As the year end is near, I've been thinking about writing a post on how I did this year, like I do every year. This thought has been in my mind for a week or two and have been reviewing my year to see what I've done, how I've done it and also, if I could have done it better or in a different way. I think this is the only way if you want to improve and get better at what you do. Without a proper analysis and plan to improve, there's a chance you will be repeating the same mistakes or walking the same path and expecting a different outcome. @galenkp had a post yesterday, that made me think about this again and this morning something has happened that speeded up the process of posting this blog.
In the previous years, these reviews have been mostly about account growth, but this year I'm not going to write about that. Financial analysis of my assets is extremely important, but only to me, not for the public. I'm doing that constantly as that's the only way, but I'm not going to bore you with it today.
Photo by Mats Hagwall on Unsplash
At this point I'm glad we live in the digital era and I can delete and rewrite any paragraph as many times as I like. Otherwise I would already be using my second notepad, while the floor would be full of used paper, that is how many times I tried to write what is coming next. I'm still not convinced it will make sense, or if things will be in chronological order, but I can't be bothered anymore, I'm just going to write what I have in mind. If you're brave enough, you'll read it anyway and I'll be grateful you did.
It's been a challenging and tiring year for me, but in a good way. With all the sh*t that has happened, I still say it was a good year.
Funny enough, I can't remember what I did in January and at the beginning of February. Most likely I carried on with my life, but if I can't remember anything specific, that means it was uneventful. Not good at all, but can't change that. Life has no BACK or DELETE button.
Then the war started next door, which was a huge wake-up call for me and most likely for millions of others too. Even though my country has a long border with Ukraine on both land and water, I've never been in a real danger so fat, but it still made me reevaluate my life and my future plans. This sh*t is not over yet and no one knows when or how it's going to end.
The first two weeks of the war I think I'll never going to forget. I was living with a headache each day and not due to being worried for myself, but for others. This was the period of time, when I and many others were working on helping those in need. Sleepless nights, talks behind the scenes, plans, failed plans, new plans and so on. This is how we spent our days. @galenkp talked about getting out of the comfort zone the other day and reading his post I was thinking ... what comfort zone as I've been out of it all year 😂
Jokes aside, even though it was a terrible period for everyone, for me it had a good side too. I met a few good people on Hive and I'm friends with them ever since. Life can be funny sometimes and when you're desperate, no measure or effort seems too big or too bold. I contacted a lot of people those days, people I don't even know on every possible platform. Most of them did not even reply (no hard feelings, I understand), but those few who could be bothered, helped me to do some good. It was a collective effort that brought amazing results.
Photo by Raimond Klavins on Unsplash
During this time, I met a Hive user (let's call her Lady X), who was also heavily involved in helping. We spent hours every day on Discord, sharing information and trying to put in contact those who needed help, with those who offered help. I didn't know her before and can't say I know her now either, but what she did and does worth any appreciation. After some time, things started to fall in place and even though the was was still on, the people we were trying to help were safe. They say a friend in need is a friend indeed, which sounds pretty cheesy, but in times like this, you can see the true meaning of it and you can also see who's your real friend and who isn't.
Due to too much screen time, I damaged my eyes and was living on eye drops for weeks. Then slowly my eyes got better and were fine for awhile. Then I damaged them again and had to start the process all over again. Lesson learn though as this is no joke.
Then I got covid 😂 Yeah, it's good to be able to laugh at it and even though I'm not proud of getting it, I'm proud of how I handled it. I was lucky to not be so sick as others and I'm proud I was able to continue working during it. It took some discipline and extra focus, but haven't lost a single day. I don't know if my immune system was so strong (I'd like to think it was) or I got the mild form of the virus, but I'm glad I did not have to suffer much.
Photo by Maria Teneva on Unsplash
The biggest challenge for me though has been self improvement and self discipline. I'm not a huge fan of these topics and don't like people preaching about them as 99% of these talks are sheer bullsh*t and only 1% is useful. The art in this is to find that 1% that is useful to you and be able to apply it in your life successfully.
Unfortunately we live in a toxic environment and toxicity can make a huge impact on your mental health and behavior too. Learning how to balance things is an art in my opinion and takes time. One of my goals this year has been not to become like them. This term might sound wrong or might look like nonsense, but it makes a lot of sense to me.
In my eyes everyone is an example, you just have to decide if it is a good example, or a bad one. Once it is decided, you know what to do. I'm not the worshiper type, to follow apparently successful people and you should not fall in that trap either. Instead I take what I think it would be good for me from people I think worth learning from and it works for me.
The crypto world is a very toxic one in general. A huge amount of discipline is needed if you want to make it. There are traps everywhere and you need all the self discipline you can get to reach your goals. I've had the pleasure and have been lucky to come across a few people who are not trying to sell you the next 1000x token or the best paid group offer that will make you the future billionaire, but they are sharing knowledge for free. Learning is everyone's responsibility and DYOR as well. This has been taking up much of my free time this year as well and I'm satisfied with the results so far. I think I have been able to balance things and make progress this year. The road is long and if you're smart, you learn till the end, because there's always something to learn.
Photo by Ralph (Ravi) Kayden on Unsplash
As I said earlier, something happened today that make me put together this post today. I mentioned earlier that I met Lady X when the war broke out and worked together to hep others. Even though I have never met her in real life, somehow I knew she's a remarkable woman. At the beginning of summer I needed help with an eBay purchase as the seller did not want to ship the item to my country. It wasn't a single case as it happens often for a good reason and that's when knowing people comes in handy as there's no way to circumvent that. So I asked Lady X if she could help me out, buy the item and then ship it to me. She said yes without any hesitation, after which we dealt with the financial part and it was done.
