Do you struggle to fulfill New Year resolutions? Here is some inspiration

By Debjani Paul Arpika Bhosale Mitali Parekh Spandana Bhura Aastha Atray Banan Junisha DamalsquoI feel the possibilities in life opening up nowrsquoRohini Dasgupta35 Project Manager at TCSResolution To uninstall all social media and OTT apps and read 100 books over the yearAt dinner parties when everyone else talks about what show they are currently bingeing on Rohini Dasgupta shares what book shersquos reading at the moment The usual refrain of ldquoOh I wish Irsquod read more I just never seem to have the timerdquo passes through the room Itrsquos when Dasgupta reveals that shersquos on a mission to read 100 books this year that jaws drop across the partyIs that even possible you must be wondering When we speak to Dasgupta a day after Christmas shersquos already on her 100th book We Solve Murders by Richard Osman and well on her way to meeting her goal this weekLike every other person who reacts in amazement on hearing about her goal we too ask Why 100 books ldquoWhen I was a child this was the pace at which I readmdashtwo books a week easilyrdquo she tells us ldquoThen I went to college and the habit fell away because there were so many things going onrdquo As a project manager at TCS with work often running into ninehour days it got even harder to get back to readingIn 2016 she made a conscious decision to try harder ldquoBut I noticed that I didnrsquot have the stamina for reading anymorerdquo recalls Dasgupta ldquoIt felt like I was walking up the stairs after being completely unfit for years I was devastated because I love reading so muchrdquoThere were also the distractions of social media and OTT shows ldquoI would fall back into the same old pattern of returning home from work and watching a show to unwind Except itrsquos never one episode Irsquoll still be watching it at 3 am I wasnrsquot being intentional with my timerdquo she saysThe key she says was to start small ldquoI wanted to get to the point where reading became my default choice for recreation but I had to slowly increase my capacity to read for longer periods and not get distracted In 2018 I read seven books In 2023 I hit 60 I slowly built up my reading muscle Then this year I wanted to see if I could get back to my childhood levelrdquo she saysOne of the first things she did was to uninstall all social media and OTT apps to stop the mindless doomscrolling and bingewatching The other decision she made was not to have too many rules She doesnrsquot restrict herself to just one book at a time ldquoOn days Irsquom tired and canrsquot absorb anything I turn to lighter reads I usually have at least two books on at the same timemdashan audiobook that I listen to during chores and my morning walk and a paperback or ebook that I read at the end of the day in bed or when I go to parksrdquo she says adding that audiobooks had been a gamechanger for her helping her make use of short windows of free timeldquoI donrsquot push myself to finish a book if Irsquom not in the mood for it I put it aside for later You wouldnrsquot watch a show if you werenrsquot in the mood for it yoursquod just switch to something else without judgment right Take the judgment out of it If yoursquove read for 15 minutes today donrsquot think of it as lsquojust 15 minutesrsquo think of it like building a streak Try reading a little longer the next day and so onrdquo she addsNext year Dasgupta has decided to halve her target to 50 books but be more mindful about her selection Ever the project manager shersquos even drawn up a spreadsheet of how many books will be fiction vs nonfiction light vs heavy reads ldquoThe one mistake I made initially was to get too ambitious picking too many translated works or heavy reads But I realised I read more when I picked things I likedmdashthrillers and detective fiction Next year I have planned a balance of genresrdquo she saysNow that shersquos so close to hitting her goal itrsquos changed her perspective on life altogether she says ldquoI think the biggest thing itrsquos done for me is that I now believe I can do a lot of the things that I didnrsquot think I could before Do I not have the time or am I just not using it effectively I may not ultimately end up doing everything I have wanted to but I really feel the possibilities in life opening uprdquoTarget for 2025Easy reads 10Hard reads 5Fiction 10Nonfiction 10New discoveries 10Repeat reads 5lsquoThe cancer scare was a big jolt for mersquoDharmishtha Dagiarsquos diary has been her constant companion and she makes sure to write at least a line every daymdashon good days and badDharmishtha Dagia36 celebrity managerfreelance