My New Years Resolution for 2019

Towards the end of the year, I like to reflect on how the year went overall. I do this because it helps me maintain a sense of purpose in life. For instance, this year I learned a lot about being positive through tough obstacles, such as IBS flare-ups, and training my mind to be stronger than my body. I also learned more about how my condition affects me through visceral hypersensitivity, which makes me feel like I have a better way to explain my daily struggles to anyone who asks about my condition. With this new knowledge, I feel like I have something to look forward to this new year.

Challenge #1: power through

I never used to believe in these new year resolution holiday gimmicks, but after a while, I realized its important to give yourself challenges every year so that you can force yourself to grow and evolve more as a human being. One of my challenges for next year is to get better at pushing through my limits when it comes to my IBS. For instance, I want to be able to go on a stage and either give a speech or perform one of my creative poems without worrying about the pain being a distraction. I also want to be able to exercise and go to the gym way more consistently, despite any pain I’m suffering from. I feel like if I’m going to experience pain anyway, then why allow it to stop me from achieving the things I want to achieve? Therefore, I feel its important to practice pushing through obstacles and becoming more stronger mentally than physically.

Challenge #2: connect more

Another challenge I plan to give myself is to connect more with the IBS community on a more personal level. I know I am already active in the IBS community, but I feel like I could do more. For instance, I have a YouTube channel called the Positive vIBS Tribe where I share my story and tips on living with IBS. However, instead of just creating content and posting them on YouTube, or other social media platforms, maybe I could go LIVE on one of the platforms and connect with people on a more “real-time” basis. I feel when people are able to ask you questions on the spot, they feel more connected and supported by you. Also, I want to share the knowledge I have gained throughout the past year, so I plan to post a lot more content for the community.

Challenge #3: be the best dad

The last thing challenge I plan to give myself is making sure that I’m the best dad I can be to my new son, Gladdiel, who is arriving January 2019. Part of the reason as to why I want to be able to push myself through my limits is so that I can be there for my son when he needs me, even if I’m not feeling up to it. He always deserves to have his dad there for him, and I will always fight to do just that. Another reason, why I want to be a better support system for the IBS community is to show my son that it’s important to be of service to others and not live life selfishly. As he grows up and gets more into superhero characters, I will certainly explain to him that what most of those characters have in common is the fact that they do their best to always be there for others, no matter what. So, I pride myself in creating these challenges for myself because I want my son to also be able to challenge himself and evolve into a fine human being.

What are your new year’s resolutions?