I sometimes find, and I am sure you know the feeling, that I simply have too many thoughts and memories crammed into my mind. At these times, I use the Pensieve. One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one’s mind, pours them into the basin, and examines them at one’s leisure.
– Albus Dumbledore
This blog is obviously my Pensieve.
Wow 2014 sure flew past so quickly, I barely even had the chance to reflect much and… boom, it’s 2015 already. But that’s the beauty of time. No matter how much we complain, there still is 24 hours in a day and everyone is given an equal amount of hours in a day… which means: no excuses. No excuses on how much time I wasted, no excuses on how much I get done.
So here’s my no-excuse reflection on 2014:
Be inspired
I don’t need to look far for inspirations. The two people I work closely with at my workplace never fail to be the source of my inspiration this year. It also proves that you don’t need someone doing exactly the same thing as you to inspire you. Both my colleagues/friends are musicians. Their art, their commitment to that art, and their persistence in pursuing the thing that they love most… those are the things that inspire me.
Be bold
Make changes. Just keep creating. At work, sometimes I wonder what the end result will be, sometimes I’m half certain about the decisions that I’ve made. Could I have done things differently? Are there other ways to be more efficient? I don’t know, but keep making changes and keep moving forward boldly anyway. And 2014 had really been an exciting year to do just that. I look forward to more fun adventures this year, at work and even on a personal level.
Be empathetic
Did the world change and become a worse place to live in? With so many bad things happening around us, it’s easy to shrug it off and go on with our own lives. But instead, I’m learning to take time to reflect, empathise, and pray. I know I go on about #firstworldproblem like there’s no tomorrow, but really, there’s more than that.
Be spontaneous
Some of the memorable things/events that happened in 2014 happened rather last minute. Two of the most exciting ones would have to be (1) spending mum’s birthday with her and my sister in Seoul and Tokyo, and (2) visiting a missionary partner in Hokkaido and then spending Christmas and New Year in Japan. When it comes to holidays, I’m a planner, but hey, spontaneous trips with only a handful of months to plan ain’t so bad too!
Be who you are
… And keep changing to be better.
With that, I shall write down some of the points of changes that I’d like to happen this year. Voila, my 10 resolutions in 2015 (because I need at least some easy resolutions to accomplish to make myself feel better!)
- Blog once a week. Yes, this is now the first one on my list, which means… Julie means business. I’m making this my priority. Please don’t fail miserably.
- No snooze. So how many times do you snooze in the morning before you finally decide to wake up? That’s interrupted sleep, right there. I’m trying not to, and I can tell you, this is going to be the toughest.
- Read 6 books. That’s one book for every 2 month. That’s 6 thought provoking gems that will stimulate my brain and enhance my knowledge.
- Learn Japanese. Learning a new language is never easy. Both the hubby and I will try our best to learn discipline and learn Japanese!
- Do some exercise. At least wiggle or something… Anything is better than nothing, and nothing is what I’ve been doing my whole life.
- Love my friends better. Friendship is a huge part of my life ever since I was a kid. I treasure my friends but sometimes it’s easy to take them for granted, for always being there anyway.
- Go out on dates more. Yep, totally failed this last year. We don’t do this often enough, my hubby and I.
- Enrol in a course. I’ve promised myself to do a course called Perspectives, where you learn about being missional as a Christian. This is the year this will happen, so I say.
- Eat my greens. I’m getting better at it, but to be honest, I don’t want to get too good at it… because I don’t like it. But let’s go on with my baby steps and at least chuck something good in my tummy once in a while.
- Be more productive. I work part-time, I should have more time to do more productive things in my 2 days of free time that most people don’t get. Let’s get to work and start producing something!
Many conversations started in 2014. Many eventful non-events began in 2014. They got me excited for what’s in store in the next coming years. Because life is short and you only live once (#YOLO!) so let’s start working on things that will make a significant difference than for our own little selfish plans and dreams.
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.
– Albus Dumbledore
What are some of your New Year’s resolutions for this year, peeps? Share them with me!