As 2019 is around the corner, I would like to share two insights from 2018 and I hope you appreciate to read.

This year, different ideas called my attention. Topics like Appreciative Inquiry, Johari Window, and Positive Deviance challenged me and opened my mind. However, above all, the two realizations that really struck me are the ones that I will describe below:

Mindfulness to improve quality of life.

“Mindfulness is a natural capacity, present in all of us to some extent. It involves paying purposeful attention to our experience, with particular attitudes like openness and curiosity.” Jamie Bristow (1)

 I lived my life in the automated mode for a long time, rushing to comply with all my duties and responsibilities; therefore, opening myself to truly enjoy each ordinary moment of life was like to give myself a gift. 

It was an opportunity to experience the pleasure of doing a pause to slow down the pace, see what was happening around me and appreciate the bright colors and movement of the life. I discovered that the opportunity to feel each moment as unique is priceless and I should never take it for granted. 

“…When we spend more time alive to our experience…we unlock our potential for learning and growing and are better able to respond creatively to life’s challenges.” Jamie Bristow (1)

Fresh Eyes to judge new experiences.

“Our initial biases in what we perceive and feel, how we judge situations, and how we react all reflect our culture and our personal history.” Edgar H. Schein (2) 

There were many political discussions during 2018 and it was unsettling as they evoked negative feelings on me. As a result, my first judgment of the new situations related to the political subjects, most of the times, just reflected my personal history and my previous experiences. 

I realized that I was “watching new scenes with old eyes”, giving to my personal history the power to define and interfere in my perception of brand new experiences. 

The bright side, however, was the realization that if I am aware of the feelings evoked in a new experience; I am allowed to choose how to judge the new situations.

We can choose to look with fresh and authentic eyes avoiding a reaction that is merely a reflex of our personal histories and old experiences. 

Maybe you are now smiling because these realizations resonate with you or maybe you are still thinking if this confessional posting makes any sense to you. 

Your thoughts are very welcome, don’t be shy, the comment box below is your space to share the insights that you got in 2018 and will take with you in 2019. 

New Year’s resolutions aren’t popular because it’s hard to comply with most of them but I can say that for 2019 I am committed to judge the new experiences with fresh eyes and be mindful to taste and enjoy every new experience of my life. I wish you the same. Happy New Year!

1. Extracted from: The Mindfulness Initiative, Version 1.1 (October 2016), www.themindfulnessinitiative.org.uk
2. Extracted from : Schein, Edgar H, 2013, Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling. ISBN978-1-60994-981-5. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

Illustration Photo credit: Jérémie Boudin on Foter.com/ CC BY-NC-SA