BY EDISON MARTE SICAD
“More smiling, less worrying. More compassion, less judgment. More blessed, less stressed. More love, less hate.” – Roy T. Bennett
I HAVE been preparing for the start of the year 2025. For the past couple of months, I have been imagining (more of visualizing) the accomplishment of my goals. I have written down and revised — again and again — how I will make 2025 the year of possibilities.
One thing I learned from 2024 is the concept of “possibility blindness.”
“Possibility blindness is when we are so fixated on the obstacles in our path that we fail to notice the opportunities around us. It’s the voice in our heads that whispers we’re not capable, the societal message that we’re too old, or the cultural implication that we’re not the “right” kind of person for success.” – Nadia Aimé
I think that finding opportunities from whatever life gives you can also be considered as a life skill.
I find it amusing that some people will not take you seriously if you tell them that they can do more or change for the better. Surprisingly, these people will be very agreeable if you tell them that they have already done their best. To challenge them is a personal insult. To tolerate their mediocrity is a language of love.
And I have met people who are very mature and responsible when their backs are against the wall. I see them getting in-charge, making risky decisions and discussing, negotiating, or confronting those around them. They will make sure that the task entrusted to them shall be done come hell or high water. They focused on solving the pressing issues and in finding ways to make things happen. They don’t spend their time whining and complaining about the lack of resources or the absence of needed support. They own the problem and despite the fear of losing, they will make sure that they will fight a good fight.
I learned that if you don’t fight for your dreams, then everything becomes impossible. Small tasks become bothersome; simple activities get unnecessarily difficult; and interactions with others become annoying. And your day ends with nothing significant accomplished, but you still feel tired anyhow. And thinking about tomorrow is already boring and full of anxiety.
I have experienced such a dismal state of awareness. The year 2024 really made me think and question my own processes, and my current work presented me with so many opportunities I got inundated.
Somehow, in this year 2024, I have fought a good fight. Despite the scars and bruises, knockouts and injuries, mistakes and blunders, I did not give up.
For the year 2025, I will create a plot armor guided by the following:
1. “My confidence is fueled by self-belief instead of validation from others.”
This is responsibility and accountability at its best form. Since I am the one making my plans, then there is no one else to be blamed for my failures. There is no such thing as smooth sailing when we sail against the current.
It also means that I have to be my own best/worst critic. We all tend to justify our excuses. People are very skilled in using confirmation bias to protect their egos.
2. “You can be depressed and still get things done. It’s called being a man.”
Another word for depression is dependence. A person who is depressed is dependent to something or someone. We can also call it attachment or addiction. Our worth or raison d’etre (reason for being) is found somewhere else. Or held by someone else.
I learned that being emotional — feeling happy or sad — is temporary. Or as they say, emotions come in waves. Sometimes you are excited and beaming with hope. Other times you are gloomy and yearning for affection. There is also that “suddenness” of positive emotions in moments of festivities and negative ones in times of stressful situations.
I have seen people solve these fluctuations. The solution is NOT motivation; the solution is discipline.
3. “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.” – Albert Einstein
Another perspective would be about becoming a victim of your own success. I have seen people who, after accomplishing their dreams, ended up more stressful.
I experienced it myself in some small ways. One example was my dream of having my own car. I learned (too late) that with the realization of the dream, many responsibilities would be attached to it. Along the way, I also learned that personal development is an ongoing process. You never sit on your laurels, so to speak.
Life must be a continuous spiraling of abundance, which means that if I want to be successful, I must prepare myself for more responsibilities. I must stop comparing my progress with that of others. And I must only measure my self-worth from my own perspective.
And with this, all things considered, regardless of my failures and limitations, the Year 2025 will be about discipline and maturity: my year of possibilities.
“It is not in having more rights that we become truly successful; it is in doing more responsibilities.”/PN
