Kape Diaries: 8 things 2023 taught me

I would say 2023 is a breakthrough year for me.

I left my job as an editor-in-chief of a local newspaper. I focused on my business with my partners. I also tried to focus more on my blog. I had poor lab results. I started a new career. I developed more meaningful relationships. I also had a lot of coffee.

When I look back in 2023, I would not say it was smooth sailing, but I am happy with how it will end. What makes me happy are the lessons I learned in the last 365 days. Here are seven that stood out to me the most.

Take breaks. Whether mental or physical, I made it a point to value my day off. I take this time to clear my head. This is also the time I spend more time with myself. I also took breaks in between work and tried not to entertain work-related matters that were not urgent after working hours. This allowed me to think and process things more clearly when I return to work. This has also helped my mental state and prevented me from burning out.
Ask for help. There were a lot of changes this year, especially in my career. It was a huge learning curve to understand how to operate a business and understand the bigger picture of the coffee industry. This overwhelmed me. But instead of calling it quits, I asked for help. How will I know what to do if I do not get help? I talked to people, read books, and watched YouTube videos to understand what I had to do.
Accept that you do not have control on everything. It can be frustrating when there are things you want to happen or to do but do not work out the way you want them to. That thought of needing to have control over things almost drove me mad. But my mentor taught me that there will be times we have to let go and allow things we have no control over to happen. Since then, it has become one of the things I stuck to. I learned to allow things not under my control to happen. At the same time, this taught me to be adaptable to changes and be more understanding of the need to compromise. The result is better mental health and more productive work.
Be grateful. This is something I constantly do. Even when I have days I feel like there is nothing to be thankful for. Being grateful does not mean you limit it only to the big, eventful, and happy developments in your life. It also encompasses the small things that many would take for granted. At church, we used to sing this hymn titled “Count your blessings” and one line of the hymn goes “Count your blessings, name them one by one.” If you put that into practice, you have a lot of things to be thankful for — your job, friends, family, having a place to live, your peace, and being able to enjoy what you want, to name a few. Being grateful allows you to become more content and enjoy life.
Celebrate small successes. Quite similar to being grateful but slightly different. There were times I thought I had made little to no progress on some aspects of life. But when I look back, I have these small but impactful wins that put a smile on my face when I think about it. As a young entrepreneur, it is a win if the staff’s skills improved or customers leave the coffee shop happy. In my personal life, it is a win if my crush will chat with me for several minutes or share a meal with me, even if I will not be chosen in the long run (hugot is real).
Take things one day at a time. It can be overwhelming when I have alot of things I need to do and the knowledge I have to catch up with. And if you do not lay down things, you will execute things poorly. Worse, it can lead to burnout. This was how things were for me at the start of the year. And I reached a point where I felt like I was about to burn out. So, I told myself to slow down and do things one step at a time. I believe that things around you will eventually fall into place. This has helped me achieve what I needed to do, complete tasks, and keep my stress levels low.
Treat and take care of yourself. It is important to take care of your overall well-being to function well. This was the hard lesson that I learned this year…. twice. So, I started to take care of my skin, eat healthier, read books, pursue what makes me happy and took things at a slow but steady phase. This allowed me to be healthier, gave me a more positive outlook, and better cope with what was happening around me.
Be intentional. Not all of us have the luxury of time. That is the same for me as well. Thus, I had to be more intentional this year to be able to take care of myself and ensure that I did not get overwhelmed by what I needed to do. I was more intentional in managing my time, setting my priorities, choosing my battles, knowing when to take a back seat, and letting my thoughts be known.