2018, A New Look at the New Year

Do you believe in New Years’ resolutions??

It’s a great time to set some goals or at least reassess and focus your goals. It’s a great time to check in with yourself. What are you wanting out of your life this year? What did you do great last year?? What did you not get to or not get to do enough of last year?

I wouldn’t say that I believe in New Years’ resolutions but I am a goal setter and the beginning of the year is a great time to reassess your goals and reevaluate your method to achieve these goals. So first, I’m going to take a minute to reflect on 2017.

2017 was very influential for me. Of course the biggest difference and accomplishment was being completely self employed. Being able to create my days, months, and life has been a dream. I want to say I’m lucky but I know it’s not that. I have worked very hard to get to this point but I definitely need to say that I’m thankful to the One that made all things are possible, my parents for loving and supporting me, Droany for being my better half (most days lol), all of my teachers for their patience, and my friends for their support.

Whatever I did not achieve in 2017 is solely because I didn’t plan appropriately to make that happen. Being self employed has helped me be more accountable. I have no good excuse for literally anything any more. I no longer “don’t have time” for something, I simply didn’t make the time. I no longer “don’t have money” for something, I simply didn’t budget appropriately. Half way through the year, this idea actually went from a solution to a new problem. I was having a hard time saying no to things because I knew that I didn’t really have any excuse. Cue next lesson.

Learning about how to take care of myself became a HUGE lesson. Just because I can make the 9pm class doesn’t mean that I should. Because it’s not all about the actual class at 9pm. How does that help me with the rest of my life?? Have I eaten well today to be able to sustain me through that class? Have I rested enough to be able to have a successful 6am session the following day or do I need more sleep? For me, it’s okay to have a late class into an early morning if I have taken other steps to make sure that I’m setting myself up for success in the long run. If I’m just going to burn myself, or miss work, or get sick, is that really worth it??

These are probably the biggest themes that I learned this past year and although I am NO WHERE near perfect, I am happy with the lessons that I am practicing and will continue to practice now that I have enlightenment of them! This year, I am focusing on being present, being patient, and being content. My Life. My Struggle. My Time.

Being present is required to being a good listener. More than that, being present helps foster relationships and understand those around us. I can’t assume that someone (including myself) is going to be the same way all the time. We all have bad days and its important to remember that. I saw a longtime friend over the holidays that I really only see once a year. This person wasn’t there typical bubbly self and it was refreshing to not be concerned about it. Maybe it’s a bad day. Maybe not but that’s not my concern. This person wasn’t in a great mood and that’s okay.

I needed two years to practice embracing positivity and like a ton of bricks, it’s hit me that positivity needs to be supplemented. You can’t just be positive. Sometimes shit sucks and that’s okay. So this year, I will be more patient. Patient with myself when I’m not doing things as quickly as I’d like. Patient with others when we are not agreeing or understanding each other. Patient with other people’s choices. Patient with my own choices.

Another thing that I learned this year is that I need to be happy with myself where I am at. I have that tendency to show growth but not be content with it because I’m not already at the finish line… and is there ever really a finish line in life?? Once I do this, then I’ll be happy. More and more, I realize this is complete bull. This idea goes hand-in-hand with being present and being patient. It all works synergistically to create better quality interactions, relationships, and ultimately, a better quality life.

This was just a quick glance of my personal self-reflection but I truly recommend you spend some time doing the same thing for yourself. Meditate on how last year went and how you want this new year to go. Picture it. What is it that you want out of this new year?

Check back soon for a new post!! Have a great week!