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2018 has just begun! And if you are like everyone else, you are busy away making a long list of New Year’s resolutions for the upcoming year.
But we both know that THIS YEAR (just like every other year) you will not keep the promises you made to yourself.
THIS New Year’s, you will look at your list from last year and realize that the ONLY thing you actually succeeded in is making a long list of promises that you did not keep… to YOURSELF.
A depressing and pessimistic picture. Isn’t it?
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
No. I am not trying to ruin your festive holiday atmosphere, or the spectacular feasts and the clicking of champagne glasses. Neither am I trying to put out the flicker of hope and optimism in your eyes as you embark on a new journey this 2018.
Carry on with your feasts and champagne and optimism.
I want you to think and reflect on your own life and what direction you are taking it in.
I want to take you out of this cycle of constant writing (and rewriting) of resolutions that you tell yourself you will keep, but never do.
Isn’t it time to make a change in your life?
A PERMANENT ONE.
ONE that goes beyond the first TWO weeks of January!?
But more importantly, did you REALLY have to wait an entire 12 MONTHS to assess yourself and your progress?
*Inserts CHEESY DID YOU KNOW FACT here*
DID YOU KNOW THAT only 9% of us will actually achieve their New Year’s Resolutions!? According to a study of the Statistic Brain Institute, 91% of resolutioners will fail on their resolutions this upcoming year, while ONLY 9% will be successful.
(Side note: Yes, I know Statistic Brain Institute is a very weird name, but these guys are legit!)
Anyway. Back to the point.
9%.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME!??
NINE PERCENT!?
百分之九? (This is 9% in Chinese, apparently. Thank you, Google. It also looks like my facial expression when I read this study!)
Nueve por ciento!? (I don’t speak burrito. Feliz navidad. Prospero año y felicidad.) 😉
!تسعة في المئة؟ (In case you wanna make that Ayrab money this year.)
ДЕВЕТ ПРОЦЕНТА? (I know you can’t read Bulgarian, but by now you get the point.)
Different languages, different cultures, different countries, different food (mmmm FOOD!)…. yet they all have ONE thing in common.
They ALL come together on Dec. 31st full of hope, optimism, massive feasts and….
the realization that they are nowhere closer to their goals at end the of the year, than they were at the beginning of the year.
I used be like that.
Every year, I would make a long list of promises and resolutions that I would never keep.
Until one New Year’s eve, when I got fed up of it.
Fed up with being afraid.
Fed up with being a victim to circumstance.
Fed up with regretting missed opportunities.
Fed up with believing that I would never be fit, successful, desirable, loved or rich.
And that was the moment where everything changed.
December 22nd, 2014. I will not forget that day. (And how could I.. that is my birthday after all 😀 )
I remember being in tears most of the time.
Sitting on the coach, intently looking at the TV screen, I watched as I grew from a tiny baby into a tall young man.
I watched in amazement, as I saw the baby take its first steps…
I then watched as the baby (now a 3 year old unruly boy) ran wild in all directions across a theme park (with his mother chasing after him, of course. Good times :D)
On the screen then appeared, an awkward, insecure and self-conscious teenager during his primary school years, followed by the smiling high school valedictorian, all suited up and ready and eager to start the next phase of his life.
And now I was in my second year of university studies.
“Where on earth did all that time go?” – I thought to myself, as heavy, regretful, bitter tears began rolling down my face.
Fast-forward to New Years 2014 a few days later.
Everything happened so quickly.
19 YEARS of my life had passed by!? And what had I achieved in that time?
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
I was not satisfied with my body, my crappy relationship, my grades, my life, but mostly myself.
I was unhappy with myself.
There were so many things that I talked myself out of… even before I tried.
So many missed opportunities and so much regret over what I didn’t do.
So many should have/would have/could haves.
I realized how many opportunities I let pass me by because of fear, hesitation and insecurity.
I felt like a failure.
Through the tears, I vowed to NEVER. EVER. feel like that again.
I promised myself that next year, I would look back on the year that passed and actually be proud of it, as opposed to being regretful, sorry and sad.
Everything that scared me, I would do.
That was a promise.
A promise I still keep to myself 4 years later.
And that is where the real journey began.
HAPPY NEW 2018!
May this year be the one where YOUR journey begins!
Listen to today’s VERY FIRST Samotivation Podcast episode to figure out how you TOO can take your resolutions from a SHEET OF PAPER to REALITY!
P.S: Nothing is more fitting to describe that New Year’s than the video below.
Harry Potter fans enjoy!