7th January 2023
Happy New Year Ladies of Hive!
In the first two days of the year, I was too busy because they were, fortunately, my holidays. I remember I said in my recent entry to the LOH contest that I have nothing to do on the first day of the year, yet I found myself heading to a familiar trail. That trip was made for a purpose though which I don't want to elaborate on here.
So I started the year traveling. We have this belief in our country that whatever you do on the first day of the year, you'll be doing it the whole. Glad I didn't sleep the whole day of January 1st, or else, I'll be sleeping and would be unproductive the whole year š . So does it mean I'll be traveling for the whole year? Haha. I would be glad if permitted.
The year 2022 was full of chaos and an unhealthy lifestyle, which is something I don't want to happen again this year 2023. I learned a lot from the previous year and the main thing I want to do this year is to be consistent in doing a healthy lifestyle, rather than stressing myself. I'm not getting younger anymore and I could tell that my body wants me to do what is right and healthy, rather than spoiling it too much.
However, it's not easy to maintain a healthy lifestyle and I am certain that many are struggling with that. But with self-discipline and consistency, I guess it's achievable.
Speaking of lifestyle, 
I wish I could visit my friends and family. But in my current situation (working abroad) that is impossible to happen. Moreover, my friends and I here can only see each other if we all are available.
This year, all I want is to change my lifestyle for good.
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Focus On Wellness And Self-care
While people from the new generation (I feel old, lol) focus on trending lifestyle stuff, and fashion, I, on the other hand, want to focus on wellness and self-care. In these past years, I feel like I've been putting too much of my time into my work and side hustles, and those things have taken a toll on my wellness.
I tend to forget to care for myself as I think more about others. Those dark circles around my eyes and fine lines on my forehead tell me that I'm not getting younger anymore. And instead of resting during rest hours, I tend to spend them doing side hustles. And this unhealthy lifestyle compromises my health which is something I want to change for the better, not just this year, but for the rest of my life.
As much as possible, I want to change my circadian cycle, albeit tough, since I become used to sleeping late due to doing online side hustles at night. I've been trying to sleep earlier than usual time, but my mind is still awake during my desired time of sleeping, lol. How I wish I could deactivate my mind so I could sleep faster.
Another thing I want to take into account this year is the food I am feeding into my body. We become what we eat, and I probably got these intolerances because of my unhealthy diet in the past š. There is some food that my body could no longer digest well, like those with lactose and gluten. So this year, as much as possible, I want to have a less to zero gluten and lactose diet. Taking gluten out of my food is quite impossible, especially when eating in restaurants, but I'll make sure to at least, reduce my intake of it.
More Travel, Happier Life
If there is one thing that makes me happy while working abroad, that's traveling. Life is so toxic and sticking into it for the rest of the week is more toxic. Since I started my year traveling, I want to travel more as I only have more than a year remaining days to work in this country. After then, I'll take yet another journey which I am still uncertain about. Whatever it is, I'll just brace myself for another adventure and challenges to come.
As for this year, I want to visit those places on my bucket list. I want to hike more mountains and visit more places in the countryside, preferably those places near nature. I had started getting my feet back on trails recently and I want to continue it before summer comes.
To sum up, a healthy lifestyle focusing on wellness, self-care, and creating happy memories would be my target this year. It's not too late to start what is right anyway.
As for the second question about budgeting. It is expensive to live in this country, but there are always ways to keep within budget, such as cooking food instead of buying and only adding those necessary stuff to the grocery list to avoid getting the wants. I want to save more this year, so definitely tighter budgeting is necessary. Save more and spend less, that would be the best, especially since this will be my last contract here. I truly need to save more for rainy days.
Once again, happy new year Ladies of Hive! Let's just be positive, can we make it? Cheers to a better 2023.
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