Greetings readers,

Welcome back to the blog!

Happy New Year!…as I wanted to say, but it’s really hard to be happy about the start of this year, isn’t it? With the still raging pandemic, and the partial lockdown that’s currently in place in my area—somehow, it feels like 2020 all over again. But, what’s different now is that, we have multiple tools in our toolbox to fight this pandemic to the finish line. And as with all pandemics, it will come to an end.

With all of that aside, whether this new year is a happy start or not, it’s that time of the year again—time for setting new year’s resolutions. As I looked back on last year’s resolutions, I discovered I didn’t actually do too bad (surprise surprise!). And this is why, despite a difficult start of this year, I’m still going to set some resolutions. At the very least, I’ll have something to look back to, to see how I did at the end of this year or at the start of the next.

*Of note: some of my resolutions are the same year after year after year, this is because, working on some things are a constant and continuous journey in life.*(so don’t make fun of me on this!)

Here are my New Year’s Resolutions for 2022:

Create more Content

Mainly due to the pandemic, my mental health, isolation, and loneliness, as well as taking time to focus on my health, all compounded to the lack of ability and motivation to create more blogs and posts. I really love what I do as a blogger, speaker and activist, even though I don’t have big followings, and I’m not an influencer. I still enjoy what I do with the small number of audiences that I do have. This year, I hope to get back to more postings and blogging, as well as more public speaking (even if it’s doing it virtually). I want and hope my audience to remember: I haven’t lost interest in my work, and I take what I do seriously. I just needed more time and energy to focus on other things in my life. I may be gone for periods of time, but I’ll always be back!

Do more Creative Projects

The “up side” of this pandemic (if there is one), is that I’ve been doing some more creative projects. I dug out my adult colouring books from way back, I started doing origami again, I put together a puzzle for the first time in my life, all by myself (it’s a small puzzle, but I’m still very proud!), and I even did some Lego projects as well. Just a few days ago, I started doing a “new” (at least it’s new to me) craft, sticker painting. I found a lot of joy and accomplishment doing these creative projects and crafts. They also help me from spending too much time on the news and on all the negativities. I’m looking forward to do more creative projects this year—especially sticker painting!

Reconnect with People

I really hope that 2022 would be a year that all of us can finally reconnect/reunite safely once again. Without a doubt, after nearly two years of isolation and loneliness, even when my mind craves reconnection with others, my body will not be ready for it. I just know, it likely won’t be ready for a long time. But at the very least, I’m hoping to take small, baby steps. And I really hope, when and if the time is right and I’m ready, I get to see just a few more people, and spend more time with them, than I did in the last two years!

Continue to Work on My Health

This is a continuous journey. This one will likely always be on my New Year’s Resolutions list. At the end of 2021, I discovered that I actually made small but important progress on my health, this is not to say I’m not chronically ill/disabled anymore. This is just that, some small progress. And, progress is not linear. It’s not like I’ve made some progress and I’ll only be going upwards from now on. Chronic illness/disability doesn’t work that way. LIFE doesn’t work that way. So in saying all of that, I’ll continue to work on my health, I’ll see progress, and I’ll also see setbacks. It’s a constant and continuous work-in-progress.

Read more Books

I think I also set this resolution almost every year, but, I don’t do a great job every time though. Last year, I did quite a bit of reading, because I had a lot of time from the lockdowns. But what’s more important, I read a lot of good books, books I can resonate/relate to, books I feel inspired after reading them. And sometime, books about animals. Currently, I’m on a book marathon, (I’m not kidding!) and I have a fairly big reading list. If you’re interested in what kind of books I like to read, let me know. Also, if you’re interested in how I read books as a blind/visually impaired person, let me know that as well (this could very well be a blog post for another time).

It’s OK to Say “No”

I recently read a book that talked about setting boundaries and the ability to say “no” to people and to things. I discovered that I need to do a lot of work on this, because I’m a “people pleaser.” It’s hard for me to say “no” and I’ll have a lot of guilt when I do that. This is also why, I’ve made my life difficult, and even miserable at times. In 2022, I’m really going to work on not being a “people pleaser” anymore, to set my boundaries, to be flexible about my boundaries, to say “no” when I need to, and, to not feel guilty about it. Wish me luck!

Put Trust in Others & Reach Out When Needed

It’s not easy for me to reach out and ask for help when needed, and to put the trust in others that they’ll be there to help me. This is because, I’ve experienced mistrust and abandonment in the past; and, I’ve also been told that needing help is a weakness (instead, it’s actually a strength). In this year, actually before the start of the year, I connected with a minimal number of people in my life, those that deemed to be trustworthy and reliable friends, they all live within walking distance or a short driving distance from me. I asked them to check in with me regularly (virtually), and to contact them if I needed any immediate advice or assistance—especially in case of emergency. I’m grateful that I have a number of these people in my life, thankful that they’ve all agreed to help. My work is to actually reach out to them when help is needed, and to trust that they’d do the best they can to help me in those time of need. Even though, I likely cannot erase the mistrust and abandonment I experienced in the past. I want to look ahead, and to put trust in those willing to help me.

Celebrate the Little Things

Too often, I see people on social media posting about their big achievements, such as marriage, pregnancy, buying a house, getting into grad school or a dream job,etc. Which none of these milestones I’m hitting in my disabled and chronically ill life right now (here, I’m ONLY speaking about my experience). And rarely, I see people celebrate small things in life, like getting out of bed, took a shower, made and ate a meal,etc. Being disabled and chronically ill have shifted my perspective on life significantly. As much as I congratulate those that have achieved big milestones in life, I also learned to congratulate myself for achieving small milestone. So, what am I trying to say here? Celebrate the little things in life, too!

Alright! This is the end of my New Year’s Resolutions for 2022. Do you have any resolutions for this year? Would you be comfortable sharing (some of) them? I wish you all the best in 2022!

By: The Invisible Vision Project