Last Post for 2020...to A Better 2021!

Here's a pictorial recaps on what I had been up to recently in December.

We are officially on the last day of 2020. Many of us are hopeful for a better 2021. I also feel that we are entering 2021 with renewed goals amidst the chaos that the pandemic brought upon this world that affected everyone. Many of us started to feel demotivated and also frustrated because we experienced things that we didn't think that we would go through in our lives. 

But you know what. Let us look forward to a great year ahead. We enter 2021 with a richer yet different kind of experience. There were many hard lessons learnt along the way. It might have been chaotic but 2020 was full of meaning too.

Last week, I made personalised bookmarks for leaving colleagues. I didn't write any personal notes to them because I didn't really get along well with them. They were on a 2 year stint with our branch so they needed to gain work experience as much as possible before returning to schools.

I used my laminating machine to make the bookmarks. I hardly used the machine as compared to the past where I used to make different paper crafting projects to sell. Most of them were not sellable actually, lol. But yah, I was very enthusiastic about earning money on my Facebook page and I needed to do that a lot back then. 

This year I actually deactivated the Facebook page and just started to focus on making and selling explosion boxes on a different platform. I am still passionate about making handmade cards but now I just enjoy the process more than doing it out of necessity unlike the last time. Money didn't become a sole motivation anymore.

Despite the Covid-19, 2020 also welcomed many new entrepreneurs or home based businesses as we were often stuck at home especially around the April to July period. Some had to do the HBB because their current businesses had been badly affected or they had lost their jobs. But we all had to survive right, pandemic or not. So this is where people started to get more creative and building on their niche to stand out amidst the growing competition. I also discovered more people using their creative talent to make various handmade projects such as self designed stickers, selling them and started this 'support local' movement. I wished I have half of their talent in drawing so it makes buying an iPad more believable, lol. For now I don't have a legit and compelling reason yet.

For the more seasoned entrepreneurs, some thrived during this period as they kept hustling despite the initial difficulties from the circuit breakers rules and regulations which they had learned to accept. It was not as if they didn't struggle like the rest of us. But they didn't give up. Because they didn't give up, they reaped even more than they lost. They gained even more subscribers, followers, clients etc. 

I admire their hard work and grit, also passion and even if I don't get to set up multiple businesses like them or start a mini empire, I can emulate their good traits. I am still a salaried worker and I read of many of those who used to earn a fixed income every month had been retrenched or they had a slash in their income. It made me more grateful and blessed that at least for now, I won't be losing my job. I want to give my best and continue to also give a good impression on my manager, haha. 

I am also blessed I get to work on my creative side as well and earn money from them, though it won't supersede my current income. I hope I get less 'funny' customers and more sincere ones as they keep my humble online business going.

Health wise, I had been good up to this last day of 2020 like I didn't need to see a doctor at all. Many of us were stuck at home and people like me who used to hate doing home workouts, had no choice but to start that. I had no regrets though. At first I did coz it used to be so hard for me and in the first 10 minutes, I was wrecked. But outdoor activities had to stop and gym workouts, though we can still go, had to limit the number of people and I didn't want to be at risk as people would be sweating and stuff. 

So home workouts became a thing. For me as well, lol. Some names became local favourites in different countries such as Pamela Reif and Chloe Ting. They also started on other side projects like launching apps, clothing lines, even energy bars and won awards along the way because their popularity skyrocketed. Just for the record, I am on Team Chloe and thrice a week, I would follow her workout  programmes. My body is still far beyond these trainers but I do start to like my body more even if I still have a long way to go. I start appreciating the fact that I am still able to follow most of the workouts and do them more for the sake of health rather than just focusing on the aesthetics. It's not a race for me to lose as much weight as others and to be as fit and skinny as others. That is not my goal.

Passion, hard work and commitment. Continue to thrive and get up each time we get knocked down. My word for 2021 will be CONSISTENCY. I need to have consistency in most areas of my life. Some I get it down pat but there are many other areas that need constant working on. But overall, before consistency, I need to get my intentions right too so it gives meaning to whatever tasks I had set my eyes and heart upon.

This year I started to watch more anime and even though I didn't understand them at first, the more I watched, the more I enjoyed them. Japanese anime are so deep and have many complex layers, both with the storylines and the characters. The more you watch, the more you get sucked into them as you root for the characters who may start off being annoying but actually, due to whatever situations they were in from the backstory, shaped them to who they are now. However, along the way they would meet other people that would change their outlook in life or perceptions of others. They may still be loud or timid but they will start to take on a different side that make them more courageous or kindhearted in their own ways.

There were also many good shows that I watched and not necessarily from Netflix. I watched them from other sources and from start to finish, they had been consistently good in every episode. For the last Japanese show I watched, the ending was a little disappointing but overall, I would still rate it a good 9.

Financially, I have been doing good, if not better than the previous years. However, there is room for improvement like I am struggling to downplay my debt consistently every month. But it wasn't as bad as the last time where I would not pay for months. I had mentioned several times that I had not saved this much in my life before and together with the year end bonus, I hope to maintain a healthy amount for months to come.

But because I was so used to being very calculative for many years due to being a sole breadwinner, I am still pretty much engrained like in the past where I could be so nitty gritty with the total amount of money that I have. I hope to be able to be more 'relax' yet still be in control where I don't spiral out and spend like no tomorrow, lol. Now I am more focused on conscious spending which means not easily buying on a whim but after several considerations, especially on personal expenditures.

In short, I need to be more grateful in life which sadly, I lack of it. But everyday I try to tell myself to say my gratitude every time I fall short on this.

I am also trying to be consistent in my spiritual affairs and hope to learn more new prayers in 2021 and read and understand the holy Quran as part of my daily routine. The more I read, the more I feel that the world can indeed be a better place if people are less selfish and less toxic towards others. If only more people were to complain less, gossip less, say less unkind things about others or be less envious of others too. But this is also about self reflection that if they really take the time to think about their actions, both past and present, perhaps they can start to change for the better.

I also hope to join more online classes that can help me to nurture my soul more and do my own reflections on them after that as part of my continued learning process, than just attending them.

I should focus on my own personal developments which go beyond updating my journal. I should also do more daily self  on my actions, whether each action is of my benefit or to my disadvantage especially when it comes to creating a better life for me now and for hereafter.

Here's wishing you a HAPPY NEW YEAR and a  better 2021!