The last days of the old year are passing by, take a moment to slow down, and enjoy the final moments of this year, because a year will not come back. Below are 8 things we should remember to start a new year with brightness.
1. A year that has passed, whether successful or failed, will not define who you are.
It may be that the past year was not your best year, you may have made some mistakes and perhaps your planned goals were not achieved, but that does not mean everything is over. A year has passed, but we still have many years ahead. What you need to do now is to lift your spirits, forgive yourself, and be ready to step into a more exciting new year. Continuously learning and improving your skills will certainly be one of the things you need to do to change in the new year, and it is also one of the very beneficial actions for you. In today's increasingly developed society, with rising competition in all fields, equipping yourself with the necessary skills for work and life is truly essential.
2. Remember your victories and your failures
We often take pride in our victories and talk a lot about them, which is not wrong, but do not deny your failures because of that. Although we should not let failures define us, it is extremely necessary to seriously reflect on ourselves. The hardest thing for a person is to self-reflect, just like our eyes can see everything but cannot directly see our own eyelashes. Self-reflection helps us clearly see our shortcomings to correct our mistakes, and thus we will become better day by day.
3. Remember those who have always been by your side
Although we are all adults and independent, do not forget to look beside you to appreciate those who accompany you. A year cannot be complete without those who are always by our side in both joyful and difficult times. You may know many people, but those who stand by you even in the darkest moments of your life, when you lose your way, can only be counted on your fingers; they are the ones you should pay attention to and cherish, because after all, they have witnessed the truest parts of you without choosing to leave. Therefore, take the time at the end of the year to thank and reunite with them. To have enough memory to remember the important people, you should also let go of those who no longer deserve a place in your life. Put them in a corner of the past and continue to move forward, even though I know sometimes that is not easy.
4. Even if things are not as good as we think, you have achieved a lot
I know you have bigger plans than what you have achieved, but this is not the time to doubt yourself; take a moment to pause and look back, and you will see that you have actually accomplished many things. Take a little time to acknowledge and reward yourself. After all, you have worked hard and tried a lot over the past year. Always believe in yourself and keep learning; what you seek will come at a time you least expect.
5. A difficult year, but that does not mean life will end here
There are times in life when we think we cannot overcome, that we have reached the end of the road, even feeling like we cannot live anymore. But after a good sleep, you wake up and the new day may be much better. Life is like that; on each person's journey, it is not always filled with roses and red carpets, but there are always thorns and stones. Those ugly and rough things are not necessarily bad; they are part of the challenges of life that require you to overcome. Trees that grow in barren lands often have stronger roots than those that grow in fertile soil. Therefore, difficulties are the driving force that helps you live better, so always look forward, set aside your feelings of inferiority, and keep striving; that is the best way to overcome difficulties in life.
6. There are many things waiting for you ahead, and they will surely be more interesting than what you currently have
Life will always send you secret gifts; what you need to do is not to fear or avoid them, but to embrace them with an excited and curious mindset.
7. The things you can leave behind in the old year, be decisive in leaving them behind
These are the bad habits that have clung to you year after year, those who are no longer suitable and always bring you negativity, those sad memories of difficult times, or the things you have always tormented yourself with. Those are the grudges, mistakes, and hurts that others have brought to you in the past year. In the past years, anything that is making you tired and unhappy, be bold to leave them behind.
8. The last days are about to pass, take a moment to slow down and enjoy these final moments because a year will not come back
Life is becoming more and more convenient, but people are also becoming busier. Amidst the hustle and bustle, people easily overlook their inner feelings; we often say to take advantage of our free time, which is just an image of the word slow. Slowing down is the simplest and most gentle way of nurturing life; only when we slow down can we savor it. Someone once said we are living in an era of selling our health for time and pressure. The harm of being busy is that the feeling of rush and anxiety within can be much greater than we imagine. A type of work that is so busy that there is no time to eat or sleep properly is no different from a form of self-harm.
In today's era, there are too many people busy burying themselves in work all day and forgetting to look up at the stars. When we only know to chase after material needs, life has actually already left us behind. Living truly means knowing how to rest. An author once wrote in one of his books, "Let me befriend the grass and trees, be close to the soil. That is enough for me."
Being friends with the land, grass, trees, and flowers, living in harmony with nature is what we all want to aim for, isn't it? When life’s pace becomes hurried, grass, trees, and flowers will only serve as decoration, and the land will just be a place we step on. But when the pace of life slows down, grass, trees, and flowers become nature, and the land becomes the soul. A person's happiness does not lie in how much money or wealth he has, or how high his fame and status are, but in how he perceives life. When life slows down, grass, trees, and flowers have colors, the land has vitality, and birds and animals have feelings; no matter who we are, we can all feel the peace and beauty within that.
The ancients had a saying, "Haste makes waste"; life is not just about speeding up, just about rushing to keep up, but also about learning to slow down at the right moments, to appreciate and enjoy the beauty of the world. If we only know to rush and overlook all the scenery along the way, what meaning does life have? In life, learn to slow down; slowing down is the least costly and most comfortable way of nurturing life. For the rest of your life, try to escape from unnecessary pleasures, take a break from the fast-paced life, experience a slow pace of life, and experience what it means to truly live.