Happy New Year, Welcome 2024! 🥳🥂

First of all, I'd like to wish everyone Happy New Year and all the best in the upcoming 365 days! Let this year be better than the last one! Raising a glass of champagne to our success!

2023 was a colorful year for me with lots of achievements and changes, most of them personal. I don't have a diary in real life, except this blog, but I don't really write about personal stuff here anyway, so most of the things that happen during the old year are in my memory. However, today I'd like to share a few thoughts about what 2023 taught me.

You Don't Know How Strong You Are Till Being Strong Is The Only Option

This looks like a cliche you see on the internet thrown left and right by those who want to look important and smart. Maybe it is a cliche, but it has a good dose of truth in it as well.

Last year I was put to the test a few times and sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel was nowhere to be seen. In these cases it's hard to find the strength to carry out what is ahead of you, but life taught me to do it anyway for a good reason. If you succeed, you get the satisfaction of a lifetime, that you did it against all odds. If you fail, you know you did everything in your power and will have a clean conscience, which is very important in life in my opinion.

There's nothing worse than having a bad conscience and living with regrets for the rest of your life. When you're facing your next tough challenge in life, you can look back in time, relive those old times and the taught that you did it once, can give you the necessary strength to go on and face the next challenge coming your way.

Don't Take Anything For Granted

This is a lesson I learnt years ago, when life decided to show me not everything is granted in life, even if you have it for the time being. Back then I was very young and maybe going through it was a blessing in disguise as it made me learn this lesson at that young age, I just could not see it that way back then.

The change came out of nowhere basically and shocked me to tears. It made me reevaluate my whole life and think about what I had and what I lost. I was fortunate for the change not to be permanent and got my life back after two weeks of struggle and pain, but my life was never the same after that.

Last week, which was literally the last week as the year ended, I got another reminder from life. The change came out of the blue this time too, as always does and crossed all my plans in a split second. Over the years I got used to it and know how to handle these situations, this is why I don't get angry or disappointed about the canceled plans, but unfortunately I still tend to forget to not take everything for granted.

There are millions living displaced all over the world for different reasons. Broken hearts, broken dreams, broken families, broken homes, broken lives. Unfortunately you can't turn time back and life has no delete button either. This is why you have to appreciate what you have and be happy for every little thing life gives you.

Find The Strength You Need Wherever You Can

Life is never a Disneyland for anyone. No matter who you are, rich or poor, short or tall, there will always be challenges for you, just different ones. Life is more like a roller coaster, with a bunch of ups and downs and sometimes the "downs" seem to be more than the "ups", which can create a huge imbalance and this is the time when you need to be creative.

I think it is characteristic of all people to long for prosperity and well-being. When they don't have it, desperation kicks in and many don't know how to get out of it. The truth is, no one is going to knock on your door to offer you help, but despite that, help can be available around you, if you can recognize it.

Sometimes the right kind of music can give you the necessary strength to get up and go on. Or people who have been through hell can serve as a good example and give you the motivation you need to make the next step. Or just talking to a total stranger can make you feel a bit better. Help can arrive in various forms and shapes but you're the only one to recognize it and use it to your advantage.

Never Be Afraid To Face New Challenges, Try Out New Things

This is actually a funny one. I've been doing this for a long time and last year got me some nice benefits. You won't believe what's happened :)

A few months back I saw an announcement on Twitter about a meme contest. I hate memes, have never liked them, let alone create one, but the prize for the winner was $200!

With 0 experience, I mean literally zero experience in creating memes, you can imagine my chances of winning were slim to none, but this is not a bad thing as it makes things easier actually. When you have nothing to lose, the whole thing becomes a lot of fun.

Long story short, I created a meme that I thought would be appreciated by the project, submitted it and closed the chapter already. There was no reason to have expectations, so I moved on. Imagine my surprise after a few days, when the winner was announced and I saw myself named as winner.

$200 may seem like pocket money for some, but when you think of what you could buy with it, things change instantly. For example, I could buy three or even four pairs of good quality, leather shoes with it and when someone asks you if you want four pairs of leather shoes for free, I bet you say yes! Did I buy shoes with the money? Of course not :)

The first thing I did was convert the $200 worth crypto into the project's native token, then pooled it for passive income. This was almost two months ago. How did my prize money perform so far? Let's see. The token I invested in is up 37% since then, not to mention the passive income distributed daily, which is auto-compounded, to make more. Not bad for a joke and this is just the beginning.

My Hive journey started pretty much the same way. My main goal was to practice English, share my photos and test my limits, while having fun. It's been 6 years since then and here I am. I think it's safe to say Hive has changed my life. I could write a novel about the journey, but that's another story for a different post.

I'm trying to remember these things as it helps me make better, smarter decisions and also learn from them as that's the main point. I hope you have similar stories from 2023. Feel free to share them in a comment.

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