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Near the end of another year...! Thus it is time to reflect and see how I can do better next year.
- Journalling - I picked up journalling again using the Hobonichi planner. I have journaled on and off throughout my life, which I found therapeutic during times when I needed to declutter my mind, or when I needed to reorientate my direction of travel. Unfortunately I couldn't adhere to this habit daily as I got distracted easily by things that I deemed to be more urgent or time critical, or could provide that dopamine high to help relieve the stress of daily life. Despite this, I am grateful that I somewhat followed through and carved out some alone time with my mind. As eloquently expressed by Haemin Sunim in the book "The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down":
Inside of us there is steep mountain of fear and a deep river of grief. But there is also the compassionate eye witnessing your inner landscape. May you find your inner witness, the source of freedom and healing.
- Distractions - Sad to admit, but I am severely distracted by so many things in life. There are certain apps that I kept coming back to check out the new restaurant that was opened, the latest gadget, etc. The apps provided little dopamine highs, which may lead to more dopamine highs when I visit the new restaurant, deep dive into a particular gadget, etc. However, they are all consumerism in the end and frankly not adding value to my life in the long run. I have deleted the apps since and determined to keep December and 2025 app-free! A good reminder from Vicktor Frankl:
When a person can't find a deep sense of meaning, they distract themselves with pleasure.
- God's Love - One of my very first 3,000m mountains is Mount Yari in Japan. It was THE mountain that captivated the young me and inspired my love for hiking. I was very close to summiting in 2017 in a solo trip: got as close as 30m from the summit but due to adverse weather conditions, I decided to turn back. I returned in September this year in a group trip and finally, after all these years, I got to the top of Mount Yari. I also experienced the difficult ascent and descent and realised that, if I were to summit by myself in whatever weather condition, it would have been an incredible dangerous endeavour that may at worst lead to injury or death, or at best dampen my sense of adventure and my love for hiking. I am forever grateful of the adverse weather condition in 2017, and ultimately God's Love for me. Wrapping up with a quote from the Bible:
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fulness of life and power that comes from God.
- Curiousity and Learning - I am reminded of the importance of staying curious and adopting to continuous learning throughout my life. It is so easy to remain in my comfort zone, taking what I know as the default and refusing to be open to new perspectives. However, nothing stays static and if I remain unchanged, I would be left behind and likely be consumed by distractions. I would come to regret my decision in spending my limited, 4,000 weeks in life not fulfilling my life purpose. As such, I am keen to make some key changes from December onwards to focus on what matters, and in particular self-improvement and value-adding activities that will support my goals in life. As reflected from the book "Four Thousand Weeks: Time and How to Use It" by Oliver Burkeman:
What you pay attention to will define, for you, what reality is.
- Others to note:
- Traveling to escape life is not THE solution. Traveling adds to the life experience, and I would never regret traveling. However, there will always be the pursue of life goals and / or meanings that will not be addressed simply by traveling
- No one really cares about what I do, so I should not live to fulfill others' expectations of me and focus on what makes my life worthwhile for me
- Boredom is much needed for creativity, peace and appreciation of daily life
Look forward to planning ahead in my new journal for 2025 and sharing with you all!
