2017 has been wonderful to me and I am so so so grateful for it! Here are some ‘lessons’ I think I definitely need to bring into 2018. Some of the below are things that I have been doing for a few years but still think they are important and need to be reminded of.
1. Create pocket of stillness for yourself everyday. Alone time where you can gather your thoughts and “just be” is very important. It helps to clear your mind and let you focus on things that are important to you.
2. Read. Read everyday. Read anything that relates to your interests and expertise, but also read things that are relevant to what’s happening around the word, even if it is outside the subjects/topics that you’d normally read. Warren Buffet reads 500 pages everyday and he is a busy man! That is quite a bit for most people, even for me, someone who spends around 2 hours a day reading, whether it be books or articles. The point of reading is to cultivate knowledge. And when you read like Warren Buffet, you get really knowledgeable. A lot of creative people, business owners read non-fictions. These books give you clarity and also give you a treasure box full of information that you can apply to your daily life and they are also great conversation starters. However, I also believe it is a good thing to read fictions and novels. Why? Because stories allow you to be someone else and see things through different perspectives.
“Literature is the greatest reality simulator – a machine that puts you through infinitely more situations than you can ever directly witness.” ~ Alan de Botton
“A book is a little empathy machine. It puts you inside somebody else’s head. You see out of the world through somebody else’s eyes. It’s very hard to hate people of a certain kind when you’ve just read a book by one of those people.” ~Neil Gaiman, Interview on Create
3. Empathize, always. No one person goes through the same things as you do. We all perceive the world differently even when we are in the same situations. So don’t assume they are having a great day just because you are having one.
4. The world doesn’t owe you anything. It was here first.
5. Have routines. I am still trying hard to schedule my days in better ways; and this is definitely something I struggle with. I fall off the wagon easily even though I’ve been doing the same thing over and over again for months. It takes discipline and mindfulness to be adamant about your routines and this is something that I for sure will need to continue to work on in 2018.
6. Be unapologetic for who you are and have the courage to own up to your words and actions.
7. Be kind and generous to one another. Unfortunately we live in a world filled with corruptions and evil. We need all the goodness we can get.
8. Sleep is very important. If you don’t get enough sleep, it can cause havoc to your body. There are so many articles on why getting enough sleep is crucial to us all. Here’s one I’ve read recently.
10. Eat Healthy. Live Healthy. Stay Healthy. Your older self will thank you later.
11. Little steps will add up to something big in your life. Taking that big leap can be overwhelming and may cause you to second guess yourself. Instead, take chances with little things. They will accumulate into something bigger, I promise. The many little chances that I took before, from starting to teach cooking to doing cooking demos at supermarkets, have lead me to reaping my ‘something bigger’ this year when I was given the chance to film cooking videos for DayDayCook! I am so happy that I got a year’s worth of experience doing this! If you want to take a look at some of my videos, go to my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/charmainecooks
12. Don’t just look. Observe. You will gain much more insight and knowledge on other people’s thoughts and mood if you pay attention to their body language.
13. Love is a choice. It is not just an emotion you feel. You choose to show love to those you believe are worthy of your love. I’ve made the greatest choice this year by moving in with someone I love.
14. Power Listen. Don’t just hear. Really learn to listen when you are having conversations. Of course, don’t let your mind wander, but also don’t interrupt and don’t try to think of a response while others are still speaking. If you are doing either one of those things, you aren’t listening. Be curious to learn more about the other person than of talking about yourself (People LOVE to talk about themselves)
15. Don’t be afraid to share your work. I still struggle with this as I fear the judgements and criticisms. But having those cooking videos out for everyone to see has really taken me out of my comfort zone and made me grow. I can’t be a good judge of my own work. We all need other people to tell us their suggestions and opinions* in order for us to build on our existing knowledge and make improvements. You don’t have to agree with what others say to you, but it is still another perspective that you can ponder on. These tidbits of information here and there might come in handy in your next project or blog post.
*Those videos totally made my Chinese so much better because I try my very best to not slip in any English anymore. Viewers have commented that it is hard to follow when I switch back and forth between Chinese and English.
Last and certainly not least …
16. Family and dear friends are the most important, ever!
One more day til my birthday and two more days til 2018. This post seems appropriate.
Happy New Year Everyone!
xo.
Charmaine Cooks 