Have you achieved your goals the previous year? What made you successful? If not, what went wrong? Have you learned anything from it? What are you setting out to achieve this year? What adjustments will you make to accomplish it?
I set out to achieve three things by the end of 2023. These three things were what I considered important for me to meet my life goals. The goals I had set as preparation to live the life I want and for my future descendants. A life free from worry and be able to move as I want and for the next generations to achieve their dreams.
I came short. I was not able to accomplish what I set out to achieve. It may sound like a failure on my part and while that is true, it is worth knowing what went wrong, learning from it, and adjusting my approach to achieving my end goals. Looking back, understanding, and moving forward would help me reach what I want.
Discipline can truly be challenging to maintain, especially when faced with countless distractions and competing priorities. It is often considered the most difficult virtue to apply, requiring a constant commitment to self-improvement and a strong mindset. Personally, I have experienced moments of inconsistency when striving to uphold discipline, finding myself making up all sorts of reasons not to follow through on certain tasks or goals. It’s as if I have created a myriad of excuses to escape the behavior I wanted to build, but I am aware of the importance of perseverance and the benefits that stem from mastering discipline in all aspects of life.
A lot of articles online and books have mentioned that discipline is important. Some also say that it is very difficult to have. I agree. I have lived it. The way to have discipline is to make it easy. Easy that there won’t be excuses or reasons not to do it. However, I think that does not work. There were times that I made an activity very easy to start but still came up with reasons not to do it. Most advice we get is showing how things can be done the easiest way. Well, nothing in life is easy so those advice are worth nothing. If we really want to pursue something, we need to have the discipline to keep going.
Routine. I created a weekly routine for me. This makes things easy. One thing leading to the next makes doing things more smoothly. There is no reason to miss it. Just like what books about habits say in relation to building one – building actions or habits on top of one another helps to keep moving forward.
And just like discipline, there would be days that I felt not following through. I would prefer to do nothing instead of doing something. I always told myself that there is still time later or tomorrow. I can do it some other time. Well, you could guess what happened. Procrastinating leads to more procrastination. And, eventually, before I realized it, a week had gone and I had to restart.
Just by telling ourselves there is still time leads us to a downhill path. It prevents us from doing what we should have done in the first place. Scheduling things really help but it does not stop there. Discipline (follow through) should be there. A mere plan is nothing without execution.
Giving in. Life moves around us. Different things happen. We tend to get swept away by what is happening and forget what we want to happen. We follow the latest trend. We go with the flow of society. And we forget what we set out to do and achieve.
Some of the things that happen around us cannot be avoided, and that’s just a part of life. Unforeseen events have the potential to truly derail us from our plans, and it’s important to acknowledge that. However, these unpredictable occurrences are not everyday events, and it’s crucial to remember that. In our daily lives, it’s often the simple things that we allow to affect us the most. The pervasive influence of social media in today’s society cannot be underestimated. It has a significant impact on our decision-making processes, often leading us to make choices based on the actions and preferences of others. We may find ourselves purchasing certain products, visiting specific places, or engaging in activities simply because they are popular or trending, even if they do not necessarily align with our personal goals and aspirations. This phenomenon raises important questions about the extent to which we allow external factors to shape our own lives and choices.
The people around us influence our behavior too. There are people we can say no to. But there are also those who can not say no, especially our loved ones. We do not want to see them sad.
These three things are, as I look back the past year, are what prevented me from doing what are needed to be done to achieve my goals. There are days that I am adamant and stuck through it but I think there were more days that I did not do what I must thus failing to achieve my goals.
Now, know these three things, I think I have a better understanding of what happened that I can apply to the future. Knowing things are difficult and effort must be given are key takeaways that I have to keep in mind.
Nothing in life is easy. There is constant chaos, but within chaos there is also opportunity for growth. Embracing the entropy of life can lead us to unexpected paths and experiences. We have to have the discipline to do what we need, even when the world around us seems to be in disarray. We have to exert effort to achieve what we want, knowing that the struggles we face can lead to valuable lessons and personal development.
And these are what I choose to be this year.