In contrast to yesterday's question, "In a year, what’s one way you hope to be different?" - I feel even more challenged to find a response to how I would stay the same. But of course, upon reflection, I can see there were habits and routines that I am proud of from 2019.
Hope & Belief.
I believe in myself, not always, but generally, when I wake up in the morning, I have hope for the day and what I can accomplish. I have hope that life can improve, circumstances can be changed, relationships can heal and growth can happen. I believe that this allows me to dream for the future and take steps towards the things I care about. I really love an article titled The Will and Ways of Hope written in Psychology Today about the subject of hope, "Why is hope important? Well, life is difficult. There are many obstacles. Having goals is not enough. One has to keep getting closer to those goals, amidst all the inevitable twists and turns of life. Hope allows people to approach problems with a mindset and strategy-set suitable to success, thereby increasing the chances they will actually accomplish their goals." Without hope, there is no growth. Having this hopeful outlook throughout this coming year is something I want to stay the same.
Continuous Learning.
Collecting and researching information has always been an aspect of my character. I love to read, listen to podcasts, investigate academic papers and watch informational films so that I have a well-rounded understanding of the situation or topic. I hope that I continue to prioritize this kind of knowledge - because I am proud that I seek to understand before coming to a conclusion. I believe that seeking to understand first puts me in a place where I can resist the temptation to judge. If you are interested in certain topics, the best way to start is to set google alerts about the topic. This way, you will be notified when new articles or information are released about the topic of interest. For example, I have google alerts for 'gastronomy,' 'Turkish food,' and 'cross-cultural relationships.'
Health.
Last year my husband and I started doing Keto for a couple of months (I plan to write a blog about adhering to the Keto diet while living in Turkey next month). We both lost some weight and felt much better - but then the month of December came. I hope we can continue to follow this way of eating by eliminating sugar for the year because we can feel the effects immediately. If you are interested in understanding the keto diet, I highly recommend Keto Diet by Dr. Josh Axe or if you want to learn some keto recipes, I love to follow this blog by Ashley McCrary. You will be surprised to learn that you can still eat delicious food, even Cinnamon Roll Bundt Cake, with slight modifications.
Tomorrow's Question:
What’s a talent you wish you had but feel like it’s too late to develop?
#findyourvoice #writingchallenge #2020vision @letsfindyourvoice
Art work by Alessandra Olanow © alessandraolanow.com