What Happened To My 10-Point Plan When Life Gave Me Lemons
Result of 2023 year goals
To give you the gist🤷🏻♀️:
Life was unbearable. I was suicidal and struggling mentally and physically. Moving to America and finding love gave me hope, though healing would take more than just deciding to live.
With daily counseling, I slowly improved. After a year, the world made a little more sense. Feeling ready to take control, I made a 10-point plan to guide me through 2023.
1.Read 25 Books✅❤️:
These books were handpicked by me- and sometimes my sister. I started with a surprisingly depressing memoir — I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy. It chronicles her mother teaching her restrictive eating to keep her tiny for child acting, bringing in money for the family.
My Lessons- The actress wasted years plagued by disorders like bingeing, purging and obsession over food and weight. She did recover but her whole journey inspired me towards my own recovery, I picked it only for the intriguing title. Still, it made me realize the importance of how food or any obsession can take over our lives.
Despite this grim beginning, I ended up reading all 25 books for the year, carefully analyzing each one and learning from them.
2.Overcoming Suicidal Thoughts and Self-Harm(Cutting)✅😭:
As a teenager, I started viewing suicide as an escape from the constant stress and pressure. With no other coping mechanisms, self-harm seemed the only outlet.
I raised myself from a young age and did my best.
Through constant effort over the past year, suicidal thoughts are no longer my go-to reaction. Now when stressed, I cry with relief at being able to focus on solutions or reaching out. I no longer consider ending my life over temporary issues.
Replacing 9 years of self-harm has been harder. I stopped cutting but replaced it with another unhealthy habit. Still, it gave me confidence that I could break this cycle.
In recent months, I’ve learned to ride the urge without acting on it. Thinking of the useless consequences helps resist when it becomes overwhelming. I’m satisfied to have gone months now without any self-harm.
3.Start Writing Again✅🥹:
I missed writing desperately! I started writing bizarre, clever stories about a human-like robot family with a robot dog when I was 8–9years old.
I explored poetry and fiction genres growing up, but often stopped due to lack of support and warnings that I was wasting time. Despite this, I finished a novel and submitted it. After the fifth rejection, I gave up on writing thinking others were correct and I was indeed wasting my time.
Finding Medium reignited my lifelong passion. With ideas constantly swirling, it feels like something inside has come alive again. This goal revived a sense of purpose I love working towards.
4.Complete 12 Courses✅🙋🏻♀️:
Completing 12 courses surprised me. Establishing this daily learning rhythm was the key to finishing all 12 courses. The catalyst was the first one — Mel Robbins’ Launch 6-month course. Doing it daily built my learning habit; just 10–15 minutes a day was enough.
For the 12th course, I chose Human Health — Diet and Nutrition. After neglecting my body for so long, I wanted to finally take better care of it.
5. Lose Excess Weight✅🫣:
I thought weight loss was simple — eat less and move more. But I learned the hard way that every body is different. After years of starvation, my metabolism stalled. My body clung to every calorie, trapping me in a constant weight gain.
The solution was resetting my metabolism through reverse dieting. I had to nourish my body back to health first before attempting calorie restriction. It took time to find the right balance of healthy eating and strategic dieting that worked for me.
I am looking forward to the next year where I can eat healthier while working out to lose weight slowly and consistenly.
The most important nugget of wisdom I learned this year:
You do not need to starve yourself to lose weight.
6.Complete Kajabi Course❌🤭:
I didn’t take on the Kajabi course — my plate was full enough.
7.Make 12 Drawings❌🙈:
Making 12 drawings never became a priority. Despite having 365 days, I only completed a few.
8.Get My Learner Permit✅🥳:
It was simple to get my learner permit. The challenge was: My husband was terrified of me driving. Despite getting the permit, he couldn’t relinquish control. After persistent reassurance from me, he finally felt comfortable letting me get behind the wheel after weeks of getting the permit.
9.Shift To Positive Thinking✅🦄:
My mind was trapped in negativity — a hellish loop always finding reasons to stay down. My husband walked on eggshells, cautious with every word to avoid triggering a downward spiral. I viewed the world only through a lens of depression. Everything dark was my reality.
The best thing I did in the entire list was: change this pessimistic perspective into something more positive.
Reframing my outlook was extremely difficult but necessary work.
10.Better Communication✅🥹:
Dismissed by doctors, I struggled alone with my health for years. My family blamed me for making everyones life difficult. So I started pretending I was fine, I hid in my room cutting myself.
This went on for over 8 years. I kept at it even after marriage but you can’t conceal such things from an intimate, loving and downright brilliant spouse.
He urged me to open up, promising he wouldn’t hate or resent me. I feared burdening him and was ashamed to ask for help. When in pain or needing to cry, I isolated myself in the bathroom.
I’m so thankful he broke through my shell and helped me heal. Without that first step of teaching me to open up, I’m not sure I could have improved at all. His persistence gave me the courage to trust and share my struggles. Now I see asking for support isn’t weakness — it’s the path to wellness.
So here they are… I completed 8/10. I’d say I did pretty GREAT!
Human generated content. AI-free. Detox day-26
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Tagging people who might be interested in this article:
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Authors note: I wanted to share this article with you all, as you’ve been so supportive and encouraging throughout my journey. Your own writing has even helped inspire me along the way. This is a “one-time tagging event” — I won’t make a habit of mass tagging. I just thought you might appreciate seeing what you’ve helped motivate me to accomplish. Thank you so much! I hope you all know the role you have played in my progress.
