2023 – Be Focused, Be Disciplined and Be Kind

I promised myself I’d get back on the bandwagon quickly this year, and get cracking with blogging as the year gets off to a start. Writing and offering my opinions on products I’ve tried, or just talking into the ether is something I’ve been doing for over 15 years, and realistically, I don’t think I’ll be stopping just yet 🙂

I however failed in this resolution, because life decided to come at me hard and fast in the form of rebuilding my little business and to bring it back to life. Still, everything needs hard work, so that’s something I’ll take as part and parcel of learning and growing 🙂

While I don’t make resolutions, I do try to have a little mantra to live by for the year. For this year, there are 2 – to be a little more focused and disciplined, and to be kind.

I have found that when I let things slide, it just keeps sliding. Newton’s Second Law of Motion certainly has truth in it, whether literally or figuratively.

When things are coasting, they do tend to coast along quite nicely. But when the wheels grind to a halt, it takes a great amount more effort to get started again.

So, this is me, grinding up the wheels again, to kickstart the motion for blogging, in any case 🙂

But I have also realised that it takes a lot of discipline and focus to get anywhere. I had that discipline and focus a few years back, when ideas popped into my head from the ether, and words flew out of my fingers, seemingly without effort. And then, life got in the way, and slowly, that inertia was lost, and slowly everything ground to a halt.

It wasn’t just in blogging, it was in various matters. It was in small things like housekeeping, or cooking, or even in big things like managing work. I’ve felt off-kilter for a while, and out of focus, but it’s time to pull myself together and regain focus and clarity. And that takes discipline.

I’m starting by decluttering my space, which is opportune with the Chinese New Year coming up, and also, in reducing time-wasting. The latter for me, means spending less time on social media.

I made a conscious decision to step back from social media, as I found it to be a black hole of time-wasting. I found that my focus was getting shorter and I would get distracted more easily. I believe it’s due to the amount of short bursts of information we are bombarded with each time we scroll our timelines. It doesn’t encourage us to linger and think, but to just scroll and keep scrolling and reacting.

These days, I take a quick browse just to catch up on news or issues, then stop. I do this when I have a little time in between tasks, so I don’t end up being sucked into that vortex while I’m in the middle of something. I try not to keep too many tabs open on my browser while I’m in the middle of ‘work’, so I don’t feel that need to look at, and be distracted by other things.

I’ve also started using a planner again, to help me plan my focus better.

Thus far, it has slowly helped me to refocus on what’s important, and to get things done more quickly and efficiently. I’m still getting there, so this is something I’m working on.

Some people find that setting a timer on their phone helps them with this. I personally choose not to be overly dependant on my phone, so it’s something I train myself to do. I find the phone to be too much of a distraction in and of itself, so it’s something I want to distance myself from.

In the process of stepping away from the black hole of social media, I have noticed how cruel or judgmental people can be in the guise of anonymity. People are quick to judge a stranger’s actions, words or photos, without looking at context or the situation, or even without knowing the full story.

At the same time, I see others of certain social standing harnessing social media for good, to help their local community, and the underprivileged; and they do this while others criticize or gripe at their social standing. These people gain me a lot of respect for them, and it shows in the blessings they receive in their life.

So, I decided that my other mantra this year is to be kind in words, thoughts and deeds. I would try to not be overly judgmental or cruel about others. I’d try to look at context and situations before saying something that might be construed as mean. I’d like to remember my own privilege, and to remember that people react differently in different circumstances, and that we are all at different stages of our lives and journeys.

I don’t have to show up another person’s negative aspect, in order to be positive, and I don’t have to ride on another’s misfortunes to make myself feel better. I don’t have to compare myself to anyone, and I don’t have to think I’m doing worse or am lesser than anyone else.

I just have to be kind to others and to myself.

So that’s how I’m heading into 2023 – with a little more focus and clarity, and with a reminder to be kind.

May this year be an amazing one for you as well 🙂

xoxo

Paris B