resolving + evolving

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a joyful and safe start to 2019. Personally, I had a wonderful time. I was fortunate enough to have work off, so I was able to ring in the new year with loved ones. Once the festivities are over and the champagne bottles are tossed, the new year seems to act for many like the start of a new chapter.

It's refreshing to have that little restart built into a calendar.

Many people have used the start of a new year to seek self-improvement through New Year's Resolutions. The tried and true ones that you tend to see usually have to do with physical improvements -- like going to the gym every day or eating ten times healthier. There is absolutely nothing wrong with seeking to improve your health, but I hope to look beyond that this January.

Of course I hope I start going on runs and that I say "treat yourself" a little less when I'm around donuts, but going into 2019 one of my biggest goals is simply to be more present.

I hope to engage more with those around me, the situations I'm in and the places I'm exploring. Life tends to flash by, and I don't want to look back on all the time I spent dreaming about the future. Sure, it's good to plan and it's good to dream, but I hope to focus on where I'm at and who I'm with a little bit more.

Also, I hope to challenge myself intellectually and emotionally more -- to let myself be uncomfortable.

Typically, I consider myself an empathetic person. I believe I have a decent understanding of the world around me, generally speaking. However, it'd be extremely ignorant of me to think that I don't have an enormous amount left to learn. There's always another way to look at things, there's always a fact you weren't aware of, there's always a story you haven't heard. I hope in 2019 I embrace uncertainty when I have it, and that I use it as an opportunity to learn more.

While some could argue that New Years is just another day following the last day of December, I personally like the universal challenge to better myself. I hope that in 2019, I seek opportunities for growth whenever possible. I believe that you can simultaneously love who you are and want to be better. I love who I am, but I know there are ways I can grow.

If you've set goals for yourself this year, I hope you achieve them. But if you fall off the wagon, remember -- personal growth isn't a quick-and-easy, linear fix. Allow yourself room for error and seek the better.