As we enter the new year, I can’t help but knuckle down and plan for 2019. Like many people, I also intend to draw from the experiences of the year gone by. Apparently, I had more misses than hits in 2018. But overall, it was a satisfactory year.
On the positive side, I got my bearings and had the clarity of thought. On the bleak side, I could not gather enough steam to produce loads of content, something I want to nail in 2019. Anyways, that’s the micro side of things. On the macro front, I have a few things in mind that I want to practice every day.
#1. Humility and Self-compassion
Yes, more humility and more self-compassion. Earning your stripes is important but it’s not worth it if you are going to beat yourself up about it. Failures will happen, they are an integral part of your journey to success. But at no point should you allow failures to bog you down even when you learn, grow and expand your knowledge through the pain.
#2. Focus on fewer goals
You know people who make a truckload of resolutions at the start of the year end up missing most of them. So in 2019, I intend to have fewer goals on my platter so that proper attention could go to each.
#3. More family time
Family time, to me, doesn’t only mean snuggling up together. I wish for more delightful experiences than last year.
Think about it, when you get old, what would you remember the most – the time you spent watching Netflix or the long road trip you took to the Himalayas?
#4. Focus on the present
Focus on the now, and not care about what might be coming and what’s gone by.
Dwelling upon the past is no good nor is looking far into the future. If you get your act right in the present, you are on your way to greatness.
#5. See others as they are
This is something I picked up from Robert Greene’s book “Mastery”. Understanding people plays a pivotal role in where you end up in life.
You have to take a detached, dispassionate view of others and not let emotions cloud your perspective. Hence, in all my future interactions, I will force myself to take a step backward and not get emotional.
Exercising the mind like this every day could be fatiguing but over time, it will become your second nature.