Like for many people, the season of Christmas means going home and spending some time with the family. Nearly every year this includes the gathering of the families of my mum’s siblings that are based in the UK. It’s a time to catch up with family, indulge in overeating and miseducate gullible cousins with alternative facts (e.g. Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are currently at war over potatoes and Hitler and Stalin are the heads of the two armies). But something I’m increasingly appreciating about these family gatherings, is hearing stories about grandparents and relatives, and how they got to where they are today. They all came from humble beginnings and worked extremely hard to make sure that their children got a better life and more opportunities than they ever did. The one thing that always seems to stand out to me is that they are still working hard.

When my parents brought me to the UK and got settled with good jobs they could have easily stopped there. However, they had bigger dreams for both themselves and their families. They went over and beyond to provide for not only me and my sister, but also their wider extended family and network of people. A similar trend is visible in the tales of my Uncles and Aunties. There is no doubt that along the way they fell short of their aims; but isn’t it better to have fallen short than to have given up?

“The pain of falling short is nothing compared to the pain of stopping short.” – Steven Furtick

This is going to be my mantra going into the new year. It’s the idea that the feeling of “oh well” is better than that of “what if?”.

I have the tendency to stop too early. I blame it on my love of cliffhangers. A lot of things in my life are left as “to be continued…” rather than works in progress. I guess it is sort of a survival mentality, I just do enough to ensure that I stay afloat. I don’t want to do more at the risk of sinking back under, so I don’t push any further, just enough to get by. But life should be about thriving, not just surviving.

I look back five or ten years to where my parents were in life and what they were doing. I know that had things continued the way they were, we would have all been fine. My family would have survived. However, through their insistence on working hard in all aspects of their lives and deciding that it is better to fall short of their goals than stop too soon, the conditions I live in now are far greater than what I could have imagined back then. They built an environment that allowed us all to thrive.

So, going into 2019 my aim is to stop limiting myself in fear of falling short of my aspirations and to start to use the potential and opportunities in front of me to gradually make progress.

(I also want to learn how to do a standing backflip and/or front flip. I know it has been one of my new year’s resolutions since I was 7 or so, but I really think that 2019 is the year!)

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humour, and some style.”

– Maya Angelou