Am I the only one who has noticed how a lot of people on and off social media say "this year is going to be my year" as a new year begins? I don't think so. For so many years, I have dealt with a lot of stress reading tweets or posts like that on social media and listening to some of my colleagues say it over lunch. I know it's not supposed to be stressful , because they are merely expressing their goal, but they surely aren't doing something to succeed in that, because just a few days after their statement, they start ranting again about how life sucks rather than proactively handling whatever inconvenience it is that they are faced with. Oh, and add the fact that they will ask you for vague favors to "help" them as if you were their self that is the only one capable of turning their own shit into a hit.

Now, I know I may not be able to avoid all this drama, so let me just list ways you could avoid making that drama instead.

1. List your SPECIFIC goals in a PRIVATE journal

The importance of writing in a journal is not how it makes things seem planned in a blueprint like that. Its significance is that it gives you a power to detail your desires in a paper and have a chance to glance at it once in awhile when things get a little rough in life. I stopped writing in my journal for a year, and when recently I looked back at what I had written there before, my drive to achieve those goals I wrote there came back. Reading my entry was like reminiscing that excitement I felt when I first had that goal set up, and that is what we all need to push through our journey to triumph.

Now, the reason why the goals you should list in your journal must be specific is because sometimes, we just list a general idea like "more financial stability for 2018" and that just immediately drags down your chance and hope to actually have it. Why? Because it does not feel like you are dedicated to it, for if you were, you would set up a specific balance or budget plan like listing expenses to be cut that used to get you broke, specifying an amount of money to be saved in a certain period of time, or setting up a goal to achieve that could seal that financial stability like maybe putting up a business. A general goal like that is just another wish....

Just make sure that the goals you make are SMART. I learned about this from my favorite Filipina beauty queen, Maria Venus Raj's (oh people say I look like her, and fun fact: she was a big inspiration to me when I was bullied back in grade school) interview in a TV show yesterday.

Smart
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Timebound

Of course, make use of the journal to sketch the feasibility of your goals with those guidelines, and make sure that your journal is kept private. This is to prevent yourself from receiving comments from others who will most probably never get your ideas and potentially influence you to give up. It is also better to keep your plans to yourself so that in case it never happens exactly the way you like it when you like it, you would not have to worry about what other people might think or say of that inevitable delay (let's not say failure to maintain positivity). We all know how that could affect us sometimes, but better not give a damn at all like I do. Still, it is good to maintain privacy in this world where we are starting to share almost everything about our lives. Plot and work hard, silently.

2. Get actually involved in your interests

It is easy to say that you are interested in something, but it is a challenge to really get into it with passion in the way you would often describe it to a date asking you what your interests are. This is because somehow, in this age of social media, one could say he or she is interested in photography because he or she uses VSCO filters on his or her photos but does not really have the dedication to learn the whole art and have a fulfilling growth in that field.

This year, dare yourself to explore past filters and images. Get in the field you are interested in despite how difficult it may especially in terms or resources. I know, some of our hobbies could put a hole in our wallets, but that is why you should have a journal to plot your steps. Start where you could and work your resourcefulness. Use the internet to build a network or stay out of it to keep in touch with real interactions that may also help you in your interests.

Keep the passion burning, add more fuel to that fire so that you may succeed and actually get yourself there. Don't wait to get burned by others' passion.

3. Learn to cut people out of your life

I've said this a lot of times before in my previous articles. See, this is a classic factor in our progress we always forget to observe. You see, surrounding yourselves with people who influence you to slack off are not worthy of your time. It sounds really harsh, but I think it is better to allow yourself to grow than be with these people stuck in the absence of the sense of fulfillment.

It may seem hard to let go, but that is only when you think these people weigh more than your individual success, and that is just so wrong. You do not need people to be there all the time with you especially if they are not daring you to do great things. Put yourself first or else you might just wake up realizing it's too late and that you and your squad just stayed exactly where you were the past years--that is not what living is.