writerResolution To write for a minimum of 15 minutes every day and work on her bookDharmishtha Dagia keeps her cards close to her chest and she did just that when she went for surgery back in August 2023 ldquoOnly my sister who lives abroad knew about itrdquo says DagiaThe dual purpose surgery was to not just extract a cyst in the arm that was causing Dagia tremendous pain also to biopsy it to see if she had the dreaded ldquoBig CrdquoldquoI didnrsquot want it to be a big fuss and wanted to just see what it was firstrdquo she adds It may sound like Dagia took it all in a stoic manner but merely facing the prospect of cancer had rid her of any notion she may have had of having the luxury of time Even when the biopsy results declared that the cyst was benign and that she was cancerfree the Kandivli resident held on to the clarity that the health scare had given herldquoAfter that I was pickier about who I would work with she says ldquoUnless they would pay half the fees at the start of the project I wouldnrsquot take them on as clients I would prefer to read or watch Harry Potterrdquo she quips Being more selective also led to Dagia getting genuine clients and led to one of her biggest projectsmdashmanaging a few clients for Ambanirsquos prewedding and wedding celebrationsIt also freed up her mind as well as her schedule to finally get to writing the book that she had put in the cold storage for yearsmdashalways writing a bit and then shelving it for months at a timeldquoWriting has always been something I wanted to do But you tell yourself that you will do it when the time is right or that you will do it well when you have timerdquo she saysDagia took the pressure off by instead resolving to write at least a little bit every daymdashon good days and badmdashno matter what the quality of the output is ldquoIn the past year I made sure to write every day It might be for a few hours just a paragraph or sometimes even just a line but my diary has been my constant companionrdquo she says Putting pen to paper has now become a constant in her dayldquoEven though I have to sometimes rewrite or reframe what I might have quickly scribbled on a day I wasnrsquot in the mood to do much writing every day has helped me keep my end goal on trackrdquo she says adding that she is halfway through her bookThe next goal is to hand in a decent manuscript to her publisher by September 2025 ldquoEither September because itrsquos my birth month or then October which is when my mom was born as well as the month I launched my own agencyrdquo she saysTalking about how her close call with cancer shaped her perspective ldquoIt was one of those moments you know Things could have gone either way for me It was a big jolt for merdquo she says adding that it pushed her to stop putting things off for later ldquoEven though I am ambitious and a gogetter life can slow down the best of usrdquoHer health scare also pushed her to pursue her other interestmdashdance She now dances at least 15 minutes every day no matter what ldquoEven though dance is just as much of a creative process as writing I do make sure that I do 15 minutes of it every day as wellrdquo she says ldquoDance is about both your mind and body These two writing and dancing have become a part of my everyday liferdquo she addsWhen we ask Dagia what her book is about the writer in her peeks out ldquoI canrsquot tell you now Give me some timerdquo she giggles We press on ldquoSoonrdquo she says now with allout laughterWalk the walkSudhakar VR outside The Blavatsky Lodge of the Theosophical Society on Charni Road which is part of the Wonder Women walk PicAtul KambleSudhakar VR53 Team Lead AnalyticsDigital Business BPCLResolution To train to host two to three heritage walks in 2024 he ended up overshooting his target and did 12On his new commute from Chembur to Cuffe Parade Sudhakar VR would pass Horniman Circle the RBI building and wanted to know more about them He moved from Kolkata to Mumbai in 2018 and attended guided walks to learn more about his home city At the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival he chanced upon a book about the Fort region and saw that one of the coauthors was Bharat Gothoskar of the Khaki Foundation KHAKI is an acronym for Keeping Heritage Alive and Kicking in IndiaTen quick steps and Sudhakar who works in the Analytics department of Bharat Petroleum learned of Khakirsquos Ambassador of Mumbai programme where you train for six months to host walks yourself for Khaki ldquoI started with their most popular walk Castle2Gatewayrdquo says the 53yearold ldquoand I thought I could do this a few times a month The walk lasts twoandahalf hours and with my