5 Goals for a New Year
It’s kind of funny how I always start out a blog and somehow just fail entirely at it. I love writing - I always have - but somehow I can’t maintain writing my blog and my posts become so erratic until it’s non existent. Repeat cycle.
Life has been so good to me this past year. It’s so crazy busy but I am totally loving living in Boston. I always strive to become better and better everyday, so I decided to set 5 goals for myself in the new year. It's all about creating healthier habits in this life, let’s just hope that I stick to it...
1. Maintain this blog!
First thing on the agenda. Fingers crossed! I’ve failed numerous times before, and failed miserably. But I strongly believe that if you really want something, you will make it happen. I know I failed the past few times because I didn’t have a plan. The old quote literally goes "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail" and that was the case for the previous dead blogs. Make time for the things that are important to you. This is a revival and I’m hoping it lives.
2. Maintain an exercise plan
Next up on the maintenance list. I used to hate exercise but as I grew older, I begin to realise how important exercise is. I know it helps with my focus and health and it makes me feel sooo good. I absolutely love the burn in my quads after a good workout because I feel so accomplished. Often I give up exercise when it gets busy and this start-stop routine is quite frustrating. I am over this bad habit!! In the long run, I know it’s good for me and my body and I want to stick to it.
3. Stress less and live a little
I am someone who stresses about every single thing. It sucks and I can’t help it. But I know it’s extremely unhealthy and needs to be kept in check. I found that after working for an extremely stressful event, my body completely crashes and forces me to take the rest I need. And I do that again and again to myself. It’s horrible, I know. That’s why I want to change it - for my health and really for my sanity. The past year, I’ve been trying to let go of things a little bit more every time and to simply enjoy the finer things in life. Appreciate the world that God has created and enjoy life so much more. I can totally write a whole load about stressing about every little thing (I daresay I'm an expert!) but I shall save that for another time or this post will know no end. My goal now is to reduce these anxieties and just live a little more.
4. Be patient with myself
The Asian in me loves producing results. And it's not just results, it has to be high-quality, ass-kicking, amazing results. It's great because makes me so driven and willing to work for what I want. But it's not so great when I don't get the results that I expected and I fall into this spiral of "I'm not good enough" and it gets real depressing real quick. Not cool, Tan Li Shan. I've been dealing with this a little bit every day and trying to cut myself some slack. Things don't happen overnight. It's truly months and years of preparing yourself for that culmination of everything you have ever worked for. I try to remind myself that it's okay if things don't work out today - I'm in for the long haul.
5. Stop comparing and stop caring
In this age of social media, everyone is trying to live this perfect little life on Instagram. I'm guilty too. We get caught up in this lie of having to be perfect all the time. We specially curate our Instagram feed because we want other people to think that we are living this amazing life. And, we get into this Instagram spiral comparing ourselves to others, or being jealous of their seemingly fabulous life. This takes away my joy especially when I keep caring about what people think about me. Well here's two truths - 1. I'm not perfect. 2. You can't get everyone to like you and not everyone is going to like you. It might seem like the sad, honest truth but if this is the case then why care? Why try to live the life of pleasing other people when the most important person to please is yourself? Don't give others the power to take away your joy. True joy should be from within, because you are living your best life.
xx, lishan