Today was January 1, 2020.
At the beginning of the new year, I summed up my three keywords for 2019.
Pain, growth, and happiness.
Pain made me grow, and growth made me happy.
I won't go into the specifics of the pain. As for how I grew and found happiness, it's all written in World of Gods. Long-time readers should be able to feel how the style of the new book has changed.
When I was chatting with Sweeping the Horizon, the author of Creation Diagram, which went live today, I even said that I was destined not to be able to write anything relaxing. Yet within a few months, I had started letting myself go, and it felt so good.
Sure enough, no one could escape the "it smells so good" rule.
I won't say much about the book's content. I'll talk about it properly before it goes live.
At the end of the year, just like last year, I once again reviewed my life. (For the method, see my public-account article from last year.)
There was quite a lot to cover, so I'll only mention three key points.
1. Successfully lost twenty-five jin.
And it only took half a year. Another half-year has passed now, and the weight still hasn't come back.
Hahahaha... Let me put my hands on my hips and laugh for a while.
This made me realize that I could completely change myself!
There were many factors behind my successful weight loss, but I wrote about the most important reason and method in an earlier chapter. I estimate that no one will be able to find it.
2. Successfully mastered emotion management.
This was actually a blessing in disguise.
Perhaps because of the road construction outside my residential compound, combined with various other factors, I developed tinnitus.
So I began searching for a way to solve it, but eventually discovered that it was difficult to cure. Then I changed my approach and controlled my own emotions.
I studied, signed up for courses, read books... and eventually succeeded in building my own emotion-management system.
Its foundation rested on psychology and neurology. Whether it was scientific or not, it was effective! On my annual coordinate chart, this had the highest happiness index—higher than losing twenty-five jin.
3. Awareness.
This was an ability I learned this year through meditation, study, emotion management, and a whole series of combined efforts.
Before this year, half my life had been spent in confusion.
After this year, my whole life would be clear and bright.
Most outstanding people acquired the ability of "awareness" during childhood. I didn't, but I had always believed that I did.
Fortunately, after constantly studying, I learned the ability to be aware.
I wasn't outstanding enough yet, but I believed that I would become an outstanding person in the future.
In some sense, this year was also the year when I kept discovering the things I didn't have but thought I had.
I even firmly believed that the moment one discovered something one didn't have but thought one had, and the moment one discovered one's "specific mistakes" and actively "looked for ways to change," marked the beginning of self-awareness and progress.
I won't go into the details. That would require quite a lot of space.
Pain, growth, and happiness described phenomena.
Weight loss, emotion management, and awareness described reviewed behaviors and actions.
Next, I had to summarize the patterns and refine my way of thinking.
Well... if it could be reflected in the main text, I wouldn't elaborate.
Finally, there was my plan for next year—not an outlook, and not a fantasy.
Let me think about next year's keywords.
1. Deliberate Practice.
When I first heard about this, I didn't think much of it.
After reading other people's brief explanations and reading notes, I still didn't think much of it. I understand.
When I seriously read the original work, I first thought, "Holy crap," and then thought, "This is great."
Maintaining deliberate practice in writing methods, learning methods, reading methods, self-management methods, and various other methods would be my top priority next year.
This theme would probably continue for many years.
What made me especially happy was that last year's keyword theme for 2019 had been "accumulation." It was useful, but too vague.
This year, however, my keyword "deliberate practice" was more specific.
This also made me realize that every genuine learning experience overturned my "I understand" at least once. If one couldn't overturn one's "I understand" multiple times in a field, it meant one didn't understand it.
"I understand" was the brain's self-protection mechanism.
Overturning "I understand" showed that one possessed the ability for deep thought.
2. The Stupidest Learning Method.
This was a learning method I summarized while standing on the shoulders of giants. For an ordinary person like me, using it once was equivalent to squeezing my brain dry once.
To prevent excessive mental fatigue from triggering physical resistance, I didn't even dare use it every day.
It's complicated to explain, so I won't say much about it. It will appear in the main text.
My current goal was to use it fifty times over the course of a year. Once a week, more or less, should be enough. After it solidified into an ability, I should be able to use it more often.
3. Review.
I did my annual review quite well. This year, I reviewed not only the events of the entire year but also the people I had encountered throughout the year.
My sense of achievement was through the roof.
However, my monthly reviews, writing reviews, and weekly reviews were terrible.
I didn't force myself, blame myself, deny myself, or question myself. I merely took a small step forward: conducting a writing review every month.
Once I had established a solid routine of monthly writing reviews, I would consider the other kinds of reviews.
What were all you mages' keywords for 2019? If you couldn't think of three, one was fine too.
And what keywords did you look forward to for 2020? If you couldn't think of three, one was fine too.
You could also just pick a number below and fill it in.
0.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Not writing one? Was there no number you liked? Finally, as I summed it up:
This year, setbacks weren't important. Reflection was more important.
Achievements weren't important. Growth was more important.
Gains weren't important. Progress was more important.
The present wasn't important. The future was more important.
Stay hungry, and stay humble.
Let us encourage one another!
Finally, I hope that we can grow together in the new year!