This year has been a rollercoaster of emotions for most of us. 2020 dragged out for too long with the global pandemic disrupting our day-to-day lives. Travel was far-fetched. We couldn’t even leave our homes for fear of contracting the virus or spreading it. Governments locked down countries and many businesses had to shut down. Schools closed and hospitals were overbooked.
Relief came in the form of vaccines this 2021. The world slowly started opening up. People could go out already but with health protocols in place. After what seems like peace, at least in terms of COVID-19, new variants started springing up. Booster shots have to be administered. At one point, it seemed like we had to go back to 2020 restrictions.
But the past is behind us and what we can only do now is to focus on the present and work on what lies ahead. While we can’t predict new variants, we could focus on science and take responsibility for community health. Everything else is beyond our control.
Personally, this year has been one of the toughest. I have experienced isolation and feelings of abandonment that it had been a struggle to cope with. But it was also a year of many firsts and thrills. It was a year that I discovered I could do things I set myself out to do and to finally open myself up for extreme happiness with the risk of pain. When you decide to put yourself out there, it’s the point when you grow the most and experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.
Although I’m still adjusting and growing, I am grateful for a lot of things this year and thought I would list them down here. I hope the list encourages you to be positive and write down what you are grateful for as well.
1. I am grateful for my parents’ support.
We don’t always see eye-to-eye because we have different principles and values in life. But I have discovered this year that my parents are the most caring, understanding, and kindest people I know. Even though we don’t express it in words all the time, my parents both show, through acts of service, how much they love and care about me. When they see I am struggling at work, they take things off my shoulder and give me a helping hand. I didn’t know that at this late age, I will appreciate my parents even more.
2. I am grateful for new people in my life.
Through light and darkness, people enter our lives for a reason. They might come and go but what matters at the moment is the present and I’m grateful that even though there were people I had to let go of this year, there were also new faces that entered and are giving me the bliss I have always been searching for. It’s not easy because I’m still dealing with past pains but I’m looking forward to lots of growth and memories, from the most special to the most mundane.
3. I am grateful for my work.
Although work is difficult and at most times, a struggle to finish, I am grateful that it is bringing me a step closer to my dreams. I am grateful that my work allows me to live the life that I’ve always wanted, a life of crazy adventures and quiet moments shared over dinners and whatnot.
4. I am grateful for new experiences.
I have always thought I needed to escape for me to have new experiences. I couldn’t be more wrong.
At 26, I didn’t think I could still learn how to ride a bike or conquer my fear of drowning. This year, I finally learned how to balance myself on a bike and go deep underwater with fear that I may die but still do it anyway. I am still very much a work in progress but I’m glad that this year, I took the risk to finally overcome my fears. This year, I proved to myself that I can do anything at any age, and be good at it hopefully in the year to come.
5. I am grateful for love.
In the year that I thought I was incapable of being loved was also the year that made me feel the most loved. Even though I revealed parts of myself that weren’t pretty, people still accepted me and loved me for who I truly am. I wasn’t afraid to be myself and to speak my heart out. I am at my most comfortable and yet also, at my most challenged state. I’m eternally grateful for the love and still learning how to grow and love myself as well so that I could fully give myself to it.
Why You Should Be Grateful
When you’re feeling down, it helps to sit with your feelings and write what you are grateful for, even for just the day.
You could also fill up your workspace with positive affirmations to help you get going through the rough times. Install FlexiSpot floating shelves in a vacant wall and fill it up with framed quotes to inspire you every day. These come in threes so you wouldn’t run out of space to put those quotes up.
It’s also easy to be overwhelmed with sadness and let it spiral in your head and overtake whatever it is that is giving you joy. To be positive and always remind yourself with good thoughts, why not use the Flexispot height adjustable whiteboard standing desk? The desktop of this desk is entirely a dry-erase board where you could jot down your thoughts and ideas anytime you think and feel them. It will help you give a bigger picture of your joy and the things that you are grateful for, instead of being bogged down by your irrational worries.
Final Thoughts
Despite the lows and downs this year, there are still many things to be grateful for. One of them is that you’re alive and you have the opportunity to spend another day with your family. Cherish these moments and have a blissful holiday celebration!
