Sick of 2020? Here Are Five Habits For An Awesome 2021.
It’s mind-blowing to think that 2020 will soon end in two days. Not too long ago, the fireworks and the loud music I heard at the beginning of the year, still resonated in my ear like it was only yesterday. The time came by swiftly and blurry, that this year seems like a dream that I’ll wake up to once I heard another fireworks display. However, I can’t escape the reality that a year is indeed approaching its end.
2020 has been rough to everyone’s lives. I, for one, have my plans I wrote down last January, thrown out of the window as soon as the pandemic struck the globe. I ditched most of my plans, awaiting the pandemic’s end, and modifying those which can be altered so they can still be doable.
For a change, instead of keeping my plans to myself, I’m going to write down my plan for 2021, but this time, I’ll share it with you.
Here are 5 habits you can adapt to make 2021 a better year for you.
1. Adapt the “Do Something” principle
I got this from reading Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck (you should check it out if you haven’t read it yet), wherein your flow will be Action -> Inspiration -> Motivation. This cycle means that action creates inspiration; inspiration creates motivation; motivation creates action. It’s being motivated after taking action, not waiting for motivation to take action. With this, you become an endless productivity beast that becomes motivated by taking action after action after action, instead of passively waiting for motivation to kickstart you.
2. Organize yourself
Especially your room. Frequently clean and organize your room so that it stays conducive to your productivity. You can clean your bed, sort your gadgets dangling with the charger overnight, and vacuuming the floor to remove dust. I know the feeling of being in a chaotic room because I have a chaotic room with gadgets dangling around, and dust collecting on the floor. So, for 2021, let’s make a change by cleaning the sh*t of our room.
3. Document more
I’m a fan of Matt D’Avella. I can’t remember how and when I discovered him on Youtube but I guess finding him on my suggestions means that I’ve been searching about self-development too much to stumble upon one of his videos on my Youtube feed. I heard this advice from him, and I wanted to do it for 2021. You see, I’m sort of a perfectionist. Usually, I fail on my first attempts at establishing a good habit, that I don’t want to keep a memento of that failure by documenting my progress. However, keeping track of your progress is as important as progress itself, thus it’s a good idea to keep a picture of your belly fat now to see if it’ll shrink after two months of workout.
4. Stop giving a f*ck to unimportant matters in your life.
You’re getting old, so you need to act your age in handling your life. You need to sort out which or who is worthy of your time and attention, so you don’t end up giving away too much energy into matters that aren’t part of your long-term plans or just don’t care about. Stop the people-pleasing guise, because politeness won’t do you any good if you ignore your priorities. Once you know your priorities, maintain and nurture them — relationships, dreams, hobbies, skills, and especially your internal values.
5. Respond to ‘consistently’ toxic people with class.
I replaced the word ‘ignorance’ with ‘class’ because toxic people can teach you to avoid people like them, or avoid toxic behaviors that they exhibit. So, you should learn from them instead of ignoring them. To clarify, not all who exhibit toxic behaviors are already toxic people. It’s more of an acute thing, maybe they’re having a bad day, so they lash out to the nearest person available, which might happen to be you. It’s an isolated scenario. Meanwhile, a toxic person makes the people around him feel bad, everyday. It’s a person who is too egoistic to accept well-intentioned advice, who demands to be correct all the time, who spreads negativity by playing the victim card and then blaming other people for his misfortune, and who has too much pride to admit his mistakes and apologize. It’s a chronic thing. If you’re thinking of cutting off a toxic friend, recognize first if it’s a short-term or long-term thing, and then respond with class.
