2013 is almost over. Last Friday was our last working day for the year, so I finally found the time to recollect golden snippets of life lessons that made their mark this year. But before writing the list, I made a quick review of relevant year-end posts published since I started blogging:
- 2010 Accomplishments;
- Recollections for 2011;
- Thoughts Before 2011 Closes;
- Life Lessons Learned in 2011; and
- How We Spent the Last of 2012.
If you’ve read all these, you rock! 🙂 If not, you have the chance now to get to know me more. Reading through each, somehow I feel like the same person still. My style of writing makes me smile the most for no apparent reason. Anyway, let’s leave it at that! Cheers to another start of the year and to all those people who shared 2013 with me, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 😀 Now we go back…
3 Life Lessons that Made Mark in 2013
1. Speak up.
Speaking up is an elaborate exercise, a demonstration of one’s capability to conceptualize and present ideas and conclusions. It is not a matter of just elaborating rants and raves but defending points that should count.
Compared to the previous year, I have practiced and enhanced my communication skills this time, as communicating what seems to be technical and abstruse is required daily by my job. Every presentation with people from different divisions and even our internal IT team is like defending a thesis to an examining panel who are too critical of minute details. Every word, phrase and sentence coming out from my mouth should be consistent and logical.
To quote Louis Pasteur, “Luck favors the prepared mind.” So always being prepared is a great strategic move. Preparation before speaking up involves analyzing gathered data, processing data, reporting then arriving at recommendations and directions for business sponsors or management to follow or decide upon.
Sometimes anxiety fills me in before chairing a meeting, since I tend to think and anticipate a lot of questions on the issue and comments that are difficult to address and handle. Well, I have learned to maintain an outward calm and I don’t think anybody notices that I freak out deep inside. 😆
2. Dare to try whatever is tugging at your heart.
There are two sets of people: one consists of those who are willing to try whatever the risk, while the other consists of those who are afraid to dare try in any cost. Of course, there are people that fall in between—including myself. I guess I would not know things I’m really capable of doing or things I like and don’t like without trying them first.
2013 was another year of many firsts for me. Some of them include perming my hair, driving, racing, traveling with other bloggers (essentially, people I know little of), keeping a business online, getting IPL treatments, wearing contact lenses and learning photography. I dare try whatever that interests me which I think would be worth it.
We soar and stumble, and this cycle is inevitable in life. Daring to try is the first step but oftentimes is also the most difficult one. The secret is to stop putting barriers where there shouldn’t be any or see shadows where there aren’t. Setting sail is second. There are no guarantees; failure may occur because of having fuzzy, too many or unrealistic goals, or simply poor planning. But as the cliché goes, it’s okay to fail. Hugs and much support from loved ones are essential to survival. The third step is moving on. And the next? Keep going. Keep going. Keep going.
3. Set and reach godly goals.
I set goals every year but this time I learned that goals will be more achievable if they are godly. To further explain, let me pose this question: “Have you ever declared a goal and grew zeal for change only to sense your initial enthusiasm lose momentum and your resolutions slowly disintegrate?” I bet many people would say yes.
Modesty aside, I haven’t had that in a while since I began to establish “godly goals.” These are the goals that are aligned with God’s guidance through prayer. During my prayer time each morning, I pray over the goals I have for the day, the week and the month.
This “solemn practice” has produced several significant improvements. It helped me become more mindful of my commitments before God. Every time pray, I am reminded that nothing is impossible if we put our trust with God. I’m happy to have a direct relationship with Him to ask for confidence, strength and grace.
Wrap Up
2013, by any measure, was a great year. These life lessons may seem basic and easy to say, but it takes solid experiences to really understand and grasp their meaning. My choices and decisions may not be the better ones to take, yet this does not mean that I’m not getting something else, just as valuable, in return. In life there are many divergences and roadblocks. Living is about getting up and learning how to get back on track. 2014年我一定會更努力的。 继续努力加油。 😉
About Rochkirstin Santos-Sioco
Health and technology freak. Food and lifestyle blogger with a large appetite for food and travel.
you’re still young I think you are at the same age with my eldest son as I look on your profile picture 🙂 learning through experience is the best lesson in life. way to go girl 🙂 best of luck on your career!
Thanks, Joy! Happy New Year. 🙂
I guess it’s taking charge of your life and defining your destiny.
Yup. Happy New Year, Franc. 🙂
Wishing you a great year ahead Roch and I’m sure you’re gonna keep learning new lessons and insights in the coming years.
We’ll all do. 🙂
I do appreciate your articles especially those that may contain not so positive comments but without being unkind and rude.I have only that much to know you by but it shows me a glimpse of how you are learning your lessons in life.
Thanks, Tess. I also appreciate your articles containing insights about different stories and issues. Love and light! Happy New Year. 🙂
set and reach goals is defintely for me too! i haven’t been buying shoes for months now even when we go in thailand haha all i bought is few bags for myself like clutch which i dont have yet and the others are for my friends. My family is trying to reach a big goal this 2014-15 fingercrossed that we can make it. happy new year rochkirstin! cheers to more blessings!
That’s great. Hope we can keep all our goals for this year. Last year, mine was about making money. This year, it’s about making EVEN MORE money. Haha. 😛 Happy New Year, Jane!
Happy New Year Kirstin! Cheers to a fruitful 2014!
Thanks. Happy New Year. 🙂
I admire those who can look back at the past year and find plenty of lessons and reasons to be thankful. 🙂 have another fun-filled year ahead!
