R E T R O S P E C T
Hey… hey, stop scrolling for a sec.
Breathe. You’ve made it so far this year. You’ve gotten through so many things that you thought you wouldn’t, and you’ll continue to get through this, whatever it is. I know you can. I believe in you, and I’m so so proud of you. I know it probably seems impossible, but it’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay.
Breathe in, breathe out. And just keep breathing. We’re gonna get there.
(via deadman-suggestions)
I totally don’t feel like writing or to get fiddling with my blog in the midst of the holiday celebrations but it occurred to me, that this year, it won't hurt to share something. Especially if it's something that a few of you would consider functional in some aspects. Since 2017 has become an interesting~ year for me, I have enough to tide myself of thoughts (and of course, lessons) as 2018 is about to come.
This year I'm writing my first Annual Review, which gives me a chance to take stock of what went well and what could have gone better, while also giving me a moment to enjoy the progress I've made, to look at my actions over the past 12 months and ask, “Are my choices helping me live the life I want to live?”
There are 3 questions that I'm going to answer: What went well this year? What didn't go so well this year? What am I working toward?
Alright, let's get this started!
What went well this year?
Writing. After writing inconsistently for years, this was the year when I finally turned it around. I wrote new poems, proses, journals and sometimes essays at least twice a week. I only did not have the gut to publish any of those because my blog site went down the drain. Currently, all writings are in my phone’s notes, and I just use them as reference for my tweets and other social media posts. My first blog post – Life With Predominant Hope -- was published on July 9, 2016, and the most recent was posted on January 3, 2017. I know it’s kind of not a thing to be proud of since I have decided to take a rest from updating my blog, but that doesn’t mean that I stopped writing. You can take away the blog from the girl, but you cannot take the words out of her. This year, expect more of Cattdidly. *Wink wink*
Photography / Video Editing. I’m not sure that I got better as a photographer this year. Mostly, it comes down to this: I did take enough photos (and I learned a LOT of video editing techniques; S/O to Brenick!). The only way to get better at the craft is to do the craft, I’d like to do more of this in 2018 by scheduling a handful of photography trips specifically dedicated to taking photos. You can be sure that some photo essays will be coming your way.
Lovelife. (Disclaimer: I enlisted this under things that went well this year NOT because we didn’t have a single fight, as a matter of fact we had, and we keep it counting. LOL) Oookaaay, so here it goes. Things went pretty rough for us this year, I might have it shared on another blog post soon, but as of now I’d like to include this as one of the things that went well for us. If it weren’t because of all the fights, we probably still haven’t learned how to compromise. We met in 2016 and it was indeed the year which was full of “high school kilig factor” that has almost zero fights but the following year challenged us, ALREADY. But before the end of the year, we regained what we have lost. And things went waaaaay better between us. This is going to be our 2nd New Year together, and yes we are ready for the plot twists. (We promised to stick together no matter how intense the plot twists get)
Mindset. I have been very achievement focused my entire life. This year, I made big strides toward becoming more process-oriented and focusing on the system rather than the goal. This was a major shift for me and the wonderful thing is that I’m enjoying the process more than ever and the results are still there.
What didn't go so well this year?
Creating Content (spontaneously). Basically, I didn’t do it. I have few readers and viewers asking me when whether a new video or blog post is coming out. I have friends telling me that I need to produce content at least once a month. Maybe it’s my own fears, anxiety of being judged or personal barriers holding me back, but I want to do it. I plan to do it. I have a lot of concepts in mind. I just haven’t executed each concept yet, but this year I look forward to produce lit shit as spontaneous as my private bathroom breakdowns. LOL
Working-Out. I'm slowly getting into better shape. In the beginning of the year, I was still relatively weak and out of shape. And by out of shape, what I mean is I got literally too thin, I looked like 'bulimic' that I felt bad about myself. I guess #Adulting stressed me out, terribly. so I spent the first five months focusing on body weight exercises to build a foundation. I don’t feel like going to the gym, so I do my work-out routine at home, with my scrawny as well sister. Starting in late May, I went back at it and I haven't missed a workout since. Again, I started with easy squats and slowly worked my way up each week. Rather than worrying about specific numbers, I was much better this year about committing to the process of training and getting better each week. I'm planning to share more details about my work-out routine during 2018.
Travel. The only trip that I could only consider as a “travel” is when I was in Calauag, Quezon with my friends. There I produced my first travel vlog featuring the Pulong Pasig, a breathtaking sand bar in the province. And boyyy I haven’t followed it up since. Overall, I’m not happy with the amount of travel in my life, but next year I plan to schedule more trips specifically for photography and… travel vlogs!
Staying in touch with friends from afar. Thankfully, I see most of my friends in-person multiple times each year. But when we are far apart, my friends do a much better job of staying in touch with me than I do of staying in touch with them. I rarely call people first and often wait too long before calling them back. I’m thinking of how I can schedule calls with friends into my calendar on a monthly basis in 2018.
Making people wait on me. I know I do it too often, especially with family and friends.
What am I working toward?
So where is all of this going? What direction am I heading to? What am I hoping to build, to create, and to share with the world?
After much thought, I think there are 4 central themes that drive my work, my relationships, and my life.
Habits. I believe in process. I believe that it's more important to become the type of person that you want to become than it is to achieve a particular result. The system is more important than the goal. Furthermore, the science of habits is probably the central theme that ties all of my work together.
Adventure and exploration. There is very little in life that is better than a good adventure. The world is meant to be experienced, not read about.
Creativity and craftsmanship. There is a magic that comes from making things. I believe that it's important to be a creator, not merely a consumer. I want to make sure that I not only share great ideas through my writing, but that I actually put them into practice as well. It's better to live in the arena than to judge from the crowd.
Strength and confidence. I believe in living a physical life. It is through sport, competition, and physical pursuit that I have developed confidence in myself and I think that it is important to pursue those areas on a consistent basis. Pushing yourself physically reveals what you are made of mentally.
The Bottom Line
I have plenty that I need to improve upon and with most of the areas above (even the good ones), I don’t have it all figured out. I'm just sharing what I learn along the way. Of course, I'm happy with the progress I made in 2017 and I’m excited to make 2018 a year of slow gains, little habits, and unwavering consistency.
A year ago I have striven to make everything perfect. Now I embrace the imperfection of daily life. The big life changes don’t happen overnight: Give yourself some time. Put in the necessary effort. Keep at it. You’ll be surprised with what can happen in a year.
I am now ready to embrace the beauty of a blank page, and I will see to it that I will keep my eyes straight on my own paper.
As always, thank you for reading. And feel free to use my blog post as a template for your own.
All the love!
Basically, Catt ♡