2019

This is the year of the pig. The earth pig to be more precise, and while its fun to dig into the eastern zodiacs for their meanings for me its a way of remembering the passage of time. My first new year in Korea was the fire pig. Twelve years have gone by. On top of that I was also born in the year of the water pig, meaning a third of my life has now been spent (more or less) in Korea. And while zodiac signs are bullshit, it can be a vehicle for reflection.

This January I am in the state of transition. At the end of the month I will be starting a new job and potentially a new career. Good bye teaching, hello copy editing and writing! Combine this with the new year and I feel like this is great time to assess myself.

The Negative

1. I have definitely been checking my phone and social media too frequently. The glorious benefits of the smartphone are also it’s greatest detraction. I need to use this tool more purposefully.
2. I distract myself with games too often. I do not see games as a negative, but I need to create a better balance of my free time to doing things I want to get done.
3. I fill my quite time with too much media. Again, while podcasts, movies, and tv shows aren’t inherently bad, I miss the quiet times to reflect.
4. Being easily frustrated at others. Granted, the climate of self-assured ‘common sense’ pundits is inherently frustrating to deal with, but this is too easy to use as an excuse.

This is not a complete list of course (we can always nitpick more), but these issues seem to have a related theme. A lack of quiet and a lack of focus. I feel as though these have been slowly accruing over the years, much as one’s waistline can if exercise is not included as a regular routine. As for the positives? Well, I don’t have an interest in assessing those right now. Maybe later.

A Theme for 2019

I am horrible at setting useful resolutions. However, I have heard of an idea of setting themes for a year as a guiding principle instead. Considering that I will be starting a completely new job, and I want to address my bad habits, this year I want to dub as the Year of Focus.

A tad cheesy, sure, and I doubt I’ll change overnight, but I’ll write this on the wall as a reminder. Focus on fitting in at the new position, focus on the projects I’ve already started, focus on my quiet time and myself, focus on self-care and care for my family and friends. Be more aware.

So now, I will be heading out for a walk. Usually I listen to a podcast or music, but this time I will eschew these perks and just walk. Like I used to.