you pursue healthy interests, your mind becomes brighter. This year, find activities that bring you true happiness and make them a daily habit. If you wake up fresh, energised and ready for life the next day, what you did the previous day was good for you. If not, it’s time to cut back.
8. Explore the possibilities of social media
Hiran Venugopalan, social media expert
I hope there is a change in the social media etiquette with people becoming more aware of the consequences of their actions online. Netizens should start to explore other social media options such as Twitter and Reddit, in addition to video content sites.
9. Pick books outside your comfort zone
Anita Nair, writer
Read every day even if it’s just for 20 minutes. Pick books outside your comfort zone. All parts of the reading mind need to be flexed periodically. Also, take a long walk every day. The greatest gift we can offer is empathy and with that we would gain a world view that would help us accept the world around us and ourselves better.
10. Go for a structured, minimalistic look
Hari Anand, fashion designer
Adopt a very structured, minimalistic look with more pastel shades and organic colours. It is going to dominate the year ahead. Girls can fill their wardrobes with maxi dresses, one-side slit kurtis, grey coloured dresses and materials with optical prints and patterns. Men must follow a metrosexual look.
11. Science should play a greater role in creating a balanced society
Sunil Mohammad, scientist
Science has always helped transform humanity, and in 2018, it needs to play a greater role in combating intolerance, bigotry, prejudice, and falsehood paving way for a balanced society. Science and scientists need to move from the laboratories to the people to foster this link.
12. Invest in a pension plan
CJ George, financial expert
The youth must start a systematic investment plan so that at the time of retirement they would have a substantial amount of money and wouldn’t have to depend on anybody. In Kerala, those assured with pension is small in number and that’s why this amount will fulfil that need.
13. Protect heritage sites
TP Sankarankutty Nair, historian
Protection of some of the historically-significant monuments in Kerala is still not being carried out by qualified hands. We have several museums and heritage sites all over the State but they are seldom maintained and that’s why it’s essential for more dedicated efforts in this area to preserve them.
14. Find happiness by helping others
Jojo Mathew, social worker
Be a doer and always find joy. An easy way to derive more happiness is by helping others. Spending time on people or donating money for a social cause will boost our happiness to a greater level and also reduce the causes of physical illnesses or mental duress.
15. Stay fit and trust your doctor
Dr Aswathy Soman, assistant surgeon
The small things we do daily are better than the perfect big aspects we think about more. Eat less and work more, think right and stay fit. Stay away from stress and vices. Know, care, heal and correct yourselves. Live your life fancy free and trust your doctor to be carefree.
16. Safety first
Abhilash Tomy, sailor and adventurer
My mantra for adventure in 2018 is going to be “safety”. Look before you cast off those bowlines, before you make changes to your course, before you take that leap of faith and before you do anything to escape the ordinary. Adventure is important, but it is even more important to live another day for greater adventure.
17. Embrace patience
Anil Francis, martial arts expert
Many might be planning to take martial arts classes this year due to the numerous safety issues. Remember that to learn self-defence, you have to be patient first. Without that, the enthusiasm will fade in no time. Start by embracing patience and then think about learning an art. Only then, will you be able to pick it up well to use it right.
18. Respect freedom of expression
Bose Krishnamachary, artist
Art can cure the pain inflicted by religion and other divides effectively and so, we should encourage our artists further and respect their freedom of expression. At the same time, artists can also be careful enough not to provoke unnecessary unrest through their work. It’s important that peace prevails.