Reflections on 2010, Bringing in 2011

During the New Years countdown as the clocked ticked the final few seconds, I could more or less summarize 2010 with three words that came to mind:

GOING
GOING
GONE

And then a great sense of joy that the last year had been put into the dustbin, figuratively speaking, and a fresh start was about to begin.

To say that 2010 was a difficult year is an understatement indeed. It ranks up there with 2008, another real tough year in terms of personal struggles and stress. But this past year was also a lot more comparatively stable in terms of global current events, and also with job security.

So I'd say that the difficulties in 2010 were of a much different nature than that of 2008, and it's like comparing apples and oranges. However, difficulties are still difficulties, and I'm very glad to have gotten this year out of the way.

To summarize, the real problem this year was that of burnout and busy-ness. Things got to a point where I felt like I was out of control, and the pace of life and unfolding events was spiraling to a level way beyond what I could comprehend or grasp. Just when one demand was tackled, another would crop up, and it was a never-ending series of fires to fight, and all this energy spent dealing with things without nary a break in sight.

Because of that, I'm revising my upcoming winter holiday plans to chill out in Thailand, and seriously have a break.

This past year was a record in terms of travel, which in China, is always stressful. The analogy is like when riding a motorcycle on the streets, you are constantly dodging things thrown your way left, right, and center. Riding in a straight line is the ideal fall-back situation, but most of the time you are making course corrections, and dealing with the car that just cut you off, the truck that did a U-turn in front of you and blocked the road, or the pedestrians that cross in front of you willy-nilly.

So the short end of it is that trips in China never go smoothly, and there is always some kind of hassle, inconvenience or delay to deal with, regardless of which mode of transport you pick or how modern the system gets. Trips then, should be kept to a minimum, and only made when you are sure it's worth it. Problem is, last year, there were just too many trips made and they all seemed urgent at the time. It eventually got to the point where I wasn't sure if a trip was really worth it or not, even if it was worth it.

Combine that with the demands of teaching and many other demands, and well, burnout quickly set in. The cure is relatively simple, and it has always worked in the past -- a winter vacation away from the melee in a country that is more laid-back and tropical. No wonder Thailand ends up being the default holiday choice for millions around the globe.

The game plan for 2011 is that I'm aiming to be a lot more organized, better with time management, and in better physical shape. The basic idea is going to be learning to say no to the supposedly urgent demands of others. Not an easy thing to do in China, but well worth it in the long-run