Thursday, January 8, 2015

my take-away from 2014

it'd probably require an honest-to-goodness Retreat, Meditation and R&R for me to be able to exhaustively review my last year.  so for blogging purposes (and as inspired from some blog posts i read lately), here is a list of my 2014 jump-off points:

1. no matter what, do your best.  be kind.  be respectful.
people will always have that tendency to talk about you, even behind your back.  they will perceive you differently and judgingly.  regardless, go on with your life.  i realized that even when i stay holed up in my office room or decide to sashay down the hallway in my kiriray way, when people want to talk about you, they will.  i just noticed that people are more insecure and nastier, which are two deadly traits when combined compared to people of before (in the workplace, i mean).  that being said, you cannot control what they want to do with their lives.  you cannot prevent them from speaking ill or spreading rumors or concocting controversies (my staff was victimized, sadly) but you can handle these better and in a correct posture.  if evidence-based, elevate your concern to an official platform (write a memo and complain!).  if things remain to be anonymous (which, i think, is the ultimate sign of cowardice! and yes, insecurity!), just continue living a life of respect and doing well in things that you do.  the best revenge to bad people is to continue to do good and show you're unaffected.  irk them with kindness and with your "business-as-usual" attitude.  you're too busy to care anyway.

2. tell people off.
for friends and loved ones, if you know they are going astray or are doing something bad/crazy/detrimental/illegal, etc., tell them off.  even when it'd hurt them or strain your relationship, speak up.  the worse you can do is allow them to go downhill spiral.  i am blessed for having friends who are frank and honest with me. they were never mum about the (stupid) decisions i made.  while i am left to live out these decisions,  they never leave me un-advised.  no matter how often unsolicited their opinions are, they are sincere and always after my well-being.  pero matigas lang talaga ang ulo ko, and in hindsight, they gave me Words of the Wise, which i didn't heed that often. ha!

3. show your gratitude.
one of the injustices people do is to not give thanks, show gratitude and recognize where credit is due.  i really think we are afforded a gazillion of ways and means to express our being grateful.  there is no small and big way.  we are, in fact, so blessed in so many ways and means too, through people and circumstances.  even challenges and trying times are blessings.  we are strengthened and allowed to know more about ourselves and the people around us.  there are more than enough reasons for us to be thankful, really.  and yes, "thank you" is still a magic word even at this Age.

4. always remind yourself that not everything is about you.
it is good to be self-aware that we are not entitled beings.  there is no such thing as self-entitlements, privileges and automatic freebies from the Universe.  even the Drama of the Universe is not about you all the time.  wag maging pabigat.  it is with Grace that i remind myself to not be truly OA and exagg, that i'm only allowed to be OA when it's fun, pakyoot OA only.  when it is the real, annoying arte, it is no longer acceptable.

5. love your Self.
'nuff said.

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