I’m at the airport right now, waiting for my flight back to Manila, for my reality to start again after the long break over Christmas. I purposely left the house early (4 hours before my flight) because I didn’t want to rush so that gave me time to reflect on the things I want to do or accomplish this 2019, as I head back today.

My main theme for 2018 was “self-love”, although I did not write that down. I pushed myself to finally lose the extra weight I’ve been carrying around for years as a form of loving myself. That carries on this year, of course, since I haven’t reached my goal weight yet – but here are the other 5 things (buckets) that I want to do this 2019.

Create

I’ve always considered myself a “creative” person since high school. By creative, I mean someone who wants to create something. I’ve always tried revisiting old passions such as art and music. Blogging, I have always done albeit on and off for the past few years – but it’s something I want to do regularly this year. And yes, create art and create music (I’ve always had this frustration of becoming a singer-songwriter). Don’t be mistaken, this is firstly for my personal consumption – and if I like it, I might share some of the output here on my blog or on social media. Don’t expect great things though!

Invest

Life isn’t about money, but money sure makes life comfortable. I’m late into this and I regret not starting early on in my twenties but I believe it’s not too late! I’ve started putting money into small investments with some friends last year, and this year I want to continue that even more. I am still dreaming of owning a Keto-friendly cafe, among others.

Learn

I have also enrolled in some online courses last year, but I didn’t get to finish any of them because I always do things halfheartedly. This year, I plan to change that by really committing to learning – my priorities being Japanese (Nihongo) and a musical instrument (perhaps revisit the violin or guitar, or learn to play the piano from scratch). I don’t want this year to pass by without acquiring a new skill. I also wanted to learn Keto-recipes in preparation for my future Keto-friendly cafe! (I’m scaring myself with these many commitments now).

Simplify

True to my goals of living a minimalist life, I will continue to declutter my home and my life in general. I am guilty of buying things in 2019 which I didn’t really need (they were more of wants), but I believe that I did those for a reason – to be able to get rid of the older things that no longer “sparked joy”. I plan to be more strict in implementing this lifestyle in 2019 and will also post more about this journey on the blog.

Focus

This is linked to minimalism, but it can also go beyond minimalism – in the sense that I want to exert more effort in really going for the goals I’ve set for myself. I want to give work a chance – really find the passion in doing an excellent job instead of just a satisfactory one. To be able to manage that, along with all of the other things I’ve talked about here, I need to be able to clear my mind through daily meditation. I also plan to go back to my bullet journal, which I’ve stopped using as of March 2018, as was expected from my old self. This is also necessary for me to achieve all of these goals I’ve set for myself this year!

What are your 2019 resolutions? Some people would say that setting resolutions is worthless, and would make fun of those who write down their goals and end up not accomplishing anything by the end of the year. I say, go ahead and write them down! There’s a better chance of you accomplishing them if you put them into writing – pin them on your wall to remind yourself, set targets for specific items on your list. I’ve wasted away so many years just floating around, letting myself be carried by the waves of time and other people’s decisions. It’s time I take control of my life – and you take control of yours! There’s no better time than TODAY to start living a better life. 🙂