bhaskar saikia

The beginning of the last month of the year carries a peculiar hush—a moment suspended between reflection and anticipation. December always feels like a gentle reminder that time is both fleeting and full of possibilities. It asks us to pause, look back at the road we’ve travelled, and then look ahead at the one waiting to be built.

This is the season when we start speaking in terms of next year—goals, targets, desires, dreams. Not because the calendar demands it, but because the human heart loves new beginnings. We crave that feeling of wiping the slate clean, even though life is never really a straight line.

As the saying goes, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” It’s a cliché we’ve heard a thousand times, but it carries weight—perhaps more now than ever.

But Planning Alone Is Never Enough

Plans look beautiful on paper. They carry ambition, clarity, even hope.

Yet a plan without action is a silent anchor. It keeps us rooted in place, holding on to ideas that never move. A year can slip through our fingers quietly when we confuse planning with progress.

Because the truth is simple and harsh: Failing to act on what we plan is the surest way to walk into another year of disappointments.

And isn’t that how many years vanish? Not in chaos, but in inaction.

No Wind Favours a Ship Without a Destination

There is wisdom in this old line: “No wind favors a ship whose destination is unknown.”

Life offers its own winds—opportunities, challenges, unexpected chances.
But without direction, even the strongest wind pushes us nowhere meaningful. A drifting ship may move, yes, but movement without purpose is not progress. It’s just motion.

So this December, let us choose our destination before we set sail.

A Blueprint for the New Year

This month is not about rushing or overwhelming ourselves with lists. It’s about alignment. About asking the right questions:

• Does this goal reflect who I want to become?
• Is this desire truly mine, or borrowed from someone else?
• What small actions can I take every day to move toward it?

The magic isn’t in grand targets—it’s in the discipline of showing up.

Just as a ship sails not by one mighty gust but by steady, continuous wind, our year will be shaped not by one big decision but by the small, consistent acts we commit to.