Best I Ever Had

A few hours from now, 2011 will be gone.. And comes 2012. People are all agitated to create their list of New Year's Resolution. A list of what we want to be and not. But I am not going to create one when I know that I won't be able to fulfill what I just had written. Sad but true. Tons of promises await only to realize that they will simply stay as mere promises. =(

What I can possibly create is a list of the best things I had experienced for the entire year of 2011. This is something I can truly be proud of for I was able to do all the desires of my life. 2011 was not a perfect year for me. I still had my share of not-so-good moments. But I did try to exert the best possible effort to turn things into something positive. And I've somewhat won that battle. =)

I was lucky enough to have survived under the knife. It was indeed a new life for me. I still have a clear picture in my mind of what has transpired on those days. A moment I truly did not expect to happen. I did not only learn that operation was certainly something one should not be afraid of but I also learned to value my family as they've shown me the true meaning of unconditional love.

2011 also paved way to my travel adventures. Big thanks goes to my travel buddy. First stop was Daranak Falls. It wasn't planned properly but it did go through. First encounter with falls. And I fell in love with it. Weeks after and I just saw myself standing before Taytay Falls in Majayjay, Laguna. First time I went camping. It felt weird and I can hardly sleep as I hear the loud gushing of the waterfalls. It felt like we'll be swept away by the waters any moment.

The year was so grateful that I had my most number of "My First..". My first Hot Air Balloon encounter. Such a huge balloon I've seen my entire life! First jet plane exhibitions that I've never imagined I will witness. The first concert I've seen from an international and famous singer-composer Stephen Bishop and Dan Hill. It made me love their songs more.

My first out of town trip. First destination went as far as the Queen City of the South, Cebu. I can only imagine Cebu on postcards, internet and word of mouth. I didn't really dream of setting my feet here as early as the third quarter of 2011. My love for Cebu had it's second course when I sailed off again come third quarter of the year. My goal then was to witness at least half of what Cebu has to offer. From the city up to it's provinces, I've wandered. Marveled by the beauty of it's people and nature, I said to myself that I will go back here. There's still more that i missed. The islands of Malapascua, Bantayan and Camotes were already on top my list.

I've also set my foot to what was regarded as God's Little Paradise, Bohol. And I didn't miss to pay the marvelous Chocolate Hills a visit. From the man-made forest to a river cruise, it left me in awe that everything happened in just one day. The white sand of Panglao beach made me love the waters more.

My first encounter with my dreaded fears, water and heights. I maybe hundreds to thousands of feet away from the ground but the feeling itself inside an airplane provided comfort. Thanks to different sorts of diversion like magazines and entertainment from the flight attendants, I almost forgot I am an acrophobic! But not with my first sail on the deep blue sea. I can't help but equipped myself with tons of rubber vest for the fear that in  any moment the ferry might sink. Well, just me and my wild imagination! But then again, my trips went safely.

My list doesn't end here. But I am gonna stop for now. I've just shared some of the major highlights of my life. And I'm pretty sure everyone has. Learn to discover it and cherish it. These made us the person we've become now.

The many social gatherings I've attended. The many people I've met and mingled upon. The heaps of knowledge  I've learned from them. It somewhat molded me to become a well-rounded person. Gone were the days that I would just sit and stay alone all by myself. Gone were the instances that I would pretend to be happy when I am really not. For I have learned that true happiness can be achieve by doing the things I loved the most, without any hesitations, without any regrets.

2011 has brought me not only the best but also the worst. But I didn't dwell on the worst much for I know that it wouldn't just do me any good. I've learned to focus on my strengths. I've learned to minimize my errors. Whatever it is that has happened in the past must stay in the past. As  a lesson and not as my biggest regret in life.

I loved what 2011 has provided  for me. Because I've learned to love myself more than anybody else. I've realized the value of people, of things and of time. I've regained my self-worth. I am slowly recuperating from a painful heartbreak. I can now laugh at my mistakes. I am free as a bird.

2011. It unleashed my free will. It made me developed my confidence. It made me act natural and true to myself. Thanks 2011. Just had the best of my times served.

Comfy on Being Confident

Are you confident? How would you rate your confidence level (1-lowest; 10-highest)?


These questions may seem so easy to answer. You may answer yes to the first question. But to the second question? Would you say 1 or 10? Many wouldn't dare rate themselves 10. Probably, in between 7-9. But not 10. So, what gives?


Everyone can tell to the world they're confident but they can't gauge their confidence level. Why? How can we win battles if we're not fully equipped? How can we fire our guns without any bullets?


Confidence killers. These are the culprits. They're the one responsible why we can't hit a 10. Let's name a few.

1. Engaging in self-limiting beliefs. We usually rely on beliefs and traditions. We tend to avoid things as advised by our elders and friends. Simply, we boxed ourselves and never come out. The result is fear of ignorance. And since we've already set ourselves on the things that we would like to believe in, we can't help but compare ourselves to others. Why can they do such things when I can't? Because we believe that we simply can't.