commute it took up five hours of my weekends till lunchtimerdquoSimultaneously he attended other walks and was entranced by each one ldquoI enjoy researching history and storytelling disseminating information excites me There is a satisfaction in telling the stories of littleknown heroes and you can see that people are energised by itrdquoFor 2024 Sudhakar set a target of qualifying to lead two or three walks the Wonder Women walk which becomes the Durgas of Mumbai walk during Dussehra the Girgaon Ganpati Walk and the Azad Hind walk The resolution was to do two or three of these a month on weekends However by the end of the year he had qualified for 12 walks including ones adapted for schoolchildren such as Freedom4Kids Azad Hind walk and Fort4KidsThen there are the culturecentric ones he added to his kitty such as Girgaon Ganesh which threads through Girgaon and Mumbai Muharram which goes through Mohammed Ali Road and Dongri ldquoThe latter is a night walk and for it I read a lot of Islamic literature and what happened after the Prophetrsquos deathrdquo Therersquos also the 2611 homage walk which was preluded by familiarity with the book The Siege The Attack on the Taj which detailed the terror attack on the Taj Mahal hotel in 2008ldquoI spend most of my evenings readingrdquo he says ldquoI donrsquot watch TV anymorerdquoFor each route he underwent training for a month to a monthandahalf and finally hosted seven to eight walks a week sometimes doing two on the same day In September Sudhakar conducted 14 walksldquoTherersquos great satisfaction in conducting the childrenrsquos variation of the walk we have to learn a different methodology of instruction and to manage themrdquo he saysFor Durgas of MumbaiWonder Women he learned about the women who shaped the city such as Helena Blavatsky founder of the Theosophical society after whom the Charni Road lodge is named and about the several meetings related to the nationalist movement held there The walk then introduces patrons to Rukmini Devi Arundale who brought the classical dance form Bharatnatyam to the fore Sumati Morarjee the first woman CEO of an Indian company and Dr Rukhmabai Raut who revolutionised marriage laws that resulted in ending child marriages in IndialdquoYou get to learn about amazing connectionsrdquo he says ldquosuch as the 12inch disc on board NASArsquos Voyager 1 launched into space in 1977 called Sounds of Earth On it is a piece of Indian music recorded at Blavatsky Lodgerdquo It still floats in spaceIn 2025 he wishes to contribute more by designing a new walk around Fort covering new thingsNot a sweet 2024Jaya Bhura has made it a habit to read the ingredients of packaged foods and avoid completely if they contain even a bit of sugar PicAnurag AhireJaya Bhura45 Founder Chakraview SolutionsResolution To cut out all forms of sugarAt the beginning of 2024 Jaya Bhura made a decision that would redefine her approach to health and wellbeing ldquoI resolved to quit sugar entirelymdashthis meant avoiding it in all forms including mithai chocolates aerated drinks and even processed foodsrdquo shares Bhura an entrepreneur and cofounder of Chakraview Solutions This resolution was not just about cutting calories it was a statement of intent and a commitment to taking control of her health during a transformative phase of lifeBhurarsquos professional life is a dynamic one ldquoChakraview is a mobile phone application designed to enhance the safety and security of the school bus commute for childrenrdquo says the 45yearold ldquoThe app tracks school buses helps with attendance management and communication to improve student safety streamline bus operations and optimise bus route management with just a few tapsrdquo As cofounder the Bandraresident oversees customer service logistics and operations forthe app which now supports over 100 schools in Mumbai and Pune and is trusted by more than one lakh parentsThis rapid growth of her startup established in 2016 has demanded Bhurarsquos peak performance every day which emphasised the importance of staying mentally and physically fit ldquoLike almost every woman I juggle many rolesmdashI am an entrepreneur mother of two nature enthusiast marathon runner a bibliophile and so much more As a 45yearold in perimenopause I understood the necessity of prioritising my health and taking the utmost care of my bodyrdquo she reflectsPerimenopause the transition to menopause is marked by irregular periods heat flashes sleep disturbances and other symptoms as the body prepares to cease menstruation These can significantly affect mental and physical wellbeing making selfcare and support systems all the more vitalldquoItrsquos easy to