I feel like not writing this annual reflection post means something is amissed. There were lots to reflect upon for 2025 and tomorrow is the start of a new work year for me, so I think this is a milestone to mark the beginning of a new year. Let's go!
2025 New Year Resolutions
1. Learn Python - this has been on my mind since 2023 but I never found the motivation to get going with it. Now I feel like I could use it in my work a lot more so I am going to get myself started!
I did start on this for the first 3 months of 2025 but things started to got busy with the new home to set up, work travel and new arrangements and I eventually stopped at "Hello World!" It was also a bit of feeling like coding should not be my priority, and wanted to spend more time on other skills at work. Let's park this for now.
2. Learn swimming - this has been a resolution that I have pushed back from 2018 to 2023 and eventually striking it off. I feel like I should really get going.
This is something that I did get going in the year, small steps but I shall push myself harder this year to accomplish it!
3. Empower others to be happy - it is so easy to say, "I want to be happy and do things that make myself happy" but when I look around me, I feel that there are too many unhappy souls and I really hope I would be able to do some things that actually make them happy too.
I think I did try although it is hard to conclude if I succeeded. I am not sure if it is SG in general, or the people that I deal with everyday. I just find too many negative people around me or perhaps it is just human nature to see their own view points but not others. Life is really about perspectives and what you choose to focus on and the truth is everyone focuses on different things and mostly, they focus on themselves first.
4. Snack less please!
One of the most successful resolutions of 2025 - set a goal to lose 5kg during the year and achieved 4.5kg after 4 months. However, I started to travel and then that is when things get out of hand, especially when you are in NZ/US and Japan whereby food is double portions or simply too delicious.
5. Less time for gaming and READ MORE! I feel like I read too little these days. I should aim to read a book every month!
Another poorly executed resolution, although I did try. I read 3 books for the entire year, and all 3 of them came in the beginning of the year. As the year progresses, things just got harder.
On the whole, 2025 simply felt like a year whereby I seemed to have done loads of things but at the same time, I did not feel particularly excited and in fact, when I reflected upon it towards the end of the year, I felt that the year did not particularly well. Maybe it is due to the trajectory that my life is seemingly heading towards in the last quarter of the year that made me feel this way. I was a lot more excited in the first half of the year but now I feel lost about the future again.
I finally struck NZ off my bucket list after 7 years. The first few days of the trip felt a little flat but Wanaka and Tekapo were amazing and I truly enjoyed the trip. I then headed to the US and it was another refreshing feeling. Perhaps it was due to the vast skies, clear skies or the people that I met, I feel that it always makes me feel excited. It has been 8 years since I left the US and had not been back.
I also visited Hokkaido again, love the place and the food. It was a lot more tiring this time around and it was maybe because of the weather or much longer driving. It was much more sunnier than when I visited at the same time in 2014, but the kani, melon, kyoho grapes made it all worth the effort!
I also visited Kinmen finally, 12 years late but I am so glad that I went. I heard so much about life back then for grandpa, even though I have never met him before. Great stories, selfless sacrifice, etc. and I was once again reminded that our grandparents and parents were all young once, and had their dreams that they would like to achieve but because they got married, they settled down, they had different goals and the sacrifices they made to sometimes help us to fulfill our dreams. Show them more kindness and appreciation.
I ended the year with Okinawa, which I was supposed to visit in 2024, but decided against given the new loft. I think it is a really cool city that has everything - I had a mix of nice and bad weather but I always enjoy visiting Japan. Some days I wonder how Japanese people keep their cool. They are always polite and patient or perhaps it is because I do not speak their language so when you cannot communicate, you cannot get into an argument. LOL.
I learnt so many beatles and coldplay songs this year and felt like I finally found the rhythm towards english songs!
I went back to playing tennis, which was not easy given I have stopped playing tennis altogether for almost 5 years.
Going into 2026, I hope I can feel a little more excited and take a stock take of my resolutions throughout the year rather than at the end of the year.
2026 Resolutions
1. Declutter - During Covid, I lived with very little but I was not any unhappier than I am right now. These days, we just have too much and still, we think it is not enough. Buying the latest gadget, buying more and more skin care products, wanting to try more and more types of food and cuisine, etc. - our desires are sometimes a bottomless pit. I figured out that the best way to not hoard is to not take it in the first place. Say NO to cute paper/plastic bags. Say NO to more new shoes and clothes. Start using everything that I have right now and stop thinking about saving it for future. All the xmas gifts from colleagues, friends and family. Some have been sitting there for 2 years but I never got down to using it. Whatever that can be consumed should be consumed and whatever that I have no use for - either do not buy it anymore or start throwing away existing ones. Don't think about having inventory of everyday use products for fear of running out. Just use a different product if it runs out! Try not to buy things just because they look cute. There will always be new designs and even cuter things in the future. Decluttering also means digitally - my computer and phone is forever low on storage because I keep too many things on the phone. Apps that I no longer use, tons of photos, chat history, etc. They should all be cleared.
2. Say NO to addiction - Modern life is filled with gadget addiction - binge watching useless shorts on IG / YT, playing games, chatting about problems through instant messaging. That time needs to be deployed into more purposeful things - read, play sports, play the guitar etc. I do them throughout the year but these things are a lot less addictive than anything that has gotta do with the mobile phone! I think trying to read a book a month might be a bit too ambitious. Let's aim for 6 books a year!
3. Sleep early and wake up early - I recall that when I went to Tasmania and NZ, I felt really refreshed after the trip because I was sleeping early everyday. There was nothing much to do in the evening given I do not party so I felt very well rested after these two trips. After Hokkaido and Taipei, I felt really tired returning from the trip. I was always sleeping late and waking up early which is not ideal. The source of me sleeping late is the usual addiction stuff which makes me feel really annoyed with myself so I have decided that I need to do something about this. Not helpful that I am writing this at 00:49.
4. Learn swimming. I really need to give myself one hard push this year to achieve this!
5. Be positive and do not react to what others say or do - this is probably the hardest as we all have our own emotions and people around you just love pushing the trigger button, sometimes unknowingly and sometimes intentionally. Just know that when you disagree, it is all about perspective. I do not always have to make sure others see or hear my perspective. Be an active listener, perhaps that will help me to see others more positively, even if I think they are wrong - agree to disagree.
Goodbye 2025, Hello 2026 although I am not quite ready for the first time in many years.
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