2. Focusing on the past. We can't raise it to 10 because we're haunted by past experiences. Bad experiences and mistakes. We've developed a fear that things will happen again, even if for no reason. We're afraid to give our best shot because we believe that we will fail. We can't project a new attitude and a new look because we don't want people to say we've changed. And that the change doesn't fit us! We work on ourselves not for the people that we might encounter in the future but for the people in our past.


3. Setting unrealistic expectations. Too perfectionist. Too pessimistic. No one's stopping us from being confident but make sure that we can handle the confidence we're trying to imbibe.We try to believe that we can take things down but we're not even coupled with the skills needed.


So, how do we kill these confidence killers? How to stop ourselves from being killed? The savior: Confidence boosters. Here are some ways.


1. Strong support system. Anyone and anything can be our support system so long as they provide encouragement, positivity, compliments and constructive feedback, and so on and so forth. Make sure we're surrounded by these kind of people and things.


2. Success. Whenever we achieve success, it affirms value to ourselves. And we should maintain it. We are not only showcasing, but we are also highlighting our potentials. And gaining more potentials is one way of driving our confidence level.


3. Write down your thoughts. These can be random words. Jotting down all the goals you want to achieve. Evaluate. Reflect. Then look for ways on how you can materialize your thoughts.


4. Know your stuff. Fight self-ignorance. Never stop learning. As simple as engaging yourself into reading, writing and conversing with different people, you are learning. It's never too late to empower ourselves with knowledge. No one's above anyone unless you let them. Always believe that there are things you know that they don't.


5. Be prepared. Practice makes perfect. You must be prepared for you to be called confident enough. You don't want to be presented to anyone and you just stand there and at loss for words. Remember, when we were tasked by our teachers to do a class report, we make sure we're prepared for it, from visual aids to the wordings itself. We tend to practice in front of the mirror to check on our reflections and how should we project when the big day comes. But in real life, we can no longer have the same rituals. We must be prepared in a snap. We'll never know when will the situation calls for it.


6. Learn to laugh at yourself. Why still dwell on things (failures, hurt, pain) when it already happened? As they say, the damage has been done. There's no point of turning back. As if we could still turn back time! Just be grateful it happened and your still the same person. You might lost something but it doesn't mean that you wont gain something.


7. Positivity. There's always a flip side to negative things. From simple wordings to our actions, we can turn them positively. Avoid using negative words like can't, don't, never etc. You may decline invites by not saying no. Use affirmative words. Then smile.


These are just some thoughts I've gathered. I got all of these from the rendezvous I've attended. And I want to share everything to all of you. Hope this helps. 


I, myself, is still struggling on building up my confidence and how to raise the level. But I don't want to give up. I don't want to show I'm weak when I know that I got what it takes to be confident. I am grateful enough that even if I haven't reached level 10 yet, I am still confident in my own way.


Let's all work together on how to take down these confidence killers and add more on what would boost our confidence more. Should you have any ideas or thoughts on how to fight confidence killers, feel free to share. Before i end this post, I just want to share this link on confidence boosters. 
 

Break Free

Fear. Pain. Hurt. Failure. The Big 4.

No one would even dare say nor do embrace these four words. Four negative words. As a matter of fact, everyone will do whatever it takes to keep these away but to no avail. There will come a point in our lives that we can never hide from these Big 4 and let them take us away. Our lives were never created with all the good side coming into our favor. That's why life is always labeled as "unfair".

There's no reason why take these Big 4 into something negative, when we could possibly do something to turn them into our advantage? When we could stop the state of being unhappy and step up to the challenge of changes? When we could devise a plan, or a strategy, to fight or overcome the Big 4 towards a happy life? You might ask, "But how?"

Everything starts within ourselves. As soon as we've come face to face with the Big 4, let us not let them eat us.. alive! Act.. in a snap! Start by realizing what we're really afraid of. It could be heartache, death, being alone, rejection, heights or even spiders! Then learn how to overcome them. Again, the next question is How?

Know what we really want in life. Simply take time to sit down and carefully think what we really want. Figure out what will make us happy. It could be anything. Gadget, jewelry or even an undying attention from someone we care the most. Reflect. Think of ways on how these things would materialize. By simply thinking, we are diverting our attention from the Big 4. Eventually, we will find ourselves at loss for rooms for pain, fear, hurt and failure.


These things can't be done overnight. But by committing ourselves in the process, using it as a decision-making tool and sharing it to our loved ones, we will all be one in winning the battle of overcoming the Big 4.

Merry Christmas!

Adele - Someone Like You

Sometimes it lasts in love, sometimes it hurts instead...

I am not a great fan of Adele but I adore her songs. Puro tagos sa buto, sa puso.. Halatang may pinagdaanan ang babaeng ito..

This song.. Someone Like You.. nung una, sabi ko it's kinda corny. Ang emo. But as I get to read the lyircs.. Oooppss, it somewhat reminded me of the old me. Sakto sa nararamdaman ko. Galing sa isang bigong relasyon. Di pa nakaka-recover. Masakit na malaman na may minamahal ng iba ang taong minahal mo. At alam mong masaya siya.