feel overwhelmed but I took it as an opportunity to reconnect with myselfrdquo she says ldquoAt first it was primarily about maintaining my weight Now that Irsquove made the shift itrsquos about so much more than just numbers on a scale I feel more energetic sleep better and am learning to rely on healthier forms of dopaminerdquo laughs BhuraThe first five months were a struggle For every week she stuck to the resolution there would be another where shersquod falter ldquoIt felt like a constant cycle of two steps forward and one step backrdquo she admits candidly The breakthrough came in July when she involved her family ldquoAnnouncing my resolution was a gamechangerrdquo she says Bhura also made it a habit to carefully read the ingredients on any packaged food and to avoid it completely if it contains even a trace of sugar Her commitment hasnrsquot gone unnoticed A recent visit to her gynaecologist yielded enthusiastic praise ldquoShe gave me a 1010 for cutting out sugar and prioritising my health by working out regularlyrdquo Bhura beamsBhurarsquos journey has been shaped by the weight of opinions ldquoAfter my son was born 15 years ago I gained a significant amount of weight and people wouldnrsquot let me forget itrdquo Bhura says with a sigh And when she managed to lose over 25 kgs within a year with yoga people asked if she had been illThis rollercoaster of unsolicited comments taught her an important lesson No matter what you do people will always have something to say and itrsquos rarely positive ldquoEven now theyrsquore quick to respond with lsquoArey yaar ek mithai kha lo kuch nahi hogarsquordquoFestivals in particular posed challenges initially ldquoI was constantly tempted but I donrsquot even get cravings now While it might not make me the most pleasant person in the room people eventually back offrdquoTo her the bottom line is about reclaiming agency over body and mind As she puts it itrsquos about ldquoShowing up as the best version of myself for merdquoHi to HolaSurekha Rao31 Founder of Scene StudioResolution To learn a new languageIn early 2024 Surekha Rao founder of Scene Studio received a photo from her friend The picture showed an image of Spain pinned to a vision board and her message indicated that she was moving away Rao asked how the photo was related and thatrsquos when she learnt how to chalk out a vision boardSo in March 2024 later than many others Rao sat down to list things for her vision board One of them was to learn a new language ldquoI donrsquot shun any opportunity to upgrade myself So I thought why not try out a vision board At the very least I will have a pretty collage even if nothing materialisesrdquo says Rao The process of selecting what to put on her vision board was slow Rao says that for any vision board one needs to choose practical and easily achievable goals ldquoYour mindset should be that you have already achieved itrdquo she says adding ldquoI put down swimming a few financial goals and of course learning a new languagerdquo For Rao picking Spanish to be the language to learn was a nobrainerEver since Rao was in college Spain and its culture fascinated her It also helped that certain words were similar to English and the language was easy to catch But Rao never formally learnt the language ldquoI always wanted to be a polyglot I know itrsquos not a big deal in India as most of us know at least three languages But I wanted to upgrade myselfrdquo she says At 21 she tried learning German but the language did not hold her attention Learning Spanish instead was on Raorsquos mind but with work and life she had never got timeThat was until she put it down on her vision board and began working towards it Learning Spanish would mean that Rao would be able to interact with Latin culture better watch Spanish movies without subtitles and gain personal fulfilment So she downloaded the Duolingo app and began practising the language It went smoothly for some time until it didnrsquot After a bit of start and stop she gradually became more regular with her learning spending at least a few minutes with the language every day before bed ldquoTechnology has made things easier and itrsquos such a beautiful thing If people want to upskill technology makes it easy to be a better version of yourselfrdquo she says Through regular lessons on the Duolingo app Rao has completed her A Levels in Spanish Shersquos now looking at continuing her streak to get to the B Levels next yearAmong other things she had put down on her vision board in March Rao has successfully achieved them all She now plans to make a personal and a professional vision board for 2025 Speaking on how she managed to stay motivated