2023 was a special year for all of us. When the face masks were officially off in March, it signified “normal life” was back somehow. Somehow, but not quite normal still. Yes, we start travelling, we start uniting with family, and we start to breathe in a different sort of way. However, on the other side, the vibe is still a bit off, businesses are struggling to stay alive, and the vibrancy we used to know is still a bit dim.
When I look back at 2023, I did have high hopes when the masks came off. I thought or hoped that things would be where they were before the horror movie started to play, but reality was that nothing was the same. As I always say, I can’t control the outside factors, I can only control what I do and my reality. The good thing was that I did achieve a few personal goals. Let’s do a recap just for the glory.
GYM
I started going to the gym again in Jan 2023. I was lucky enough to find a trainer who is passionate about what she does and she truly wants to help. I manage to stick to a weekly routine for 12 months and I will keep going in 2024. Losing weight is one thing, but I go because of my commitment to myself that I would take the time to take care of my physical health no matter how crazy things are. Quite proud of that! But I will give credit to my trainer, Winnie, she makes it enjoyable to go and work out.
Books
Reading is good for my soul and it has been my greatest teacher. I had always wanted to read regularly and more. But you know, as much as you have good intention, most times, life happens – too busy, too tired, too bored, too whatever and then reading becomes last on the list. Well, I read 19 books in 2023. What a surprise! And I’m happy about that. More than 1 book every month, I think it’s a record high for me LOL. I want to hit 24 books in 2024 and keep the momentum going.
Mental Health
I’m huge on keeping a healthy and growing mindset while maintaining inner peace, hence, meditation becomes one of my staples. I managed to meditate most days (mostly weekdays) in 2023. It helps me to be objective and stay calm in the midst of chaos. It’s a good habit to have. If you haven’t tried it yet, I urge you to just try just for 5 mins for a few days and you should feel calmness running in your veins.
Skin Health
Ha! This is a big one. I managed to have no serious allergies in 2023 – hurray!!! I take time to take care of my skin and stay sane. It pays off. I have to say my skin right now is comparable to my prime days! Very happy about that.
Travel
Finally, we can all go somewhere. Apart from the U.K. and Bangkok; we also managed to visit places that we hadn’t been before like Singapore and Vietnam. We enjoyed both places and it was wonderful. It was great that we decided to throw in some “new places” and we were very grateful to experience new culture, food and people. Well, we love Hanoi so much that we decide to go back shortly haha. The journey continues in 2024.
Social Media
My numbers haven’t changed dramatically (not surprised LOL), but I made a decision in late 2023 to demolish the Tuesday and Thursday schedule on YouTube. It’s going to be more of a free flow format and I believe that would enable me to create more value-added content. For the blog, it was deserted for a good few years due to so many different platforms to manage. I did pick it up again in 2022 but I was definitely more of a regular in 2023. As much as blog is “kinda outdated” right now and it costs me more time to create a blog post than maybe a short video, I still enjoy it and it’s always such a peaceful experience to just sit and type. Now, I treat it more like my own website instead of a blog; and it’s actually handy when I just have 1-2 products to quickly update you on. I continue to dedicate my time in creating valuable content to all of you in 2024.
On the business level, we hadn’t quite hit the business targets (LOL – I don’t think it’s surprising, if you are a business owner, you know what I know LOL). However, the team and I are dedicated and determined to bring in even more value to you all. So stay tuned on that. On the personal level, 2023 was a win for me. I managed to keep and advance some good habits, while building some new ones. Life is like that, it’s never perfect; but you just have to make the most of it, count your blessings, and give yourself a pat on the back from time to time! Look on the bright side!! May all of our dreams come true in 2024 and may you dare to dream big!! Now I need to go and set some goals for 2024, and I won’t stop working on them until they all come true! Bold statement? Yes, believe + put the effort in + learn + modify + repeat, you will succeed. There, I shall my formula with you. So let us go and make things happen in 2024. Happy New Year!!!
