Ebbs and Flows of Life's Journey

Welcome back to the 3rd issue of the "Swirling Visions". Happy New Year to you and your family. These holidays felt like a breeze; refreshing yet went away in blink of an eye.

As we ruminate on the past year's achievements and erosions, it's evident that we can't judge ourselves by the beginning and the end. Progress is neither a black or white metric nor it's a grey area. Your efforts, mood swings, response to stimulus, maturity in conflicts, environment, and many more norms form the yardstick of being a human. Benchmarks to qualify as a good human being has never been higher than now, and you are still holding your ground. Applaud yourself for that. 'Annual Review' will talk about what you have achieved and where you are in the progress bar (PS - you could find mine here). But however comprehensive is the annual review, it can't capture the emotions and obstacles you faced throughout the year. Multi-dimensional norms for our happiness and mental well-being mean that not a single day in our life is the same. We go through different cycles of ebbs and flows in our serotonin, dopamine, and adrenaline. These cycles color our life. Bad day but your partner bring flowers? Pink. Nostalgic memories of your far-away friends? Blue. A bad meeting at the office or an argument with your best friend? Red (Ross!)

People say, 'When life gives you lemons, make a lemonade and drink it up.' But I don't want to have lemonade 5 days in a row!

Life can be tricky that way. Systems you design might fail you in catastrophic days/weeks. It's something we don't need to beat ourselves about. Or even worse, a system you made for yourself at the start of the year might not serve you and your happiness well after 4 months. These are the moments when we try to figure out what went wrong. Progress stalls a bit since catastrophe has taken over your daily schedule. Doubting yourself is very normal during the process. Not reaching your goals is common.

I usually try to kick back and do the thing I love the most: Draw. But sometimes I also just fire up Netflix and re-watch my comfort shows. I have a good company to surround me, so sometimes I call up any one of my friends and just rant it out. Also, as far as feeling 'out of place' or 'stuck' topic goes, I will tell you nobody feels it more than us. We strive every day, still feel as an impostor and that's the sign of growth. Believe me as long as you feel an impostor in your surroundings, you are on the right path. Some days of fidgeted growth doesn't define you.

You'll dust up and get up and be better around the corner. You'll get back on track.

Through action and planning, you can make the best out of this year. Start today, start right now, and don't give up.

You can download a beautiful (and free!) printable PDF of the template here. Do share the link with anyone who might benefit from it.

I'd love to hear from you:

• What is your one big resolution for the year?

• How do you plan to take action daily to bring you closer to your goal?

Reply to this email or tweet at me @mounika_2000, and I'll do my best to get back to everyone.

Receiving email replies to the newsletter means the world to me. Thank you for joining me along on the ride, and meet you in the next issue of Swirling Visions.

PS: I share a lot of free checklists, templates, and trackers on my Twitter and Instagram. Follow me to stay updated.

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