It is overwhelming, really. My email is filled with offers and “Don’t miss out!!”s. Many brands, bloggers, and others in the media and marketing sector work very hard in order to make us believe that last year went by in a blur and that we have wasted it all. I tried challenging that last year, I sat with myself and thought about everything I did the months previous, like really thought about everything I remembered and all the ups and downs that came to mind, and I realized that it was not “just a blur” and I did live it, I had the ups and I had the downs, I had the days where I out-did my to-do list, and others where I couldn’t get out of bed. I lived.
The following is what I have came to realize, through speeches from people who have made it, from hours of research I felt I needed, and from personal efforts. These words are not meant to be sweet, they are meant to be real.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
The problem I feel I had with the “New Year”s is that I expected myself to put a list, then finish it within a year. Now I realize that was a very un-smart thing to do. A thing that I learned from mental health recovery is that a meaningful goal does not take a year to achieve, it takes as long as it takes. You might be thinking “Well, duh!” but let me repeat that: A goal does not take a year to achieve, a goal takes however long it takes.
What I mean by that is a goal does not look at your efforts and timeline and be like “Oh my, they are working so hard! Why don’t I cooperate and at least be reached by the time they set?” Nah. A goal will look you right in the eye, grab your shoulders and tell you: “ I will do everything I can to make this hard for you, so show me how much you truly want me.” and go far far away as it smirks. This is exactly why all the goals I set myself and made the not time-related, rather length-related, I find myself still working on them till this day. I also do not call them goals, I call them journeys. We do not learn or achieve by reaching the end-point, we do so by valuing and going through the journey.
A goal is the end-point, something that you should not focus on for long. The steps that you need to take to reach it is what you need to focus on, you also have to accept that by taking those steps you might change your route, changing your goal and your journey.
We need to accept that when we work for something , we actually need to continue working for something. And so, personally, if I were to ever put a new year’s resolution, I would first look back at my year, my efforts in each field, and make “building on my past efforts” my only resolution.
Because think about it with me, I write a bunch of resolutions that I expect myself to accomplish within the coming year, I fail, I say I tried then give up on those resolutions or get discouraged.
Or look at my flaws and things I wish to achieve then focus on the steps I need to take regardless the time, comfort myself that when I fall it is okay because I can always try and try again. That helps make you start today and continue without stopping till you reach your destination and take up the journey to the next one.
-Aimz
