It's a yearly tradition for me to reflect on my journey throughout the year, and I have been at it for a few days now. This is always deeper than my monthly or weekly reflection, and that's because I have to connect every month's accomplishments, setbacks, and mistakes. The goal is to make sure that the new year is better than the previous, and it has always worked even though challenges still pop up during the journey.
Encountering challenges in the new year doesn't mean that I didn't do my reflection assignment properly, it only indicates that life is really unpredictable. We can't be too sure of what would happen, but that doesn't prevent us from striving to be better people.
Reflecting on my journey throughout the year has always inspired me to practice personal detoxification at the end of every year, and this tradition started for me as a kid. Back then, my mom would ask me to summarize my year, writing it out on a paper, and I would have to think deeply, ensuring I didn't miss out on anything.
After that, she would ask me to write the things from that year that I didn't want in the new year. It's always a long list for me, and once Mom was done advising me on how to get rid of those things on my list, we always held a ritual of burning the list. I usually don't know how, but seeing the paper burn always makes me believe that those things were really gone.
Finally, I write the things I want to achieve in the new year, and that works like magic. I paste the list where I can see it every day and just keep pushing myself to tick them one after the other. As an adult, I understand better that leaving things behind is beyond just writing a list to burn. It's about being intentional, and I don't hesitate to give my best always.
Going into the new year, I definitely have things I want to leave behind, and they include a few possessions/habits. It actually used to be just habits, but some things I actually don't need anymore made the list.
This year, I discovered there was one terrible habit I was obsessed with. I didn't see it as a terrible thing from the onset, but it turned out to be bad, or probably I lacked control over it. Before taking any decision in life, I love to seek advice from family, friends, and elders I look up to as mentors. However, I realized that seeking too much advice always complicates things for me. I get trapped comparing the advice I got from people, which leads to overthinking and messing up my plans. It's so bad that I even doubt my decisions sometimes when I haven't asked for advice, which is very bad.
I thought about it critically over the last few days while reflecting and made up my mind to trust my decision. It doesn't mean that I won't seek advice; I will, but not to the point of allowing it to mess up my plans. It's my goal, I know what I want and should be able to trust my decisions. If things don't go well with my decision, it's my fault, and I will definitely learn from my mistake.
Sometimes, I struggle to say no some set of people in my life, and the repercussions of this are not good. This has caused me to pile unnecessary pressure on myself, but that's not all. I really don't want to ruin my relationship with this set of people, but somehow, that's what's happening. Saying yes to all their requests or demands has caused me to disappoint them several times, and it has affected our relationships somehow.
Saying no wouldn't have been a problem for either of us since they can just seek other options they have, but I am the one who always wants to step up for everyone and end up messing up. I intend to do away with the habit, which is a win-win situation for everyone. I don't put myself under pressure, there are no issues of disappointment, and we are all good.
Please ignore the dusty condition.
Finally, I am letting go of my old power generator. This is funny because I haven't gotten a new one, and I don't intend to do so because I am saving up for a small solar set that can power a few important devices at home. I got the generator from a declutter store some years ago, and it has served its purpose over the years.
The cost of running and maintaining the generator is outrageous lately, so it's best to let it go. I haven't touched it for a year now, and it's just rusting away in my apartment. I saw someone who needed it, he is more like a brother and since he's ready to fix it, there is no point in holding on to it.
2024 is an amazing year regardless of every challenge I had to face, and I am so happy to be alive. As I prepare to crossover into the new year, I am reminded that growth is a gradual thing and regardless of how we try to make sure everything is right, we are bound to make mistakes. Despite everything I chose to let go and the things I am embracing in the new year, I do not expect a perfect year but I am willing to make the best of every opportunity and challenges that comes my way.
This will be my last post in the minimalist community for this year, so I am wishing everyone a lovely crossover into the new year.
All Image Are Mine.
Posted Using InLeo Alpha
Happy new year! Wishing the community lots of success in the new year.
Thank you, George and all the best to you for 2025!😅
I love your first picture! I’ll definitely recreate it😍
I think we are twins at this point. I just promised myself not to depend on anyone for my final decision making. I mean it was cool until it wasn’t. Apart from you doubting yourself, people begin to feel entitled and think you need to run every decision by them first.
With your photography skill, I bet you will do justice to the image.
Yeah, I had to cross that habit because it's not helping at all. I need to trust myself and make decisions. I believe we can make good progress with being intentional about this decision.
I enjoyed your #kiss post and I think i am going to develop that habit of burning the list of things i don't need when I'm entering a new phase. I wish you a splendid year.✨
Glad you enjoyed the post and getting rid of these things doesn't end with burning the list. We need to work towards it.