Magiging masaya din ako. Hindi pa nga lang ngayon ngunit alam kong darating ang panahon na iyon. Hindi ko kailangan pilitin ang sarili ko na maging masaya dahil kung hindi naman tunay ang kasiyahan ko, ang sarili ko lang ang niloloko ko. Mas lalo akong hindi mapapabuti.

Hindi ko rin pipilitin ang sarili kong kalimutan ang mga ala-ala, mapait man o masaya. Hindi ako darating sa sitwasyong ganito kung hindi dahil sa mga ala-ala. Ala-alang tumulong sa pagbuo ng pagkatao ko. Nakakatawa yung isang message na nabasa ko, ang sabi: Kapag naaalala natin yung mga nakaraan natin kung saan lumuha tayo, bigla na lang tayo mapapatawa. Mapapa-isip kung anong klaseng mga kabaliwan ang mga pinaggagawa natin. Pero subukan nating alalahanin yung mga nakaraan nating masaya tayo sa piling ng mga taong wala na sa buhay natin, di natin mapigilan na makadama ng lungkot. Maiyak. Ironic di ba?

Matuto na lang tayo sa mga gustong ipahayag ng mga kanta ni Adele. Malalim. Pero sa isang taong nakaranas na ng pighati sa pag-ibig, madali lang ito mainitindihan. Madaling maka-relate, ika nga.

Sige na, Adele.. Fan mo na ako.

Sa Unang Araw ngDisyembre

Parang nung isang araw lang, nag-blog ako tungkol sa month ng November. Ngayon, December na.. Uber bilis ng panahon. Di natin namamalayan ang paglipas ng araw at pag-andar ng oras. Ang daming mga nangyayari sa paligid na minsan nawi-witness pa natin, minsan hindi na.

Less than a month from now, ang lahat ay magdiriwang na ng kapaskuhan. Isa sa pinaka-importanteng okasyon sa buhay ng bawat isa. (Nangunguna pa rin syempre ang ating mga birthday.. ) Lahat ay nagsasaya sa araw ng Pasko. May kakaibang ligayang idinudulot ito. Ligayang kung pwede lang sana madala sa mga susunod pang mga araw, taon at siglo..

Sa amin, nakagawian na ang pagtitipon-tipon ng bawat pamilya. Hindi man lahat ay nakakarating pero sapat pa din ang bilang ng mga bisitang dumadating para maging isang magulo at masayang pamilya. Ang sarap sa pakiramdam na hindi nila alintana ang pagbyahe ng malayo. At mas nakakapanabik pa na may mga bitbitin pa sila para pasalubong. Nakaka-engganyong panoorin ang bawat isa na kumakain, salo-salo sa napagdamutan lamang, pero kahit gaano pa kaunti o karami yan, pihadong walang matitira. Isang indikasyon na lahat ay nasarapan at naligayahan sa putaheng inihanda. Pagkatapos kumain, ang lahat ay magkukumpulan at magkwe-wentuhan, sa buhay-buhay ng bawat isa at ng bawat pamilya. Di man tumatagal ng pang hanggang kinabukasan ang pagtitipon pero marami na din ang napag-usapan at magtutuloy-tuloy yan hanggang sa muling pagkikita. 

Hindi uso sa amin ang lahat ay magbibigayan ng regalo sa bawat isa. Kadalasan mga bata lamang ang nireregaluhan. Isa ng kadahilanan syempre ay ang kawalan ng pambili. Ngunit hindi naman hadlang kung walang matanggap na regalo. May matanggap man o wala, magpasalamat pa din tayo. Totoo nga yung kasabihan na mas masarap sa pakiramdam ang nagbibigay kaysa sa tumatanggap lamang. Nakikita mo kasi ang mga tunay na ngiti sa kanilang mga labi. Mahal man o hindi yung binigay mo, di naman importante yun. Ang mahalaga ay napakita mong mahalaga sa iyo yung tao. 

Isa lang ang Pasko sa mga okasyong inaabangan ko at tunay na pinaghahandaan. Hindi lingid sa akin ang gastos. Ang importante ay maibuhos ko ang pagpapahalaga ko at pagmamahal sa pamilya sa pamamagitan ng pagbibigay ng regalo at paghahanda. Mas marami, mas nakakataba ng puso. Ika nga, minsan lang ito ipagdiwang sa loob ng isang taon. Bakit pa ako magdadamot?

Sa pansariling kapakanan, masasabi kong magiging masaya ako sa pagdiriwang ng Pasko. Bukod sa mga regalo, handa at pamilya, andyan din ang mga kaibigan masasabi kong tunay na nagmamahal sa akin. Mga kaibigang subok na sa anumang pagsubok. Mga kaibigang handa akong protektahan at tulungan. Isang malaking pasasalamat na nakilala ko sila. Ayoko ng maghangad pa ng iba. Sapat na kung ano ang meron ako at kung ano ang maibibigay ko sa kanila.

Di ko mapigilan na hindi asamin ang pagdating ng kapaskuhan. Masaya ako. Ngayon pa lang, sa unang araw ng Disyembre, ramdam ko ang pinaghalong init at lamig ng kapaskuhan. Hangad kong maging maligaya ang lahat.

Isang maagang pagbati sa araw ng kapaskuhan!