Thanks! More power to us. 🙂
i guess the main things I needed to do this year 2014 is dare to try and conquer my fears hehe. there’s a lot of things i needed to do to finish it and to test it. but time will come.
Conquering your fears one step at a time is good. Becoming a stronger person is an ongoing process. It takes a series of experiences until the day we die. I’m in a better state of mind right now, but I also know that can all slip and crumble if I’m not mindful of my emotional and psychological state. Just know that God is always with us! 🙂
I think you have that urge to continue what you’ve done last year, or make it even better. Thanks for opening your thoughts.
Sure. If nothing else, 2014 is a blank slate for now and I’m excited about some new changes and adventures that are bound to happen.
It’s funny how those three things are with me. Ganyan ako minsan mag-isip. Speak now. Move now. Prioritize what needs to be prioritized. 😀
Great. I hope 2014 will be a better year for everyone. 😀
A life unexamined is a life not worth living sabi nga ni Socrates. 🙂
Yes, I remember that and that quote is one of the reasons why I continue to pique my mind, pause for a while and look for answers and lessons from happenings and things around me. 🙂
For some reason, I enjoyed reading this post because I can somehow relate to most of what you wrote here excluding some items on number 2 (of course I don’t perm my hair..haha)…Let’s make our 2014 better and bigger. god Bless you.
Thanks, Shirgie. 🙂 So then I bet 2013 has been a modestly successful year for us in spite of some of the trials and tribulations. God bless you, too.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and reflections on your year that was. It’s great that you put them down all in a list so we could learn from it.
Yup. 2013 was a pretty good year for me personally and professionally. This post is enough as self-indulgent reflection. Thanks for continuing to read this blog. 😀 I’ll get back to substantive food reviews and other worthwhile experiences shortly.
To sum it all, do take the risk. Great lessons you’ve learned friend.
Wow! Short and sweet. Thanks, Papa Leng.
We learn as we go through our life’s journey. May you accomplish more endeavors and overcome hurdles this New Year.
Thanks. May we accomplish everything we set as goals this year and be blessed by the mighty God as we deserve. Happy New Year. 🙂
I agree with Number 2 and I’ve tried a lot of things in 2013. I plan to try a lot more in 2014! It’s really advisable to try what your heart wants 😀
Yup, go with what your heart desires. It’s better to have support from loved ones. In that way, you will be more inspired to take on and move forward. 🙂
I think the only thing I haven’t done from your list to set “godly goals”. I’ve been having spiritual conflicts recently, but do hope to do that in the near future. 🙂
I hope that this lesson from me shine upon that light on you. 😛 It’s important to learn how to pray seriously. Trust in the power of prayer and you can talk to God with an attitude of trusting that you are heard.
By reading this entry, I think that you’ve improved a lot as a person and I love reading the part where you had so many first times in your life and that’s a good thing!
I’m sure this year will also have lots of first times and of course, challenges and obstacles that you have to go through. Hoping for a stronger year! 🙂
Hehe yeah I think I have a bunch of first times to be proud of every year…and that’s good. Happy New Year, Jonas! 🙂 Cheers for more exciting discoveries especially food and restaurants. 😀
Congratulations for a successful 2013. Good luck for 2014.
Thanks, Mitch. Good luck to us. 🙂
Have an IPL, now that’s something I haven’t tried. I hope you can suggest one clinic that doesn’t charge much.
I don’t have an exact knowhow of the prices clinics charge nowadays. To give you an idea, I got mine from a promotion (online deal) last year and it was about PHp 6k+ for a year (one session per month or every three weeks) at Mendez Medical Group. Service overall was super bad (expect slow and inattentive staff) but the effect of the procedure was pretty neat.
Most of us don’t speak up and that is the problem. I hope there are more like you in the future who have room for improvements yearly.
Thanks, Tess. 🙂 Happy New Year to you!
That’s why I always believe in “Follow your heart” and always take risks because life is too short! :))
That’s a great tagline to fit into a bio. 🙂
That’s great, cheers to 2014 😉 I guess to become a better version of our previous self makes a lot of sense.
In whatever aspect, that’s right. Sometimes things that feel like BIG problems simply work themselves out with a little space and time. So it’s good to pause and reflect and then continue to collide with all life has to offer. Cheers. 🙂
People who succeed are those people who know how to assess their past and use this as a tool to set another milestone they would try to achieve in their struggle to make life even better.
Yup! So keep your heart and your eyes wide open. Let your freak flag fly and examine how to make real progress in your life. 🙂
definitely agree with the 2nd one.. just chase everything!! for when the time comes, you will only regret the things you never did.. 🙂
It’s also important to keep learning and experiencing new things. It’s amazing how much progress you can make if you do something every day. Every night ask yourself, what did I learn today?
Happy New Year! There are many things happened in our life that gave us lessons.
These lessons are what we should be grateful for. Realize how life is amazing and we should appreciate all of it. The best part in reflecting and thanking God for all the blessings we receive is that it’s for free and everyone can do it.
I have my own lessons also for 2013. But I’d like to think that 2013 is also the best yr of my life. Your post is a good read. Very interesting to know how another person feels towards their learnings for the pat year. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks as well for reading. It’s my pleasure to share my thoughts and contemplations in the hope to inspire others. 🙂
2013 was a great year for most of us! Let’s look forward to a better 2014. May we have more life-changing experiences!
Yes. There had been lots of catastrophes in the Philippines and even some troubles that occur in our personal lives, 2013 was a great year nonetheless.