Looking back and looking forward #MondayMusings #WOTY

The last Monday of the year is upon us. 2019 is almost over and I can’t believe that yet. I know we keep telling that each year, but somehow I felt that this year went by in a rush and I’m still trying to process all that happened this year. There were highs and lows, but what matters the most is what I had to take away from what this year had to teach me and how I’m going to make use of those lessons in 2020. Like “Janus”, the Roman God after whom the month January is named, this is the time of looking back and looking forward.

Looking back: If I had two words to describe 2019(because one wouldn’t be enough, those words would be Change and Responsibility. The beginning of this year marked a new beginning in my life.  I had moved to a new house with a new, but permanent roommate in January. So all these changes brought a new set of responsibilities and it was easy to be overwhelmed by all of it. For someone who had had been living in PG, the experience of setting up a house was a difficult task. But I somehow got through that.

What made the year more challenging was the fact that even work became more hectic. Changes and additional responsibilities at work saw me work until late in the night almost every working day, only to wake up early the next morning, cook, clean and start working again. Yes, that meant stress. Yes, that also meant no time to exercise. This meant health taking a hit. And it did with the frequent headaches, fevers and the one dreaded experience with Dengue as well.  

With all of the hectic work hours, finding time to do things that I loved was next to impossible. Writing took a back seat and as a result, my frequency of posting on the blog reduced. And I’m the one with many side projects – a blog, an Instagram account for books, a weekly poetry prompt, a Facebook page with stories of people who read and all of these things took a hit. All of this only made me sadder. So my general mood waking up on weekdays was “Why is it morning already?”, “Do I really have to wake up?”. Sad, Grumpy, Annoyed – that would be it. I even began to hate Mondays so much that one of my friends gave me the title of “President of the Monday Haters Club”.

But was the year all bad? Definitely not. As I said, this year saw me getting married to the love of my life. Having someone by your side who understands, who takes care of you, who supports you and is there for you every step of the way is the most amazing feeling ever. That will be the best thing that happened to me this year and it will always be one of the best things to happen in my life.

I discovered my love for travelling in 2018 during my work assignment abroad and even in 2019 travel was one of the things that made me happy. From being a pillion rider on a Royal Enfield on a ride to catch glimpses of the rising sun, to beach hopping and catching beautiful sunsets in Goa, from walking around in the scorching heat of Kerala, catching the beauty of Athirapally Falls and knocking on old doors in Kochi, to braving the rain and snow, to take a walk around beautiful Halstatt and to climb a lot of steps for pretty views of Munich and Salzburg – travel made me sane. Travel made me feel better. And all of these travel stories are there in my mind as drafts, waiting to be brought to life in the form of blog posts.

On the reading front, I managed to complete my Goodreads Challenge which was 30 books and I hope to sneak in one more book to make it 31. I started listening to audiobooks on Audible while cooking and I enjoy them. I’ve started reading books set in different countries in order to be able to travel the world through books. It is refreshing to read books that I may not have otherwise picked up. And this also means a bigger TBR pile. More about this little project later but if you have book suggestions (or even want to gift me books) for books set in any of the lesser-known/ lesser read about countries, then let me know. I haven’t come across a book set in Qatar so far. So it would be really great if you could help me with that.

I didn’t write much during the second half of the year, but in April I managed to complete the A to Z Challenge along with NaPoWriMo. The highlights also included me getting appreciated at work and yes, a few wins in sports though I don’t practice as often as I’d like to. And yes, I have started learning to play the Ukelele.

So yes, it was a hectic year that made go crazy, but still a good one.

Looking forward: I don’t know what the upcoming year holds, but I’m pretty sure that life is still going to be as hectic as it is now. There would be reasons and events that make me get stressed. But driving away that stress and keep calm is something that I need to focus on. I don’t make resolutions or set any goals apart from setting a reading goal because I don’t want more stress. But I like the practice of having a Word of the Year to focus on this year. I was introduced to this concept on Corinne’s Blog and I love it.

Looking at my current situation, my word of the year for 2020 is “Prioritize“. There will always be a lot of things that I want to do, but learning to things that matter the most is important. I can’t take my health-both physical and mental for granted while doing all the things I want to do or supposed to do or forced to do. I want to learn new things rather than having to spend all of my time on tasks that don’t teach me anything new Sometimes it is important to pause, to take a break and rethink priorities. So that is my word of the year. This would also mean learning to manage my time better, delegating responsibilities where possible and most importantly learning to say no.

I hope the lessons that I learned looking back and looking forward to the promise of a year, make me a better person. I hope I’ll be able to do this throughout the year and even beyond. And I wish 2020 brings me good health and some lovely new places to explore. And yes, I hope 2020 brings you all lots of happiness and great opportunities to make your dreams come true.

So what are your plans for 2020?