Can you believe that January is already done?! How was the first month of the year for you? If you ask me, I treated January as a ‘trial period.’ I achieved some goals and failed at accomplishing some. And for me, that’s totally okay because I know have the rest of the year to keep trying.
Every year, in lieu of New Year’s resolutions, I choose a single word that functions as my anchor for my habits, actions, and decisions for the whole year. Last year, my word was TIME. In 2022, my word was PROSPER. It took a while for me to decide on my 2024 word of the year, but when it came to me, I had a good feeling about it. As you probably have guessed from the first paragraph, my word for 2024 is TRY.
It’s such a simple word and that’s probably why I like it. It relieves me of the pressure to achieve perfection. It gives me space and grace to make mistakes and learn from them. If I try something and it works out, great! If it doesn’t, I can always just say “Oh well, it was worth a try!” then move on… or I have a choice to keep trying.
This was actually my word for January, but it really struck a chord with me, that I felt like it’s the word that will carry me through for the rest of the year.
So far, these are some of the things I’ve tried in the past month:
1. I started going to the gym
We have a really nice gym here in our condo, but it took me 6 months before I actually tried using it because I just don’t like exercising. But one day, I decided to get off my lazy @$$, put on some workout clothes, and just *TRY* hitting the gym. I told myself that I can just spend 20 minutes there, and if I don’t like it, I don’t need to do it again. I still don’t like working out and I still get really lazy, but since that day, I’ve managed to motivate myself enough to go back and do a quick workout. (Main motivation: To be able to wear a 2-piece on my 40th birthday next month. Haha!)
2. I read a new book
Every year, I tell myself that I want to go back to reading books, and it NEVER happens. Last week, I impulsively ordered an e-book from Amazon and tried reading the first few pages. I still haven’t finished the whole book, but at least I was able to start. Sometimes, that’s all you need to do: just START. Just TRY! After reading, I realized how much I missed it and plan on hopefully doing it again, if time permits.
3. I visited a new place and tried a new activity
Recently, we went to Villa Escudero with Mike’s family, where we had some pretty interesting experiences. It was my first time to have a buffet lunch with our feet submerged in the river, which was interesting and challenging at the same time because I was babywearing Hailey. We also played by the waterfalls and Mike’s cousin and I tried paddling a native bamboo raft on the river. That was fun!
4. I had a chemical peel
My dermatologist recommended that I get a chemical peel to renew my skin, and the first thing I asked was: “Is this going to hurt?” She said it’s going to sting, and the therapist told me that some patients cried when they had it done. These are male patients, mind you. Normally, hearing that is enough for me to say “uh, no thanks!” but this time, I said, “okay, let’s do it!” They were right. My face felt like it was burning for about an hour! Despite my low pain tolerance, I managed to finish the whole session without crying or backing out mid-treatment, and hopefully, in a few days’ time, when my skin finally heals, I’ll look gorgeous and I can say “It was worth the pain!” Haha!
5. I started offering my hosting services again
I’ve been on a long hiatus as a wedding and events host so sometimes, I feel like I’m already rusty. But every time I get an inquiry for an event hosting job or I see a want ad for an events host, I just try my luck and submit my profile anyway. If they book me, that’s great! If not, it’s not like I lost anything, really.
On top of these, I also want to try moving to a new city with my family and re-learning how to drive, even if that scares me!
Obviously, I can’t promise that I will try everything, especially if I know it won’t bring me any joy, peace, or any positive benefit. But what I do know is that this year, I’ll be more open to saying ‘yes’ to experiences and opportunities that could potentially be rewarding… even if they entail a little discomfort or require some sacrifices. After all, as that saying goes: “If you never try, you will never know.”
I hope you had a good January so far. Wishing you happiness and success for the rest of the year!
