I don鈥檛 know if anyone is feeling any pressure for the new year. I don鈥檛 know if you鈥檝e already made plans, set goals, thought of a timeline for yourself, self-preparations and all of that. Maybe you have, or like a lot of other people, you鈥檙e determined to take the day as it comes. Maybe you haven鈥檛 given it any thought and just want to enjoy the holidays. Whatever the category, you fall inside, there鈥檚 no doubt that the new year is coming. It鈥檚 inevitable.
I think I鈥檓 a mixture of all the categories in the sense that even though I want to and I am trying to enjoy the festivities as much as possible, I鈥檝e already had a few goals I鈥檝e set in part of my mind that is going to be my focus as I, by God鈥檚 grace, enter the new year.
However, I said to myself that the new year usually comes with a lot of pressure. That鈥檚 why many of us set resolutions and a few days into the new year, or maybe just a week, we鈥檙e already falling short of the goals and expectations we set for ourselves. I say this with all seriousness because I鈥檝e been a victim of this several times, but since I believe a lot in the greatness of my 2024, I鈥檝e decided to do things differently.
I mean, I can鈥檛 expect a different result when I do the same thing over and again. So, my first step to doing things differently is to not start in the new year which is already laced with tension, even though we鈥檙e not even there yet, and to start implementing some of my goals now. Acting on them. I鈥檝e been wanting to fully resume my workout sessions like before. And I thought to just start the first day because I鈥檓 the kind of person that deals with whole numbers. So if I say I鈥檓 going to start writing a post by 8pm, and for some reason, I get engaged and then check my time to see 8.08, I would wait till 8.30 before I begin. Whether there鈥檚 a deadline hanging over my neck or not. It鈥檚 just wired in my psyche to be that way.
But somehow I felt it in my subconscious that if I waited till January 1st to begin, I would end up skipping a day on January 4th and then two days after January 7th, till the whole plan just goes away with the wind. And so, for the past week, I began my workouts as a way of setting myself to the completion of my one-year goal. One of my teachers in high school talked about something becoming a habit if we did it consistently for twenty-one days, and so I can鈥檛 wait to cross the 21-day threshold and see if it would no longer feel burdensome. I mean I do want it and I鈥檓 under no compulsion whatsoever, but you can agree that even when we genuinely want something, it still feels like a burden sometimes.
And then I talked about my Dreem which is to get the perfect space to broaden, sharpen and perfect my writing skills. And also, by extension, a place that would give me that ideal ambience for my creative self to flow without inhibition. I said to myself that I would create a space that I feel the most safe in. Most happy to carry out everything that I鈥檝e set my heart on.
So while I鈥檓 still not exactly sure how this challenge is to go, I did say that I could only achieve this Dreem if I stopped procrastinating, if I took the bull by the horns and seized with all degree of alacrity the opportunities that come my way. I don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 the way to put it because I fully intend to seize even the opportunities that don鈥檛 come my way. That means I鈥檓 actively searching for them and through that, doors would be opened for me.
I鈥檓 not sure if I said it but after I missed a few this year, I promised to be more intentional about essay and story writing contests. So I鈥檝e begun to search for them. The ideal ones that I would have liked are not available yet but I鈥檓 still searching. I surfed the net a lot a few days ago and saw contests like this. I mean, the fact that it costs money to enter has kind of taken the shine out of it for me. But I鈥檓 still looking, you know. I saw others that come with even higher fees as well.
Anyway, here鈥檚 the link to the site, just in case it鈥檚 something you would be interested in. Also, as a way of broadening my skills, I鈥檝e begun to save money for Coursera which is a platform where you learn skills. I鈥檓 looking at I鈥檓 looking at advancing my skills tech-wise in courses like digital marketing. Fingers crossed but still working actively for a better, 2024, let鈥檚 see those Dreems into Fruition.
Jhymi馃枻
Thumbnail is mine. Other images are phone screenshots.