It is my first Post of 2019! I am happy to say that I am quite ready to for this year, in a way that I have quite clear pathways to achieve the goals I set for this year. I know goal settings or new year resolution is so yesterday (in this case way more than yesterday). But I always set a New year resolution every year since I was old enough to understand this kind of thing.

I have to say though, that setting a resolution is a whole different thing with applying it (LOL).

As for what I achieved in 2018 in regards to my last year’s resolutions was as always so and so. There were achievements in parts of my life that I hadn’t even put in the resolutions. And there were things that I put but failed to achieve.

Regrets

I will start with my regrets first because it is easier to remember

Blogging

I failed to commit to my blog, which I sincerely regret. I couldn’t find any good excuse for this, other than I have no inspiration to write. If I want to be honest about it, I think the main problem is fear. Fear of being judged, fear of success/failure, fear of exposing myself, fear of unoriginality, etc. I want it to work, I need it to work. This year I hope that I can write more and have more courage in the things that I am scared of.

Become a victim of Fear

The other failure I had and is still related to the first one was to be more courageous. Every setback or every obstacle in my life is because of the lack of courage in my part. I hate to say, but it is the most honest thing I will say about myself is that I am a coward.
I have so many fears/worries and that I was so consumed in it that it literally dictates my life. It dictates how I behave, how I speak, how I think.
I know that I need to change, and this year I will have to be more courageous otherwise I will lose even more opportunities and chances to live the life I want.
Some major things in my life need change, and the only thing I have to do is to be more courageous to make the changes and to be able to let things unfold. That is what I intend to do this year, starting day one.

Hormonal Issue

I also started to have hormonal acne in the past 2 months, which I have never had before. Have no idea what to do about it or what caused it. It just comes out of nowhere and it’s in rage. I am planning to have a change in diet to fix this issue, but still, I don’t know where to start. Hoping that soon I can find a solution that works.

Achievements / Blessings

Physical Improvement

It wasn’t even on the resolution list, but my physical fitness has the most improvement in regards to all aspects of my life. It’s really not that I have a perfect body shape kind of thing, but just an overall improvement of my physical fitness.

Ever since I started the dog sitting job, naturally it forced me to be physically active. If I didn’t do anything else for the day at the very least, I walk one hour per day to walk a dog. It also means that at least I did minimum 10.000 steps each day which is the suggested amount for a healthy body.
In the last month, I started running in the gym. And I was never into running, but as someone who’s not a runner, I think I am improving quite well. I am now able to run 7 km non-stop on a treadmill and a bit less when I ran outdoor. I plan to practice more so that I can participate in 10 KM running competition this year.

Pet Sitting Job

Another achievement was that I did quite well with the pet sitting job. I was able to generate income (not much) but it still better than the first year living in Singapore. To have a couple of new and recurring clients, and the fact that they are all so nice is priceless. I hope 2019 will be a better year for pet sitting job.

New Member of the family

It has always been my dream to own a dog, and this year we finally welcome our new member of the family Taro. He has been a silent companion for me the last 8 months, and he is truly a blessing. To read about his adoption journey, please check out my post here.

Travel Goals

One of the highlights of 2018 was our New Zealand trip. It was a dream come true for me, NZ has always been on number one list of countries I want to visit. I was amazed, in awe, and humbled by that experience. I am currently writing about our trip, but it might take a while since I want to do it right. But, I wish I can come back there and enjoy the beautiful land and friendly people again.

I am grateful for so many things in my life, and gratitude has been my personal savior for last year (and will continue this year and for the rest of my life). Everything is so much better when we are able to find the things to be grateful. There were days where I just felt so blessed and so loved, and on those days where I felt the worst remembering all the blessings I have, instantly made me feel better.

I feel like I grew a lot in 2018 (mentally, spiritually, and body fitness). Throughout the struggles and the painful experience I had, I learned many things about myself. For example, I learned that when I give, I will receive more than what I gave. I learned that worries and negative thoughts can actually be stopped. That ego is a powerful opponent and that I have to continually be aware of so that I won’t fall victim of it.

My plan for this year

This year, as I mentioned before I created a more comprehensive goal setting. Most of it is to develop better habits in some aspects of my life in an attempt to have a healthier, fuller, and meaningful lifestyle.

And to make sure I will be able to commit to that I subscribed to a Habit Tracker Apps called “Better Habits” and “Todoist.” They are apps that will help you plan and track your habit making goals. After a couple of weeks using those apps, I think it is highly recommended. It serves as a motivator because they made a sweet little celebratory animation (on your phone) when you reached your weekly goals and will reduce your attempt points by two when you missed a day. It also serves as a Todo List to help you plan your day. I am not sure if it’s just me, but it was so satisfying when you pushed the button after you did one task.

That’s it for my New Year Resolutions Updates, and I currently still on track with the list for this year (thanks to the apps). It is probably a good idea to give a quarterly update for this.

Thank you for reading and as usual stay positive and Be present.