Digest #1: What New Year’s Resolutions Often Miss

Hello and welcome!

At the start of each year, we ask ourselves many questions:

What do I want to achieve this year? What new habits will I start? How will I reach my goals?

However, we tend to miss this fundamental question:

What do I need to change internally to sustain this?

The very first verse of the Bhagavad-gita is spoken by a blind king named Dhritarastra. He is not only physically blind, but also inwardly. He is intelligent, strategic and ambitious, yet lacks inner refinement.

Consequently, his downfall doesn’t occur due to weak goals, but by an inability to see and confront what is holding him back within.

Through Dhritarastra’s fate we learn that even the most rigorous external plans become fragile when our inner life is neglected.

We may be striving for a healthier body, better relationships, or financial growth - but without embodying resilience, self-honesty and steadiness those efforts seldom last.

In a world focused on visible results and before-and-after pictures, inner transformation is quieter but perhaps more expansive. It is a continuous improvement of how we relate to effort, desire, failure and responsibility.

This year, Think Gita invites you to make this year’s resolution not only about what you pursue externally, but also about what you refine within.

One Minute Practice

Take a moment to look inside.

Ask yourself:

• What might my own inner Dhritarastra be unwilling to see?

• Where do I need to develop internally to be able to sustain my goals?

• What structures and support do I need to implement so this inner growth actually happens?

Just notice.

‘The first step toward change is awareness.’ - Nathaniel Branden

If this reflection resonated with you, take some time this week to listen to this talk by S.B. Keshava Swami. He explores how daily inner reflection supports us on this journey of inner transformation.