To be honest, I thought that my second year would mirror a lot of my inaugural year abroad. I really accomplished a lot during the first three hundred and sixty five days. I’d participated in producing a short film, went on a short vacation to Mazu, and not to mention all the little trips around the island exploring. But then I look back now at the end of my second year here and I’m even more surprised.
I have done far more than I anticipated. I learned Chinese for a few months with a tutor, reaching a slightly higher level of comprehension. I made it a habit to blog twice a week, every week. I went vegan, again. I began a gym regiment and have lost thirty pounds since January (as of early September). I wrote not one but two books and made a plan to publish a trilogy of YA novels by next summer. I started reading two (or three) books a month, religiously. I visited home for an entire month to see my family and friends. That’s not counting the other little events throughout the year either.
However, it wasn’t like I woke up one morning and just wrote an entire book, or lost twenty pounds in a single day. It took time. It took adopting a “do or don’t” mentality with everything I do, and learning not to celebrate too early. That’s another new rule of mine: don’t stop to celebrate until you’re impressed yourself.
All this progress propelled forward with a series of little habits: going to the gym at least three times a week, eating healthy food, and dedicating time to my writing. It took setting time aside for the things and the people that mattered to me. It was all about creating and implementing habits that would contribute to an overall boost in morale, which in turn led to drastic changes.
Habits hold more power than we believe. What we do everyday predicts what our future will look like. It’s not about the big grandiose moments, but all the little things we do leading up to them. There are no overnight successes, but people who worked hard for years to be recognized for what they are passionate about. And if you have the guts to work hard and wait, you’ll reap what you sew. Most importantly, you’ll be glad you didn’t celebrate too early for your efforts.
With only six months remaining in Taiwan, I know that the person I am in March will be shocked with how far I will go. But I also feel grateful now, even if I won’t stop to celebrate my little victories just yet. I’m grateful I stayed in Taiwan a little longer, for the people that I consider my closest confidantes, for all the memories I have made thus far, and for the person I was a year ago. I wasn’t in my best condition then, but I knew I needed to change what I did every day. And if it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t be where I am, who I am, or blessed with the prospective future that lays ahead of me, as long as I keep on moving forward. After all, if you don’t move forward, where do you end up going?
