Yes, the New Year has arrived, Happy New Year to one and all. This post is dedicated to what I look forward to in 2010 but also what I was inspired about that makes me look towards 2010 with the motivation to do well and have another great year ahead.

You see, I’ve always been inspired by seemingly small incidents that happened in my life. You may say that I might be thinking too much about something so small, even making it profound, but I do feel that the simplicity in such small incidents make things memorable and somewhat inspiring. Small thoughts can inspire and somehow that happened earlier on today (about 2 hrs ago). Just now, I was having my New Year lunch at Subway alone… munching on a tuna sandwich and thinking about 2010 and what I feel I should do this year. I saw some kids running around and then thought to myself: “What was I like when I was a kid compared to now?”. Then, a flash of me jumping up and down in the MRT train came up in my mind. Thinking back, I remember how I felt during those ages (about 4 to 12 years old plus minus) doing that. When I was 4 or so, I felt blady frustrated because every time I went onto an MRT train, I had this burning desire to touch the handles that hang down the railings. Just touch it, not even hold it. Being ultra short and hyperactive, I jumped and jumped and jumped but still could not reach it.  I tried jumping and reaching the handle during the whole journey, when then train traveled from Jurong till Pasir Ris (about 1 hr ride?) but still not touching it. I was left irritated that I could not do so even after so long. 5 years old, 6 years old till 7 or 8 years old, every time I got onto the train, I would just try to jump and touch the handle. It seemed like that was the only thing that intrigued me for some reason or another. I finally manage to touch it around 8 years old I think. I was happy but still left irritated every time I got off the train. Why? It’s because now that I could touch it, I wanted to hold it like how the adults did! So I continued to jump jump and jump during my trips on trains, trying my very best to hold it. I really treated the train like a playground (another thing I did was spin around the pole). Finally, around 10 to 12 years old, I could hold and touch it. Now, I didn’t get irritated whenever I got onto the train. In fact, I felt proud. Proud that I tried so hard over the years and finally I can hold the handle like adults did! Of course, thinking about it now, it was kind of dumb to try so hard just to hold a handle, I could have done something more productive like read a book. Also, in due time, I would have touched and hold the handle anyway, because I was growing taller as I grew older.

However, the significant thing about this to me is that I was determine and resolute to get what I want. Not only that, I tried and tried again, each time I had the chance to. Being placed in the same place with a goal that I wanted to achieve (touch and hold the handle), I was willing to try again and again to achieve it. Besides that, I did not bother about my lack of height or any other limitations, still putting in my best effort to reach that goal. All these at such a young age. Even though it was a simple desire at those ages, I still had a burning desire to try endlessly to get what I want. I guess all these does remind me that I always had it in me. The determination, desire and drive to get what I want and willing to work for it and do things to the best of my abilities and do it well. I think about it when I before I embark on something new, during the time I do it and give myself feedback of how I did it and whether I did it well or not.

I think starting of the year with that thought has only motivated me even more to begin well, learn fast and smart and then execute and follow through whatever I want to achieve during 2010. I will have renewed motivation and burning desires and I will FACE whatever I need to FACE to overcome and achieve. FACE is a cool acronym I came up with that I shall stick to in order to do things well this year.
 

FACE means:

1. Focus
   
2. Action
   
3. Challenge
   
4. Energy

Focus- Absolute lazer guided focus to get things done and done well. It was a struggle in 2009 to deal with my short attention and lack of focus because of certain pitfalls like succumbing to information overload. I identified focus as my weakest link in 2009 and shall focus on focusing better in 2010 to get things done well, fast and bring awesomeness back.

Action- With a high level of focus, I have to focus on the things that I want to achieve but also take action. This is the most important of FACE to me. Without action and focus to support action, I will only fall behind and lose precious time. Taking action and failing has been fine with me because I get to learn from the failures. I guess in 2009 I regretted taking minimal action and did not even give success or failure to result. In 2010, I will focus and focus well on taking good action. Just Do It!

Challenge- Challenging myself to do more and achieve more but be wiser in what I want myself to do. Setting up the right challenge is the important bit. I can have big goals but what’s the point if I look at it realistically with the time and energy I have knowing that I won’t be able to accomplish but only to disappoint myself? In 2009, that happened and now I realised and learnt. I have to be realistic with what I want to challenge myself with. Challenging myself has always been part of my character but in 2010, I need to be wiser with what I want to challenge myself with.

Energy- In order to perform properly and perform well, I have to have the energy to carry the above 3 values through. Inspired on this aspect by The Energy Project that Josh recommended a video about. Basically I have to focus, build and maintain high levels of 4 energy aspects in life. Physical, Emotional, Mental, Spiritual. Body, Heart, Mind and Soul. With high energy in these 4 areas, I would be able to follow through what I want to achieve. Thus, in 2010 I have to focus on building upon these 4 areas which I felt in 2009, I neglected (mainly through inaction and determination), in order to do well.

I guess I have to constantly do, assess and give feedback to myself on how I am doing on these 4 focal areas that I push myself to improve on. Come to think of it, I liked the way I thought and reflected on 2009. It was a productive exercise that allowed me to come up with these 4 focal areas that I need to improve on in 2010. I am glad I did so and advice you all to try to do so also. I also did this before my so called New Year’s Resolutions because I felt it might help me very much to plan better for what I really did want to achieve and make it more achievable. At least, let me think its more achievable so that I am more motivated to take action and strive to achieve. Less overwhelming, more heartwarming and action-inspiring.

So here’s the New Year’s tip to all for how I came up with the above stuff, about how to reflect and think about what to areas to take note and focus on the following year.

1. I thought and reflected on 2009. What I did right, wrong and what I can improve on and whatever else you feel is important to sweep from your experiences during the year. An example was my previous post about reflecting which I have been doing in recent years.
2. What are certain things that inspired me previously in life, be it a few years ago or during the course on the previous year. Was there any significance in something that happened or someone I met. Think about it, take note and derive certain values or characteristics that can strive to make you better in 2010.
3. Think about what you can focus on in 2010 or the following year and come up with the values or variables in your life that needs tweaking and improvement. This will allow you a better overview about your strengths and weaknesses and make it simpler to plan for your resolutions.

Happy New Year to all and remember, Just Do It!

Love,


Kelvin