A near quarter life crisis averted... A reflection instead.

A little over one month ago I turned 25 years old. I still can’t get over the fact that a whole year has gone by and so many things have changed in my life while at the same time many have stayed the same. I have been single now a whole year after a bad breakup that crushed me after seeing her for two years. Honestly I was sad at the time but it was what I needed most. I needed to embark on a journey to better myself from within. I knew that in order to improve myself and my future self I had to focus and learn from my mistakes and build on my strengths. I have found new passions as well as rekindling old ones forgotten and have done my best to try new things and learn something new every day. Often times we get stagnant within our life whether it is a job, relationship, health and many other things but it’s important to just recognize it and learn from it. I am always trying to improve on something but at the same time being content in the present moment. But when one gets too comfortable it often leads to a limitation of growth and prosperity and for myself I always want to be striving to do great things and build for the next day ahead. Avoiding negative habits like self doubt, gossip and comparing yourself to others is key to know what not to do in order to know how to thrive. I know myself and I don’t want to go down as someone who just gave up on life and becomes a punching bag for what life hands you. I like to face the challenge head on and move forward no matter what it takes. I know that I cannot and will not ever settle for something less than the life I know I am capable of living. I have big goals for myself and some things and people are just temporary road blocks that will be passed through with enough hard work and perseverance along the way.

So I have undergone some immense physical changes as well as emotional ones. I have lost 50 pounds physically but also many burdens from my past that formerly weighed me down have been lifted in this process of change. For example I used to worry what other people thought of me, but after focusing on myself I realized that the only people that matter in my life are myself and the people close to me. I used to second guess myself on every little thing but now I have grown to be comfortable in my own skin and trust that my instinct is leading me on the right path. After all it is my life so shouldn’t I be the one to let guide me? There’s a saying that goes something like a wolf doesn’t lose sleep over the opinion of sheep. And that one statement has been my credo for some time now. But anyway the physical aspect of losing weight certainly is tough but it was more the mental part that has helped strengthen me. It’s not easy to shift your whole focus to eating healthy and making better choices when the whole world is seemingly against your decisions but doing this repeatedly over and over again when you start to see progress helps you realize that nobody else’s opinion matters if it’s not in your best self interest. In whatever you do whether it be your job, business venture, hobbies or anything in between, if it makes you happy keep doing it and never think twice.

Reflecting on the last year I can truly say that I think I did well, but ultimately can do much better. I did not write or read nearly enough, I made progress in the gym and got certified to be a personal trainer; I continued learning and educating myself on the stock market and am on the right path although I have not been trading much and just learning for now.  I started thinking more for myself and less of what others expect me to do. That is the key ingredient that ultimately binds you to success. Everything else will eventually fall into place if you start making efforts to benefit your own self interest.

Looking forward into the future I am very confident and positive in my abilities and ready to face whatever comes next. I don’t really like New Year’s resolutions but some goals I will set are to write at least one post per week, and to read a book per month. With my stock trading my goal is to start trading, as silly as that sounds. I have to be more confident in myself and trust the patterns when I see them forming. Starting small and taking it one trade at a time is key for me to just get better every day and learn something new. I also want to travel more. I want to go to Italy and experience all it has to offer. I also want to visit Miami, California and also somewhere in a mountain but I don’t know where yet! I would also love to see a national park of some kind perhaps Yosemite.  With the gym my goal is to just keep improving on the progress I’ve made, continue to make healthy choices and start training others and helping them get better for their own future.  If you get better at something by 1% each day that effort will compound infinitely over time and set yourself up for true and lasting happiness and success.