through the course she says ldquoDoing something for 3045 minutes daily is impractical for me as work keeps me busy So studying the language for a few minutes each day helpsrdquo and advises ldquoYou have to be pragmatic Donrsquot set too high a goal and donrsquot look at it Reach the halfway point first and then keep at itrdquo24 new flavours in rsquo24Aditi Prabhu focused on local and seasonal ingredients that she explored either by cooking with them fermenting them or at local restaurants and during her travelsAditi Prabhu36 clinical nutritionistResolution To try 24 new ingredientsFor the last decade each year Aditi Prabhu has set five goals These cover various aspects of her life including upskilling and she also integrates something that will help her with business In 2024 one of the five goals included trying 24 new ingredientsAs a clinical nutritionist and food enthusiast Prabhu was excited to see where this would take her ldquoOne thing Irsquove seen in the last 15 years of my practice is that even though there is a lot of globalisation and we have easy access to a lot of ingredients our plates have become smaller and smaller The younger generation is less aware of what is local and what is seasonalrdquo she says adding ldquoA lot of them even struggle with global ingredients Everybody has read about them but they donrsquot know how to use them So I chose this goal from a professional and a personal perspective As it was 2024 I chose 24 ingredients that I wanted to explorerdquoThe idea at its core was simple Try something you have never tried before Naturally her nutritionist instincts kicked in and she decided to steer herself in a healthy direction with seasonal or local produce As she was keen on a few global ingredients those were added to the mix too But she says she did not set rules for how she would try them out ldquoSome of them I tried out at restaurants or through colleagues or friends so itrsquos a mixrdquo she saysThrough the course of the year Prabhu tried some ingredients through her travels She ate scampi and lobster at seafood restaurants in Mumbai A friend of hers brought her some white chillies from Nepal while Prabhu sought out the habanero chilli shishito pepper and a few other types of peppers from hydroponic farms for her experiments with fermentation at home Among the many local ingredients she tried out black desi carrots as well as a variety of different lemons grown across India including a seedless one And to make the mix interesting she took to a few trending ingredients too like gochujang Korean red chilli paste and Japanese kewpie mayo made with egg yolks among othersRather than a preplanned list Prabhu explored ingredients as she came across them using her expertise as a nutritionist to study how best to use them ldquoNobody knew about this goal except my siblings When I look back now there are ingredients which I came across because I was travellingrdquo she saysldquoSome colleagues found out I was travelling and they gave me a list of things I needed to try I had friends and clients who brought back ingredients from their travels for me to try because they know I enjoy learning about new flavours and writing about it Besides that I had Instagram followers who when they saw a new ingredient at the market would click a picture and send it across because I write about ingredientsrdquo Prabhu addsEach time she came across something she had not tried before she would find out its botanical name read research papers on the ingredient and figure out how to incorporate it in a clientrsquos diet and in what proportion quantity and preparation styleBut how does one even set such a goal and stay the course to achieving it Prabhu has some advice for the kind of mindset shift one needs to practise ldquoI donrsquot call them resolutions because somehow when we think about resolutions we always know theyrsquore going to break I always say set goalsrdquo she saysPrabhu says it helps to look at all domains of life and to only set three to five things that one wants to work on throughout the year Next these goals have to be categorised as shortterm mediumterm and longterm goals Following this method has helped her stay motivated to check off all that she has set out to do for the last decadeFlavours of the year1 Scampi2 Lobster3 White chillies4 Habanero5 Black carrots6 Kavla bhaji7 White bitter gourd8 Red potatoes9 Muskmelon Madhumati10 KoorkaChinese potato11 Serrano chillies12 Caperino peppers13 Shishito peppers14 Red rice vinegar15 Greek mustard16 Gochujang17 Citron18 Yak cheese19 White fungus20 Indianpalm dates21 Ponnangani keerai22 Tilapia fish23 Macademia nuts24 Kewpie mayoFacing the