What I Learned In 2019

That I am not a consistent blogger, that’s for sure. I started and forgot all about my Happiness Project TWICE this year. Even though it was the reason I picked up blogging again, so enthusiastically, back at the end of 2018. But what I also learned in 2019 is that I will always want to write. I may not be a consistent blogger, but I am a consistent writer. I am better at writing words than I am at speaking them. So I write for a living, I journal daily, I type endless messages to friends, and I blog – although occasionally.

That I Am a Writer

So I have learned that I am a writer, even though it still feels a little uneasy to say it like that. Writing comes so naturally to me, that it is weird to identify as ‘a writer’. It is like saying ‘I am a human being,’ duh. But to start calling myself a writer actually worked out well, because it has allowed me to perceive it as a skill, and to make a job out of it. It has also made me realize I will always want to publish parts of my writings, whether or not someone reads them. So I have started writing a book (more on that another time). And I will also allow myself to come back to blogging – no matter how inconsistently I might end up posting.

That I Am a Reader

Obviously, I already knew that. But what my Happiness Project did achieve in 2019 is that I made reading a priority again. And I have learned that I love a book genre I was pretty unfamiliar with before: the genre of self help books. I loathe that name for the negative connotations it has. I know many people think of self help books as giving shitty advice, based on nothing, and that they are written by gurus who fake having their lives together. And some of the self help books are exactly that.

But I’ve learned that self help books come in many shapes and forms. Some are about lifestyle, food, or sports, others are about business, productivity and planning. Some are practical and down-to-earth, others are spiritual and woo-woo, bordering on the religious. Some are based on common knowledge and real life experiences, others are thoroughly backed up by science. But I have come to see that they all overlap, in some way. I cannot yet put my finger on it, but they all seem to point at the same truths about life on earth as a human being. And I find that FASCINATING.

That I Cannot Shut Up About Personal Growth

2019 has been all about personal growth for me. Out of necessity mostly, because I have gone through a major struggle against myself. Something had to change, and the only person to do the work was me – hence the self help books. And it worked, I am becoming better and better every day. And now I cannot shut up about that amazing thing called personal growth. Even when I don’t talk about it, I think about it. All the time.

Especially now that I have come to the realization that pretty much everyone at some point in their lives goes through a phase of struggle like the one I went through. No matter the circumstances, whether external events trigger it or not, everyone gets stuck at some point. And it’s because growth and change happens all the time, but we simply forget to keep up sometimes. That’s why personal growth is something to be mindful of all the time, not only when struggling.

That Anything is Possible

Which brings me to the best thing I have learned in 2019: that anything is possible. Whatever you set your mind to, you can achieve. Without an in-depth explanation of why this is the case, this may sound opportunistic. But believe me, it’s true. And that is what this blog will be all about – again.

I haven’t figured out the format yet, but you know what? That’s not the point. Instead of waiting for the ‘right’ blog format, the ‘right’ type of posts, and the ‘right’ content schedule to be decided on… Instead of waiting for 2020 to arrive, I decided to just start blogging – again. About personal growth and happiness – again. The same thing I was so passionate about this time last year, and about which I have learned so much in 2019. I guess some things don’t change after all. ;)

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To give you a little bit of an idea though: this blog will for sure (continue to) be about goals I have, books I read, habits I build, classes I take, thoughts I have, progress I make, and a whole lot about the science of living up to your full potential.