Here we go again.
Another year has passed and yet again it's that time of the year when people start complaining about how sh*t it has been. Amazing artists and actors died again, celebrities we care too much about showed human errors again, some politicians made horrifically wrong decisions again and Taylor Swift wrote new hit songs about her ex boyfriend again (but hey at least she makes loads of money so I guess the joke's definitely not on her).
Even though we all act like the end of the world is near, our imaginary apocalypse is suprisingly enough just going to continue in 2017 (sorry to break it to you). So instead of talking about all the things that went wrong, I would encourage everyone to focus on all the positive things that have happened, what's there to look forward to in 2017 and what you can do to make it even better than the previous one.
Personally, this has been a crazy year to me. Not only when it comes to self-development, but I also took my first teeny-tiny steps into journalism and for goodness' sake- I have moved to another country for the second time. There have definitely been quite a lot of changes this year, both positive and negative ones, but I would never regret the negative ones anyway, making sure there's no way I'll start 2017 with regret.
However, this is not a blog post where I'm going all Oprah on you. I will not tell you how to achieve success 101 or what you are currently doing wrong regarding your lifestyle, neither will I tell you to start eating this superfruit which is proven to increase brain activity. All I want to do is to suggest a few methods on how to grow more in 2017 and make it the best year so far. It's your choice whether you'll try them out, and since I'm only a naïve teenager, believing she's starting to grow up because she turned 18, there is quite a good chance that I am going to cringe over this blog post a year from now anyway.
Think about the future, but don't live it
One thing we're quite good at is worrying too much about what's ahead of us. It's alright and even
necessary to plan ahead and save up enough money for the future, as long as it doesn't limit your possibilites now. We glorify the act of working long hours and earning more money than we need, while neglecting our other desires like enjoying our hobbies, hanging out with family and friends and yes, even spending one day a week in your pajamas, doing absolutely nothing but eating, sleeping, watching series and breathing. Because believe it or not, I've noticed that what I do outside work or school is what actually made me grow, and if that means working less and having more fun, then that's totally fine by me.
Never stop learning
Since we were little, teachers and other adults have constantly been feeding us with information they feel have a certain level of importance, and everyone of us has at some point asked themselves why we should learn about different types of triangles, when some were more interested in how to write 'boobs' on a calculator. Perhaps this is the reason why so many of us don't enjoy reading or simply learning about topics we could actually find interesting. However, I found that the more knowledge I gain, whether it's within politics, philosophy or life hacks I find on YouTube, the more knowledge I gain about myself. It sounds cheesy, but it actually helps you to have more control over the person you want to be by choosing what to get influenced by in addition to what affects everyone anyway.
Become more organized, plan ahead, but don't be afraid of being spontaneous
This might depend on your personality and what drives you, but for me, making plans and having an overview of what's ahead of me has helped me get rid of stress, made me more productive and actually happier, too. By making plans, there is always something I can look forward to, something that gets me up in the morning (yes, I'm also a big fan of to-do-lists). Even though being organized spares me the mental chaos that used to drive me crazy at night, I always try to balance it with a little bit of impulsiveness and spontaneity. That's why I have started to say yes to sudden invitations, even though I didn't feel like it, and in most cases it actually turned out to be better than I expected. In addition to my to-do-list with things I need to get done until my personal deadline, I also make a can-do-list, which basically tells me what I can do if I feel like it, have some spare time or even suggestions for other fun things if I happen to run out of ideas. Don't shy away from being a little compulsive, because it might in some cases actually show you what your real desires are.This always keeps me busy, and protects me from the feeling of wasting my time, which, in my case, is one of the keys to happiness.
I'd rather regret the things I have done than the things that I haven't done
If Lucille Ball was able to think like this at a time when women were suppressed in a way that would be close to impossible in our Western world today, then I guess I could easily do that, too. I don't know how many tumblr sites or encouragement cards with this quote on exist, but I completely refuse to be ashamed of how much I love this saying. Taking some risks, getting the right mindset and saying yes more often, believing in yourself instead of limiting your possibilites - it's all so important to your growth, and to doors that are just waiting to be opened. Fear of failure shouldn't stop you from trying, neither should the fear of embarrassment, because we're always waiting for so many more moments of shame in our lives anyway, you might as well chase them.
We're all idiots
Have you ever noticed how many relatable posts you can find on Facebook? How many times teenagers use the word "same"? And do you even remember how often, when having an open conversation about what happened, the person in front of you tells you about how he or she thought and felt exactly the same? It seems like we are all, in some ways, inevitably stupid or embarrassing, and everyone is trying so hard to hide it. This realization has actually given me a kind of relief, and every time I feel anxious in a situation or I feel too nervous to take an approach, I just remind myself of how most of us have quite similar fears and that this uncomfortable feeling I could possibly get is not going to last for long. If I don't try, there is no chance of winning, and if I screw up, then it would only tell me something about myself that I know and accept anyway: that I'm a complete idiot.
I could probably write another paragraph about the importance of gratitude, but I'm too afraid some old lady would start making an encouragement board out of my blog posts, so I'll just end it here. If you'll try to think of these points in the new year, I don't know. Whether they'll actually be useful to you or if you've read the same words a thousand times before, I don't know. If you're enlightened, Buddha would know. Since this is my personal blog, luckily I can be just as self-centered as I want, but if this post will help you change the way you see and approach things, then I'm more than happy to have spent my Saturday morning on this.
I wish you a happy new year, and that you do things worth documenting so you can laugh about them later. x
(Oh, and sorry for calling you an idiot)
