The start of a new year - 2016. Goals, changes, achievements.

Its the first day of 2016. Happy New Year!

Its the day where lots of people will say things like "new year, new me", "2016 goals", "this is the time for a change", etc etc...

Hahahaha. Exactly.

But how many of us actually did what we told ourselves/the world on the first day of each year.

We told ourselves we will change countless time, sometimes we do, sometimes we don't. Though I don't set goals/changes for myself on the first day of each year, I did set it from time to time.

I'm 25 years old in 2015. I started working as a banker in 2012 when I was 22. When I started working, I came out with guidelines and questions for myself, which are:

Guidelines
- Work for the experience
- Be sincere in your work
- Give it your best
- Don't limit yourself to your job scope
- Explore
- Assess your life when you reach 25 and then every 5 years from there onwards

Questions
- What have you learnt?
- Have you achieved what you aimed for?
- Is this the type of work/life that you want?

In a way, I set my timeline up to 2015 instead of for the year. It worked for me. These guidelines and questions often came up in my mind throughout the period, consciously and subconsciously shaping me and leading me towards the decisions I made.

Throughout my working life from 2012 to 2015, I've had the opportunity to work with 12 managers/assistant managers/team leads and not to forget trained by countless managers/trainers/facilitators. I even had the chance to manage people in the departments that I worked in which ranges from 3 to 8 people. Though not a large number but the experience was precious.

I would say I've had a good start right after finishing my degree. I've had good colleagues and bosses.

But.

I quit my job as a banker. Officially ended on 02/12/2015.

Since I've had it so good, why would I still want to quit? People are envious of us. Getting paid well, travelling often, having the money to buy the things that you want. Had my promotion in Feb'15, my career progression was on track. It was such a hard decision to make.

Why, you wonder.

The answer is greatly related to my guidelines and questions.

2015 was tough for me as I've reached the assessment part of my guideline and the question "Is this the type of work/life that you want?" kept on popping up, which eventually lead to my resignation.

Eventually, it came down to is this what I want? If I continued with my career, working hard, I would eventually get the promotions that I wanted. That I "wanted".

As I neared 25, the things that I want shifted. I used to want respectable jobs and promotions.

Now, I want something different in my life. I want to live a life that I'm happy with and have a positive vibe. I want to try different things. Since I could work such long hours for a company, why not try working for myself for the same long hours and see what I can achieve.

I'm currently working on a small project with a few friends. I could feel the excitement, liveliness and positivity coming back.

Feeling alive.

New year, new me indeed. I've taken my first step, what about you? Is there anything that you've always wanted to do?