New Year. Better Me.

Over the past few weeks, just like the first couples week of every year, I've heard many people say "New Year. New Me." I've never been a fan of that phrase. Rather, I like to think "New Year. Better Me."

I'll explain. I feel like "New Me" is a more audacious goal; while I appreciate the ambition to change so much, I feel like change is more successful in smaller increments. It may work for some people but it seems like many people fail year after year. I like "Better Me" because it's a continuous process; you build off of what you already are. I admit my weaknesses and intentionally strive to improve upon them.

Late 2017, I wrote a post about being more intentional, setting proper enthusiasm/expectations, having strong opinions weakly held, setting priorities, and continuous improvement upon myself. I have improved in those areas over the past year, but there is always room to improve.

In 2018, I grew tremendously in almost every aspect.

I started at a position as a Product Manager where I think I can make a positive impact on a huge audience; I've already learned so much from my limited time and look forward to making even more substantial improvements in 2019 as a team and individual.

I've taken on photography more deliberately in 2018. While did have a slight slump at the end of the year (because of multiple reasons like holidays and work), I improved how I go about photography. It was particularly different from the years before because I'm more "mature" in the process and the exciting period about getting new equipment all the time is essentially over; I'm enjoying the process of developing my style more. I updated my photography site PicturesByMatt.com to include more curation while having an option to see more as well. I would love to hear what you think about the site. I hope to have a year in review for my photography soon as well. I have so much more to learn about the craft and learning to grow my brand as a photographer.

While I don't have regular health screening in previous years (see here), I feel stronger than I have before. I was more intentional about this than I have ever before; I even bought adjustable dumbbells! I started to more regularly give blood as well and it comes with quick health numbers. My blood pressure has never been so low! It is as low as I can remember! 106! (Systolic) Give blood if you can! (Here's a quick post about when my parents found out I gave blood and what the Chinese think about donating blood.)

Last year I met some amazing people. But just as important, I grew my existing relationships with the people around me. Some relationships were jumpstarted, some grew, and others declined (which is the cycle of relationships and not necessarily a negative). I continue to strive to be better in every relationship I am a part of. As always, I will try to be more openminded and grow empathy.

So for 2019, I'll continue to tell myself: Be better.