A Bit of Reflection for the New Year
What would you tell yourself about 2022? How honest can you be about the lessons you learned throughout this year?
Personally, I should be planning and talking about the upcoming new year but instead, I'm doing a bit of reflection. I was just thinking if I could sit down for a cup of tea with the past year and talk to myself about it, what would I tell? I would really love to tell her that there is nothing worth sacrificing your mind, body, and soul.
And at the same time, I would share with her all my learnings. For today’s episode, I will do just that. This episode is a recap of my 2022 and I will be sharing the top 10 lessons of this year. But these are not just simple learnings. These are lessons that I'm going to cherish and things that I am taking with me in 2023. And I also encourage you to take it with you for this new year.
Top 10 lessons for this year
Number 1: Emotionally separate yourself from your problems
This has been an amazing lesson because it brought a great realization. I am far greater than my problems. I'm a living, breathing human being who's infinitely more complex than all of my individual problems added up together. I realized that we're more powerful than our problems and we have the ability to change them and change the way we feel about them.
Number 2: Things change but the sun always rises the next day
We all know change is the only constant in our life. Just remember, the bad news is nothing permanent so just rejoice in it and live your life.
Number 3: You must accept and love yourself
There is nothing selfish about self-care and self-love. And self-love doesn't come without self-acceptance. Remember that we can't give what we don't have. Our contributions to the world matter but we can only transmit the genuine energy that we have within ourselves.
Number 4: Resentment hurts me, not them
Resentment hurts you, not the people you are targeting it towards. Always forgive people and move on. Also, don't do it for them. Do it for yourself because grudges are a waste of happiness and provoke unnecessary stress in our lives.
Number 5: Not getting what I want can be a blessing
There were so many things this year that I wanted and wished I had. However, understanding that not getting what I want is sometimes wonderful. I viewed it as a stroke of good luck because it forced me to revalue things. It forced me to open new doors to opportunities and to the details that I would have overlooked.
Number 6: Even when it's hard to move, remember “small steps, big priorities”
This is one of the lessons that I learned from my coach, Jay Sheri, and I’ve kept it. There are times that it is hard to move but we need to remember to take small steps forward, especially during trying times. It's so important to continuously push ourselves forward because it's that momentum that keeps us with a positive attitude. And even if you feel that you are moving at a snail's pace, just know that you'll eventually get to the finish line.
Number 7: Me versus me
This has also been my mantra and it has helped me focus on only competing against myself. Whenever you catch yourself comparing yourself to a colleague, neighbor, friend, or someone famous, stop. Stop right there and then think about all that makes you unique. Think about your strengths that maybe other people don't have.
And stop comparing against people you think have got it all together. There really is no way of knowing what the other person is going through. It is better to focus just on our journey and send good energy to everyone else around us.
Number 8: I am not stuck or trapped
In reality, I just need to “unsubscribe” and unlearn a few things. I learned this term, “unsubscribe from the things” from Lilly Singh’s book “Be a Triangle”. She explains that we feel trapped because we have subscribed to so many ideas and so many things that society has told us are the way of living.
If you are one of those who is doubting yourself and your ability to make a life-altering decision or to start on a new chapter in your life, consider unlearning. Just remember that you can relearn it later.
Number 9: We always have a choice no matter what
It's Dr. Wayne Dyer's famous saying and I love it. You have the choice to view a crisis as an invitation to learn something new. There are always at least two options to choose from. For instance, if you can't physically change something, you can change the way you think about it.
Number 10: The end is a new beginning
Say this to yourself, especially now that we're ending 2022. But we're also beginning the new year, 2023. Have gratitude for your past, and all the life lessons you have learned for the now and your future.
Key Takeaway
I am extremely excited to share the new year with you. There are so many new plans, new lessons, and new learnings that are ready for you in our parenting community. My friend, please join me in The Parenting Lab.
If you are a parent feeling stuck or feeling burnt out, anxious, or tired of your kids talking back to you or lying to you. You're tired of you repeating a million times because your kids are not listening to you, let's close the chapter of feeling burnt out, feeling anxious, feeling trapped, feeling overwhelmed with parenting. Let's welcome to the new chapter where you can connect with yourself, with your child, with your partner, with your loved ones, with everyone who's around you and, you know, embark on this new journey.
I cannot wait to share with you the new tools of communication, the new strategies of making our kids feel seen, heard, and understood, and ensuring that we're not losing ourselves because we don't have to lose ourselves just because we're parents.
Know that whenever you are ready, my doors are always open.