Welcome 2018, last year was an eye opener, I wont say it was a bad year because I choose to see the ‘bad’ as a challenge for me to grow. So 2017 presented me with challenges that I want to overcome in 2018.
My New Year’s resolution list has one entry only; be grateful. Whilst I was tempted to add more, I knew that this is one area that I wanted to focus on more than anything, and this is an area that will affect all other matters of my life. How so? By becoming grateful I am focusing on the positives in my life, and so enjoying what I have rather than coveting what I don’t (or rather, beating myself up for not having this or that).
In the past months I have taken a look at how I set my goals and based on what I am setting them, and I found that most of the time I am setting myself up for failure. Although the goals are achievable and not ridiculous, I am not taking into account things that happen on a daily basis. You have to remember that when you sat down to write your goal you were excited and full of confidence, but as days go by and you are stuck somewhere, you lose sight of the reasons you wanted it to start off.
It has come to my awareness that all the goals I want to achieve were driven by the illusion that once I get there, I will be happy. The truth is happiness is not one final destination, happiness are stops on your way. We have been misguided into thinking we need to be happy all the time, and that’s not possible (this has been scientifically proven). Instead of striving for happiness, strive to be content.
For the longest time I thought content meant to settle for less, but that too is a misconception, contentment is being in a place where you are satisfied, regardless of what happens. It is a peaceful place where you set goals and work hard to get them, but you don’t beat yourself if you don’t achieve it because either way you got something out of the experience.
How do you become content? You practice gratefulness. This word has been thrown around so much I feel it became devalued, so I took another look at it and made it my own, created my own interpretation of what gratefulness is, and I have this whole year to practice it my way.
Just to give you a few examples of how I am planning to implement this, I have broken down this one goal into smaller goals in different area’s, one such area is my health. I am grateful for all that I have put my body through, and instead of being upset about not being at a certain weight or fitness level, I want to thank my body and nourish it instead of punishing it. How am I punishing it? By making the weight and fitness level the goal rather than a healthy body.
In my career I want to be grateful that I have the opportunity to get back to work after 10 years of being home, I want to stop comparing myself to others and realize that where I am now is where I am supposed to be. This doesn’t mean that I will not be motivated to give 110%, it removes the focus from the comparison and brings it into my own unique journey. Again, using me as the benchmark, not someone else that has completely different circumstances.
The same will apply to other areas in my life, this wont be an easy task, but slowly I want to get into the habit of being grateful even when deep down I feel like everything is going wrong. In the end what really matters in any situation is how you feel about it and react to it, not what it really is.
Here’s to a great 2018!