One nice day I got a text from the post office, that I can pick up a delivery next day. So I went to the post office to pick up what it should have been a light envelop, but I was given a box that barely fir in my backpack instead. If I would tell you that I was shocked, that would be an understatement. Instead of an envelope, I got a 2kg pack full of goodies and a nice card as well. I'm not the selfish type, so obviously I sent her a nice surprise too.
Since then we exchanged a couple of Discord messages and that was all. Till this morning, when I got notified by the post office that I have a parcel to pick up, which I did not know who it was from, but I got a message from Lady X an hour later, that a surprise is coming my way. Needless to say I was speechless. I don't know what's in the goodie bad, but whatever it is, I'm more than happy. It'll be the best Christmas present for me.
This year I had the pleasure to connect with a few good people, that give friendship a true meaning. For me, these are the true values worth collecting and keeping. I consider myself lucky for having them and I hope the feeling is mutual.
Photo by World of Magic on Unsplash
If I look back and try to find a keyword that would describe 2022 for me, I would say that would be help. I think I have learnt a lot and have grown as a person and would like to continue like this next year as well and do more and better if possible as there's always room for improvement. It's been a tiring year, but I'd say time well spent. I need to reflect on what needs to be improved and work on it.
This post is already as long as my arm and if you're still here, you're either an idiot or have nothing better to do, but either way, thank you for reading all this. It is highly appreciated.
If you're a newbie, you may want to check out these guides:
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- Hive Is Not For Me
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- Tips And Tricks & Useful Hive Tools For Newbies
- Community List And Why It Is Important To Post In The Right Community
Looking back is a good way to understand how to move forward - I say it a lot, so I'll not belabour the point.
Help is a good keyword for the year and to carry forward...and through self improvement and self discipline one can help oneself. Of course, it's nice to have others around to lend a hand and it seems you've found some few to do so...and have helped others in turn.
Sure, challenges happened, bloody covid for one, the war and some other things...but the good was there, even if that good was simply you reaffirming that you can cope well, that you know how to move yourself forward and you managed to mostly remain standing the whole way. It bodes well for 2023.
Well said, and probably is mutual.
Indeed, I could not agree more. This was a collective effort and we were able to achieve something good.
Challenges will always happen and I think 2023 will be filled with challenges, but that remains to be seen. Also, without challenges, what life would be like, right?
Thanks for the nice comment.
I agree about 2023, and from a personal perspective and broader perspective also; some people and countries will have some tough times, including Australia where the cost of living is rising very quickly. I guess all we can do is plan, deploy and then adjust and adapt to what arises.
Agreed. The challenges I've faced in life have brought results, forced me to do things I might not have otherwise. Adversity brings opportunity yes?
Hey I'm not an idiot and I love reading your post. Isn't there an option like that 😂
You are such a great person and as far as I know you are doing great things for Hive. I'm sure there are more that I don't know.
😂😂😂 Lol, you actually noticed it 😂
Shhh, don't tell anyone!
🤐🤷♀😂
One must treat one's life like the precious and hold it as incredibly valuable.
Those are wise words and I could not agree more!
What a jerk 🤭😅.
Enjoyed your post @erikah, it was so thorough and substantive.
I'm sorry you are so close to such a dangerous situation, I'm always praying for those people like you who live through one heartbreak after another on a daily basis.
I am encouraged to know that even in those circumstances you looked for ways to "help", which allowed you to keep your mind busy and enjoy meeting new friends. Good things can come out of bad, your experience proves that.
Success in your new year 👍🤗
Thank you @elizpc. There were others in much worse situation, so the headache I had to go through was nothing. Helping if you can is a must in my opinion and that's what we all did.
I wish you a successful year too.
My poor performance here on the chain is traceable to staying in my comfort zone. And as part of my new year plan is to really get out of those my comfort zone and avoid so much excuses which had clouded me in 2022.
I have to make a post on my journey on hive because I can't conclude this year without saying something about hive, all I have learned and the friends I have made.
Comfort zone is not always bad, making excuses instead of finding solutions is bad on the other hand.
Reviewing your year in a post is a good way to finish this year and start the new one. Good luck.
This is it . Thanks
2022 is not good for me because my all crypto investments almost zero because of bear market. I learn alot from my mistakes one of my biggest mistake is never invest money in bull market. Dca is the only one solution for me and wait for bull market. I am new on hive and my 2023 goals is to buy or earn 1 lac hive power and support new users. Your whole photography is awesome but tress picture is my favorite. Thanks for sharing.
Jumping into the crypto world, without learning has its disadvantages.
Thanks for the nice words, but the photos are not mine.
I felt like that 2 days ago that I am in my comfort zone. Reading this content has thought me so much again that i have to something different next year to get good result. @erikah, am sorry for the challenge you all are facing over there, but i must commend you on the path you took, assisting those in need. That removed you from loneliness, help you to be smart and also think smart. Hive is a big family with loving heart. It is awesome to know you
I am never lonely and never said I am lonely.
You are not lonely at all. You are so much engaged in assisting others both on hive and in your country.
Every past year have some memories some of memories are good or bad. Every past year have some special moments the moment we never forget. Well we need to starting the new year with best wishes. A new year comes with new plans new regards or new opportunity.
That is true.
Absolutely
Every past year have some memories some of memories are good or bad. Every past year have some special moments the moment we never forget. Well we need to starting the new year with best wishes. A new year comes with new plans new regards or new opportunity.
I agree, each year has good and bad memories as well, you can't escape that. What is important is to learn from it and do better next year. Happy holidays!