Kwento Kwentuhan

Are You Ready?

Liza of “A Maui Blog”

We are just a few weeks away from New Year 2020 … are you ready?

What do you think about when you hear the words “New Year?” For me, I think of New Year’s resolutions and goal setting. I also think clean slate and new beginning. I always seem to have a positive outlook of the New Year and I would like to pass that positive outlook to you.

Let us talk about virtues that will help make our year 2020 a successful one. I call these the four pillars of a successful year:

1. Gratitude

Being grateful of what we have prepares us to be grateful for the things coming. With the popularity of social media comes the consequence of seeing the highlight reels of our family and friends. Sometimes seeing all these good things that others have that sometimes we lack but wish to have causes not a feeling of envy but also anxiety. However, if we start looking at ourselves, counting our many blessings and being grateful of what we have, we will avoid being envious or anxious. So, for 2020, I am starting a Five-Minute Journal which is also a Gratitude Journal to help me be grateful for the things I have. It is good to be thankful for what we have. It produces peace and joy in our hearts. How about you? What practice can you do to cultivate gratitude in your heart?

2. Joy

I mentioned earlier that Gratitude produces Joy but I also want to talk about it separately. I think Joy is one of the four pillars of success for 2020 because life would be boring and even desperate, without joy. Remember the famous phrase Marie Kondo uses? She believes you should only keep in your house the things that sparks joy in you. May I ask … what are some of the things that sparks joy in you? Better yet, who are the people that spark joy in you? Who are the people who make you laugh and happy? Keep them. Keep the things that spark joy in your heart and surround yourself with people who spark Joy in you.

3. Creativity

Liza at Ali‘i Kula Lavender Farm, Maui
Photo: Liza Pierce

On New Year’s Day, we set goals and resolutions. However, a few weeks into the year, many of us abandon these resolutions and goals. How about we try to be creative in accomplishing them? As we have read in the book Life Scale by Brian Solis, “Creativity is the fountain of youth, a source of innovation, and the secret to happiness.” And the famous and beloved writer Maya Angelou says “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” Let’s start using our creativity in 2020!

4. Hope

Maui Sunset
Photo: Liza Pierce

Sometimes watching the news nowadays can be depressing—crimes, shootings, wars, recession, political accusations, so on and so forth! Our humanity seems to require that we stay hopeful in life, lest we slide into bitterness or despair, and give up on life. So, it is not merely a bit of fun to make a New Year’s resolution, for many it is a concrete expression of hope. And it is important to have Hope not only during the beginning of the year but throughout the year. Mindset, Optimism, Affirmations—there are important components of Hope. And for those of us who are believers, we know that Faith and Hope go hand in hand. As we look forward to 2020 let us remind ourselves that there is Hope.

Now that I we have looked at the four pillars of a successful new year, you might be asking … what about LOVE? Shouldn’t Love be one of the pillars? Actually, Love is the foundation. Without Love, these four pillars will not last. Yes, gratitude, joy, creativity and hope are the pillars, but Love is the foundation. And with this, I wish you all a Prosperous and Blessed New Year!

Liza Pierce of A Maui Blog is an Interactive Media Strategist in Hawai‘i. She started blogging in 2006 and she loves talking story online and spreading aloha around the world. She’s lived on Maui since 1994 and considers Maui her home. A wife, a mother, a friend…and so much more. She loves Jesus; Maui Sunsets Catcher; Crazy About Rainbow; End Alzheimer’s Advocate. Her life is full and exciting here on the island of Maui. Liza is currently the Interactive Media Strategist with Wailea Realty Corp.