I love New Year’s Day… sometimes even more than Christmas. I love the idea of starting a new and creating goals and resolutions.
While I like to break down my year into quarters and don’t always wait until a new year to try and reach a goal or form a new habit, I like looking back and reflecting on my year as a whole and what improvements I can make in the future.
2019 for me was a year filled with ups and downs, the wins totally outweighed the losses and I’m ending the year on a better and happier note than I started. A lot of personal and professional growth happened during this time which I am grateful for.
I fell down more times than I can count in 2019, there were so many challenges, BUT coming out on the other side simply proved to me my resilience and my ability to survive and also succeed.
I learnt several lessons this year and I’d like to share them with you:
1. You’re in charge of your own happiness
No one can make you happy but you. Deciding to be happy takes work. For me, I had to be honest with myself and honest with the things I wanted and didn’t want. Happiness came to me in being unapologetic with what I needed and wanted. Happiness came to me when I faced my emotions and dealt with them. I no longer look to persons or things to give me happiness.
2. Every mickle really does make a mukkle… one one coco does full basket.
Every small action you do adds up and it builds DISCIPLINE.
3. Just START
Self doubt is real, a lot of times I found my self hesitant to do something or start a project because of self doubt. I was talking to a friend of mine who said, “just start, and learn and improve along the way.”
4. Put yourself first
It’s cliche to say you can’t give from an empty cup, but it couldn’t be any more true. Sleep and my mental wellbeing became my top priority. Now I avoid overextending myself and over committing. Saying no was one of the best lessons I learnt.
5. Face your feelings
Bottling up my feelings has always been my modus operandi, and has always over time came back to bite me in the arse! Journaling is one of the best ways I have found to not only face, but work through my feelings. All emotions that you feel have some meaning and some value, from love happiness to anger and even jealousy. Facing them allows you to learn from them.
6. The importance of self love
Self confidence, self worth, self esteem… all things many of us have had issues with- including myself. I made an active decision to give myself constructive criticisms as well as self praise. We are often times our biggest and harshest critiques and now it’s time to be our biggest cheerleader.
Some things I’m grateful for in 2019:
1. My family and friends
2. My study group
3. All the speaking engagements I got to do
4. Twitter for connecting me with different types of people
5. This blog that kept me writing even when I didn’t want to
6. So much more!
Thank you for a great year! Share with me your biggest lessons for 2019 and what you’re grateful for.
Samantha C. Johnson
Featured photo from Unsplash
