I’ve been excited for the new year, which is surprising, because I haven’t been excited about anything in the four new years that have passed. Neither have I been optimistic about anything so I never really prepare any resolution. I just think they are waaay too cliché.

Every year, it all seems to revolve around personal improvement and I’m through with this regurgitated idea that largely involves materialistic views on change. I don’t buy the “positive vibes only“ mantra, setting up crystals and oil diffusers around the house, or the excessive purging brought on by a certain book. I just think these things don’t fully answer to anyone’s need to improve/heal/recoup.

However, I want to give 2020 an actual chance for substantial changes to occur in my life so I am writing this post to think about and record what I’ve learned in the realm of self-improvement. I never thought I would write a post about this topic, but here I am, beating my keyboard to it.

For the past year, I had taken a step back from all my non-work commitments in order to deal with the surfacing anxiety and depression that I’ve been working hard to keep at bay. After a couple of events in my life between 2017 and 2018, I was not able to deal with the stress properly, and it had caught on early in 2019. I think that if I had dealt with it head on and actually given myself time to grieve over a loss of someone, I would have been fine. But it is what it is.

Anyways, moving on! I’ve learned a few things last year while I was on hiatus with just about everything in my life. 2019 taught me that I can’t really set goals without changing how I do things. I learned that it’s better to set certain systems around the house and get some muscle memory going instead of aimlessly writing down goals. If one improves the method upon how one lives, then the results are bound to show, right? For example, I can spend five hours tidying up and purging my closet to make it all nice and organized, but if I don’t set a day each week to do my laundry (or limit my spending habits on clothes), I’ll always have a cluttered closet! Same goes for food. And money. And punctuality at work!

This year, I will be working on setting systems that I can easily follow and stick to so that when I have an actual goal, I am better equipped to make it happen.

Lastly, before I wrap up this post, I want to mention that I’d like to spend more time with friends. I’m terrible at this and honestly, I don’t even know why my friends are still around. Thank goodness they haven’t given up on me! Time for me to reconnect with old pals and make new ones along the way. This year is going to be fun-filled and be entrenched in meaningful relationships. This is an essential part of experiencing life. Friends can help you get to where you want to be. Of course, I’ll be making sure I’m there for them when they are in some mucky situation.

Good luck to me. Good luck to you too, in case you read this whole entry!