Happy New You
To those who are natural caretakers, but always
forgetting to care for yourself, this is for you. This is a letter, or
somewhat, to a new You. A You that has come to understand who You really are,
what your strengths and your weaknesses are. Knowing what You can control and
what You cannot control. Understanding when to let go, and when to continue going.
What to fight for and what is not worth a fight for.
Coming
to terms with the above, will help You move into this year forward, with a new
stride. Before the new You, you did not know when to say no, when asked to do
something. You did not understand the difference between love and infatuation,
strength and weakness, worth and worthlessness, and most of all, understanding
who You are.
For example, not every request of “Could you do me a
favor?”, or “Do you mind helping me with this?”, needs to be a “yes”. When
faced with these questions, do not immediately say “yes”, take an inventory or itinerary
of what You “have” to do for yourself, or if you have the time at all, to do
so. This question is not an imposition, that you have to say yes. Rather, it is
a request that requires either a “yes” or “no”. After considering yours and
your family schedule, and realize that you cannot do it, then say “no”. Or perhaps,
you do not want to fulfill the request, just say “no”. You can politely, turn
that request down by saying, “I am sorry, but I cannot, I do not have the
time”. Your time is more valuably spent on what is more important to you, than
helping someone else safe them some time, whilst struggling to keep up with
yours.
Knowing
and fully understanding what your strengths are, really helps you focus on what
you can do now. It allows you to navigate this new journey with emphasis on
goals that can be accomplished and time that can be wisely spent. The same is
true when it comes to your weaknesses. For example, I am terrible at
configuration. At some point in my life someone suggested to me that I’d be
excellent at IT work, coding and what not. And because I am a multitasker and
good (I’d say) when it comes to using the computer and different software, I
thought they might be right. After 6 months in school, I was struggling. I had
no clue what to do and how to even begin to ask for help. I realized this was
my weakness. It makes me scramble. The point is, if I knew my weakness then, I
would not have wasted time, money and effort on this.
Understanding
what you cannot control is also key to making your new You, effective. You can
control your reaction to things and others around you, but not their reactions
and what they do. Focus on how You can manage your time, money, services and
don’t worry about what contributions others can make in your life. Just do you.
Fight for what you can and know when to let go. Fighting for something that
will not help you grow in knowledge, prosperity and frankly, as a person, is
not worth fighting for.
Cheers to the New You!