fatBefore and AfterMasha Arabi30 Artist ManagerResolution To lose 25 kilos in a yearMy resolution was to reduce my health issues and that was connected to my weight so I needed to lose 25 kilos in a year Basically I wanted to go from an XL to a Small size I just wanted to be healthymdashand it was a comfortable targetmdashas it was around two kilograms a monthrdquo says artist manager Masha Arabi who divides her time between Mumbai and MangaluruThe moment of reckoning started the year before for Arabi who moved back to Mangaluru after quitting her job as her stress levels were skyrocketing which in turn was leading to weight gainldquoI couldnrsquot function mentally emotionally or physically I thought it would be better if I shifted but then my dad passed away in March I went for a workout the next day after my dadrsquos funeral as it was an escape but I was barely surviving at that timerdquo So she was going for a workout but also bingeeatinghellip ldquoThat went on for a year because I was concentrating on survivingrdquoIn December 2023 Arabi decided that she had made peace with what had happened and it was time to bring the focus back on her ldquoI decided I canrsquot keep gaining and losing as that also affects mental peace I would keep a comfortable target that I could hit every month I would keep it at four kgs and at least lose two kgs I also stopped feeling guilty if I ate something calorierich once in a while I knew this was a longterm thing and I couldnrsquot beat myself up as that wasnrsquot healthy I made sure that 90 per cent of my meals are healthyrdquo she saysBut the most important factor that Arabi says has helped her is having an accountability partner ldquoMy friend and I would text each other lsquoHey we can get through thisrsquo and it worked Also my workout of choice was dancing so that helped as it never felt like a workoutrdquoHer trainer Yaaz came up with an interesting idea He would give her time limits Initially she would do 50 burpees in an hour then she ramped that up to 100 burpees in 50 minutes and now 100 burpees in 10 minutes ldquoI still hate burpees but my stamina and resilience has increasedrdquoArabi has clear learnings from her year and selfacceptance has been a big part of that ldquoMy validation used to be tied to the way I look Now I am not as thin as I once was but I am more comfortable with my body I like my belly Also I have learned consistency so this is a way of life nowrdquoAnd thatrsquos why right now Arabi is at a good place ldquoI am happier and more disciplined Even if I go for a vacation I can come back and get back on track My mind has become stronger For me the fact that I have managed to make it a longterm habit is the best takeaway I am very grateful I got to do this In fact this keeps me going even when nothing else is going goodrdquolsquoItrsquos all about baby stepsrsquoSneha Baid40 Tech Programme Manager softwareResolution To climb a 6000metre mountain peakFor Sneha Baid 2024 was a landmark year She was turning 40 and wanted to do something ldquobigrdquo to mark it She had tried climbing mountains in Ladakh in 2023 and had to turn back because of unfavourable weather conditions This year she ended up setting a record and became the first and fastest Indian civilian woman to climb KY2 Kang Yatse 1 at 6400 metres and 2 at 6250 metres in Ladakh back to back ldquoI wasnrsquot even aiming for that it just happenedrdquoHer preparation has been all about living a healthy life every day Baid has fibroids and has lived with inflammation all her life To manage those conditions as well she works out regularlymdashshe gets up at 5 am cycles runs and hits the gym She gets back and then itrsquos off to work for the dayldquoIn 2023 I also did a basic mountaineering course It gave me a fair idea of what I needed For the climbing you need a lot of physical and mental endurance I found out my shortcomings and what I needed to work on I needed to do the peaks to really put my knowledge to testrdquoPost the feat Baid has a confidence thatrsquos enviable ldquoThere are two things that happen Firstly it gives one patience I turned back last time as the mountain is a very powerful force You need to know when to turn back I wasnrsquot going to be dejected if I had to turn backrdquo she says adding ldquoSecondly the only limit you set for yourself is in your head Once you break those limits you find out things about yourself that you never knew You realise you were boxing yourself inrdquoFor now she is readying for her next climbmdashone in the winters and then move on to a 7000metre peakShe has a word of advice for anyone who wants to make a resolution but remains sceptical about