A New Year, A New Me, and Perhaps A New You!

A New Year to start off a New Decade… very exciting! Although I am looking forward to all the possible opportunities it has to offer, I believe in order for me to truly prepare myself for it, I need to reflect back on last year, and recap all the pluses and minuses, and all the hits and misses in all areas of my life.

My Malaysian mom Nyah, always told me that the day we stop learning is the day we give up on living. This recipe for living is one I always remember on my birthday because it has been a natural occurrence for me to go through a process of rebirth every year, filled with a renewed right spirit, ideas, and enthusiasm.

Every year since ninth grade, on the eve of my birthday, I spend some quiet time in personal reflection on how I have lived my life for the last 12 months. From a simple review of the year’s various hits and misses, to contemplating life-changing experiences, I eventually learned to identify potential opportunities on not only how to live my life, but how to live my life with passion in the upcoming year, by adjusting my thought process and my behavior tendencies.

I also use this same process at the beginning of each year to evaluate past accomplishments before planning for the current year. My Texan Earthly mom Terese, told me a while back about being lucky and being wise. She said, “Luck is the intersection of faith and destiny. The stronger our faith is, the luckier we are. The positive energy we radiate into the universe will always attract like positive energy back to us.”

According to my Progressive and Spiritual mom Elsa Mae, what we give out is what we receive in return. As we are the author of our thoughts, and if we are to receive and be showered with good things and favors in life, we need to be having those positive thoughts throughout our daily lives.

My Italian foster mom Carol, added, “Wisdom, on the other hand, is what we experience when we combine knowledge, understanding, and compassion.”

Over the years whether it is pure chance or divine guidance, I am grateful I have experienced significant increases in both luck and wisdom in all areas of my life by keeping my mind focused on having faith and meditating on enlightenment.

As for 2009, I am thankful to have more pluses than minuses, and more hits than misses. I have certainly learned a great deal from all the minuses and misses while at the same time enjoyed all the pluses and hits.

In a nutshell: Regardless what transpired in the past, there are always lessons to be learned. If we are to ensure ourselves a successful 2010, we need to lead from within, that is – “Respect the past because it will always be a classroom for lessons learned. Be prepared for the future because it is our destiny, and Always live in the now because every moment is a memorable experience.”

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Johnny Tan created From My Mama’s Kitchen™ concept to honor his 9 incredible moms who changed his life, and to honor moms everywhere by bringing “motherly love” to the global center stage by recognizing the significant roles mothers play in making a positive difference in our daily lives.
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