Adiós 2017, Bienvenue 2018~

Assalamua'laikum wbt & Good Day,

Alhamdulillah, Chapter 16 of my travelogue is officially unlocked and yeay, it's a nice ending for 2017. In spite of having bad flu post my trip to Jakarta & Bogor, I am still happy as travel do refresh my mind and open up my eyes. The experiences that I've gained through all the traveling that I did is always a priceless one and I will keep it forever in my heart.

2017 has been a very hectic year. Started with heavy emotional battle when I need to bid farewell to my own house in the previous town where I worked, the need to adapt with new environment at the new town where I am relocated just few days before I went for my Umrah, the frequent breakdown of car that I heavily rely on for my daily commute, the internal struggle that I need to embrace in order to move on really fast and lots more. After all, I believe in the phrase "Life start at the end of our comfort zone".

Being 28 this year taught me many things in the school of life. And here are the lists:

Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, Jakarta, Indonesia.

1. Heartbroken is a golden opportunity to showcase our real strength & capability.

I do not know where Allah wants to lead me to; but I am still searching for the reason why am I being relocated at the same location with the person that I wish to be physically far-fetched from me so I can easily move on. But one thing I know for sure, that person is somehow the reason I achieved a lot of things this year; be it in my financial, career and also the strength to start my very own solo traveling. Hence it's the reason why I believe in the advantage of heartbroken; if it is being utilized in positive ways. I wish that either that person or me will be transfer out from the current town where we worked for any good reason. Ameen ya Rabb.

2.  Less is actually more.

One thing that I discovered when the land mover came to my house for packing purpose is I have an extremely a lot of stuffs. In spite of being a single lady who stay alone in the previous town, I have 108 boxes of stuff to be packed. That is like really "Oh My God!". The good thing about this realization is I start to practice de-cluttering once every three months and adhere to minimalist tips to ensure I only keep things that matter and start to treasure moments more.

The same goes to our friends. I realized that my circle getting smaller but that smaller circle is highly dependable ones. They are the one who willingly accept me as who I am and as who they are. After all, life is a journey and Allah will definitely help us to filter those worth to be part of our life along the way. Just have FAITH.

3. Actions speak louder than words.

They are many people who love to speak about themselves and their views but unfortunately very few of them really practice what they preach. Hence, it is crucial for us to believe in our own guts and instinct when dealing with this type of people. It's either we just listen to them without trusting, eliminate them from our life or just go with the flow and be extra careful with them. After all, people may change as time goes by. Just pray that everyone will change for a betterment of themselves and the world. Do make sure that we ourselves belongs to the group of people who take an action with a proper plan that offer some flexibility while swimming in the ocean of life.

4. Changing ourselves is always the most important key for success.

We can always pray and hope for a betterment of someone else. But the easiest way to change the world is changing ourselves. Some of the people keep repeating the phrase of Be The Change but they remain the same and giving more and more excuses for their disabilities. Take them as lesson learnt and keep equipping ourselves with knowledge and skills that necessary for our own enhancement and growth. Do not let this kind of people demotivating us. Frustration is definitely okay. Take some times to cry. Then, craft our plans & take actions. 

Frans Josef Glacier, Punakaiki, New Zealand.

5. Balance is always crucial.

Physical, emotional, spiritual, financial & social must always work hand in hand. It is definitely not a one shoes fit all kind of thing. My definition of social can always be talking with only one friend at my house and your definition of social could be talking to a dozen of friends in a hipster restaurant for all night long. I must admit that I did read about some people who excellently achieved their financial target but live unhappily but I always see people struggle because of poor financial aid. So be wise.

6. It is OK to pay for something to buy ourselves some time.

When I was just about to start my career life, I have been trying to squeeze any opportunity to do myself anything that can be done by myself in order to save some money. However, as I grow wiser, I cannot deny the fact that I am willing to pay extra for something just to make sure I can buy myself more time. For example, I am so tired in spite of being very excited post my trip to Mekah & Jakarta, hence, I am willing to send all dirty clothes to the laundry in order to give myself more time to relax and chatting with my family. Otherwise, I may be doing all those activities in a distress mind and miserable feeling. At this circumstance, I believe that financial stability somehow can buy us some happiness.

7. No & I Don't Know are NOT HARMFUL.

One of the most important arts that I learned this year is the ability to say No & admitting that I Don't Know. It is definitely a powerful phrase that save me in many ways rather than saying fake Yes & I Know. Thank you to all self-help and career advancement book that I read. However, be mindful of our tone when we express these words as dealing with human is definitely delicate especially during a conflict and misalignment. 

8. Beauty with a brain is important for a lady.

I am a total believer of the importance of being a beautiful lady with a brain. As this character is very subjective, it is depending on every single person on way they want to perceive it. History of Isabelle, a wife to Soeharto as well as Tuanku Zara Salim really strengthen my believe on the need to be an intelligent lady with character. The selection of Vivy Yusof and Neelofa in the Forbes under 30 is another prove that ladies actually can be such an adorable inspiration without trying to be like a man and embrace themselves as the way Allah created them. Both ladies and gentlemen are unique and got their own specialty in painting the world.

Sultan Mosque, Singapore.

9. Read, Read & Read

"Mr Ahmad (not his real name), may I know why I feel so stupid instead of I have read more and more books?" I asked my superior on one fine day.

"You are the second person who said that statement in my whole life," he responded. 

Reading is definitely one magical way to increase our knowledge and shorten our way to reach our goals by properly plan the implementation actions based on the experts' advice. We may feel that reading may took away some of our time but making a silly mistake is more expensive than that. Just pick any genre that we love and inshaAllah it will change our perspective. As for Muslim, reciting Quran every day is a must in getting our two feet back on the ground on top of feeding our spiritual and iman.

10. We can achieve everything that we want.

Begin with end in mind. Craft our plan wisely. Implement it at the right time. Influence the right person. Keep praying and have a strong faith to the One & Only Almighty. 

InshaAllah, all our wishes are on its way :)

Thank you 2017, Welcome 2018. Towards a smarter and more brilliant me :)

Have a nice day. Wassalam~