6 Dec 2022
If it hasn’t hit you already, let this newsletter be a realisation that the New Year is about to start in less than a month.
If I describe my usual feelings for the New Year, I’ll say that I have always felt neutral about new beginnings. There’s the excitement of stepping into the unknown. But there’s also the fear of experiencing the unknown.
Nonetheless, I love how this time always becomes an excuse to slow down, prioritise family, and do some much-needed self-reflection. I often try to bring one of my visions to life, where I’m sitting in a room with warm lighting and a cosy blanket while assessing where I’m at in life, and December seems like a perfect time for it.
This entire month, my newsletters will revolve around something I believe should be a requirement in life, i.e. self-reflection. I feel like there’s no better way to start this series than by talking about mistakes, which are inescapable in life. This year, I’ve made some mistakes which, upon looking back, make me feel stupid, while others make me feel courageous for emerging out of them gracefully.
I shall now move on to the part which was probably the most interesting for me to practise since it allowed me to observe my life from a third person’s perspective and understand my actions and reactions on a deeper level.
This year, I made the mistake of:
Forcing myself to be productive at all times and study like a maniac only because I quit my job for it.
Asking for less despite knowing I had worked hard enough to deserve more.
Delaying some experiences which would allow me to learn and grow only because they were outside my comfort zone.
Undermining myself because “If I speak up, it might upset others.”
Believing that I would lose my friendships because my friends and I don’t live in the same town anymore.
Feeling scared for finally making an effort to do something that made me feel fulfilled.
Holding myself back from growing this platform, fearing that people may have negative things to say.
This week, I encourage you to spend some time reflecting on what mistakes you made this year, if some of these turned out into great learning experiences and how they shaped you into your present self.
In next week’s newsletter, I will share my biggest learnings of 2022. In the meantime, I would love to hear about interesting anecdotes from your life, your AHA! moments this year, moments you enjoyed the most, when you laughed without a care in this world, how you snapped out of a challenging time. Literally anything!
See you next week!