Transit Dialog has published my essay, Looking Back with Joy, yesterday. Allow me to share it with you all:
“𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.”
𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗝𝗼𝘆
𝘉𝘺 𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘢 𝘎𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘴
I was watching a video on YouTube about gratitude. The vlogger was a published author who shared her achievements in 2021. She said that she was surprised with all that she has achieved during an otherwise challenging year.
Time can fly so fast, especially for a busy author and vlogger. Her joy was palpable in her video, and she simply chose to celebrate herself and her wins.
This video has inspired me to look back on the previous year by flipping through my journal. I saw how the manuscript for my first book was coming together, and the notes that I had for it. I read the entries that I wrote as I launched my first book, as well as my plans for the second one. I was hooked! I did not realize that all of these happened in the span of a few months.
I reached for my second journal for 2021 and looked back on my second book’s manuscript and outline. I read my thorough notes on my manuscript’s chapters, and how I still wanted my second book to feel like a self-help book. Sure, it was about self-publishing, but I wanted to motivate my reader by sharing my own experiences as well.
My second book was launched to so many feels on my journal, and I felt my own joy through its pages.
It warmed my heart to read about genuine happiness and personal fulfillment. I did not realize how far I have come because 2021 seemed like a very long and difficult year. Looking back, I wrote and published my two books because it was my creative outlet and career move. I took a risk, and it all worked out in the end.
I recently started writing a new journal for 2022 and I reread my entries for January. I was also caught in a wave of surprise and gratitude. I was able to release a short story for a Canadian publisher, and I was able to enjoy my writing assignments and media partnerships. My first month was busy and fun. It makes me happy to read about my progress so far.
I know that not everyone journals everyday, but if you are going through some tough times, try to list down your wins last year. You might be surprised by all your achievements and how far you have come. You can also look at how your 2022 is going so far, and you will see that you are doing a good job after all.
Celebrate your wins, no matter how small! If you want to start a new hobby this year, I suggest that you take up journaling. You can just use it as a gratitude journal and it will become your tracker for all the good things that have gone well in your life. Being thankful can make your soul feel lighter and your heart a lot warmer. Even if life gets challenging, remember that there is always something to be grateful for.
If you still do not know where to start, then just think of how you are reading this. You are looking at a screen right now and you are fortunate to have the means to afford that gadget. You can read and make sense out of this essay. You are lucky to be literate and capable of understanding concepts. You have friends on this social media platform. Sure, they are not all your real friends, but still, some of them are the real deal.
You can read, you have a gadget in front of you, and you have friends. Now, those are three good things to be thankful for!
Let us learn to look back on our wins and celebrate them. Let us be grateful. And let us look forward to a better 2022 that is filled with hope and more wins.
𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘢 𝘎𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘉. 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦, 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘢𝘮.𝘤𝘰𝘮, 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘺 2017. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘈𝘉 𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘜𝘈&𝘗.
Source: Transit Dialog