sticking to it ldquoSome days you canrsquot even get up out of bed Every day is a fight Itrsquos all about baby stepsmdashone step at a time Mountains teach you to plan ahead but focus on the next step only Set achievable goals and feel good about yourself Donrsquot ever beat yourself up If you keep at it it will work outrdquolsquoMein actor banna chahti hursquoConsistent effort ensured Sudha Menon bagged multiple ad shoots as well as a role in the webseries Poacher In the coming year she intends to put writing on hold so she can focus on actingSudha Menon58 AuthorResolution To focus on her acting and modelling careerAfter a career in journalism spanning over two decades and authoring six books Sudha Menon decided to give modelling and acting a try She first landed a few gigs that she took up along with her writing career But it wasnrsquot until the end of 2023 that Menon decided that in 2024 she would focus on her acting career more diligentlyThat decision resulted in Menon spending 2024 on set after having bagged ads for brands like Malabar Gold Joyallukkas Reliance Jewels ICICI Mercedes and a role in the awardwinning webseries Poacher She has worked with the likes of Anand Mahadevan Paresh Rawal Pankaj Tripathi Junior NTR and Ram Charan A few days before speaking to Sunday midday Menon had just wrapped a shoot with her alltime favourite hero Amitabh Bachchan ldquoAfter having spent 24 years asking people questions as a journalist and in the communication business it was very challenging for me to be on the other side of it where I had to communicate I can sleepwalk through writing but communicating on set in front of a 100 people is different It is hugely challenging to make yourself vulnerable by putting your expressions and your feelings out there in front of so many peoplerdquo says Menon speaking about her experience so farBut Menonrsquos mind was made upmdashshe wanted to pursue a career in a competitive industry and be in front of the camera ldquoI did most things to make an impact I signed up for workshops and I auditioned for whatever came my way My mother keeps ill and my sister and I are her caregivers So at times I have to say no to a lot of work Thatrsquos why I want to take up every chance I can getrdquo she says So at 58 Menon wakes up every morning and prepares for auditions a lot of which are at home This means setting up the camera finding the right frame taking care of the lighting wearing the right outfit and finally performing her best ldquoFor every 25 auditions you land maybe two or three I think of auditions as practice and learn from each failure as I gordquo adds MenonFame has never been a driving factor for Menon After playing the role of a journalist motivational speaker and author she says she has seen that side And is well aware that she will never be a heroine Her onscreen roles include a mother an aunt a psychiatrist judge a principal or a corporate diva ldquoI seem to be getting roles where women make a difference strong women And I have always believed in that Most of my books are about pathbreaking women transiting women and their journeys So I think in my own small way it is nice to be getting these roles where women are making a differencerdquo says MenonIn an attempt to further her career Menon has made a tough decision for 2025 ldquoMy writing will pause for the next twothree years You canrsquot do justice to two things I started writing when I was 21 and my last book was three years ago I have two three books in various stages of completion But this year Irsquom so fascinated by this new space that Irsquom working in that I find it difficult to focus on something elserdquo she says But Menon sounds determined resilient and willing to do the hard work it takes to explore a new career in her 50s ldquoI think I do a good job in whatever Irsquom doing because after all it is communication isnrsquot itrdquo she saysBut how does she stay motivated on tough days when rejection knocks at her door Her writer instincts kick in Menon has had to pitch her writing and ideas numerous times and enjoys the hustle She says that just as she would wake up every day and write something daily she does the same with acting but adds that itrsquos also important to promote your work ldquoI tell myself I want to be in this for the long run And so I take that time to catch up on reading a good book I watch good movies from some of the greatest actors out there And then you are motivated because you know that you would like to some day become like them and be noticed for your workrdquo she says and adds ldquoContinuously remind yourself of your worth Not getting one project does not define who you arerdquo