Here Come My Flags for 2023

Planting a set of flags — my goals for the year — seems to have become a standing date between my friends and me. Just these past couple of days I've been nudged that it's time to plant new ones…😂 All right: 2023, on with my journey of planting flags until I bristle like a hedgehog!

All the flags announced here are about habits, because I believe: "Habits are a person's foundation."

And this year's goals will be tougher. Not out of ego or masochism, but because I've noticed that building a habit takes willpower, yet once it becomes momentum, keeping it up isn't hard. Breaking it, however, is even easier, and then comes a hard cycle of rebuilding — for years now I've been moving forward while slipping back. So in 2023, I want these "right little habits" to become a routine I stick to come rain or shine. Nothing is impossible — as I wrote in my review to myself the first time I completed my flags: "The biggest obstacle is not daring to take on a challenge because you think it's impossible."

So here are my flags for 2023 — please keep me honest!

Early-morning reading on 300+ days

Hitting my exercise target on 300+ days

(10,000 steps / heart rate reaching 170 / burning 300+ calories in a single session)

Journaling and planning on 300+ days

Sleeping more than 7.5 hours on 300+ days (this one is the hardest)

Writing 52+ high-quality WeChat articles

Reading 50+ books

Listening to the Dedao app for 144+ minutes a day (details below)

Attached:

The Dedao app study plan — a grand project in general education! Finish every general-education course on the app and, on my mental map of knowledge, build — in a gulp-it-down, fuzzy sort of way — a relatively complete worldview. This is only the first stage; learning never ends, but every inch of progress brings an inch of joy.

So there it is — on the first day of the Lunar New Year, the flags go up! Once again, my sincere thanks to the friends and elders who have kept me company along the way. Your likes, comments and even your nudging are what drive me to keep improving.

Along the way, some friends have even joined in reading, exercising or journaling together. And they've made a point of telling me so — and in that moment I realised that not only was I being kept company, I was also having a positive influence on the people around me. Those moments are among my happiest. Because of them, I can see more clearly what drives me at my core — making impact. These are precious experiences; thank you for telling me.

In 2023, let's keep going together, and keep pushing hard!

"I hope you yearn for life in its fullness, that you won't get hurt, that you'll love life; I hope to play through this world with you, and love openly and without reserve."

— Jia Pingwa, Playing Through the World