Pati’s Weekly Bite # 23- Happy New Year!

Pati's Journey Within new year

Thank you so much for being with me throughout this year and supporting my work and travels. It means so much!

What a year this was! The year we thought it was all going to get better just to face even more craziness. 

Yet it seems like it was a year that for many meant not only facing more challenges but also taking new directions and making drastic decisions. 

Did you hear about ‘The Great Resignation’? This year, thousands of people decided to quit their meaningless jobs or jobs where they felt disrespected and underpaid and just say ‘F…. You, I Deserve Better! The amount of online business started this year is extraordinary. I am happy to see so many people taking their life into their hands. Yet, it is not an easy decision, and if gone wrong – the consequences might be challenging to deal with.

I would never suggest doing it without a backup plan, no savings and thorough consideration. 

But I joined the trend at the beginning of 2021 (without realising it was an actual trend), and I quit my job to travel, work on my blog full time, and create multiple income streams. How did it go? Hmm, there are two parts to it.

Firstly I had the most incredible year of my life. I have done what I have dreamt about all my life, and the result exceeded my expectations. I didn’t regret making this decision even for a second.

What could I have done better? Many things. I could have signed up for freelancing earlier, so I would have built up my revies and rankings and maybe by now had more orders. I could have produced more travel content, so my monthly views would be higher by now. I could have used affiliate programs from the start. I could have tried to teach English online (for some reason, I was and still am very resentful towards the idea). I could have spent less money in Portugal and started volunteering earlier to make my money go further. 

Maybe if I had done it all, I wouldn’t be sleeping on my mom’s couch right now looking for a job. But I didn’t, and you know what? I don’t regret that either. Everything that I have done and I haven’t done taught me something. 

I have learnt that procrastination is normal, but the only way to beat it is to just get up and do it. There is no other way around it. (Look up the 5 seconds rule by Mel Robbins. It’s life-changing! Oh, and watch that too!)

I have learnt that if you really want something, you need to work harder than you have originally thought but also that you really need to love what you do; otherwise, it is hard to self motivate. I have learned what is it that I want to do in my life and that I am more determined than I thought. 

I have learned that I can live with one backpack, three pairs of shoes and no jeans for an extended period of time. And I can be happier than I have ever been with the wardrobe full of clothes. 

I have learnt that worrying is completely fruitless. That the more positive I was, the more Universe gifted me with what I wanted or needed. This is the secret to Law of Attraction – duh!

I have learnt that the people we surround ourselves with should be those who fan our flame, not trying to put it down. And we should do the same for them. 

I have beat my all-time record of monthly views on my blog this month. But I also had more and more lovely interactions with my Instagram followers, and I really feel like I am connecting with my readers. And you are one of them!

 I am forever grateful. Maybe it will take a little bit longer to get to where I’m heading. But everything that I have gained because I have made a decision two years ago (at the age of 42) to start a travel blog and eventually travel full time… everything that I have gained since then – is priceless! The people I met, the people that joined my tribe and interacted with me and commented on my crazy stories, people that left lovely comments under my blog posts and all the other travellers I met – this is the best reward. 

Money will come, eventually. I know that. But if at any point I have offered some kind of value to any of you, if at any point you felt entertained or related to what I had to say or found the content useful – this is the ultimate reward for me. 4 thousand monthly views aren’t too much in the blogging world. But in my eyes, those are 4 thousand people who took the time to read my posts! Thank you so much to every and every single one of you!

Pati's Weekly Bite

I would like to wish you the most incredible 2022. We are all a bit wary of making any plans or having hopes for the years to come. But deep inside, I’m positive. I think people are waking up to their limitless potential, breaking the chains of social pressure and traditional patterns and learning to truly be themselves and happy. Unapologetically. 

I would love to wish us all compassion and kindness. The world has become very divided in the last few months. People against people. People against governments and governments against people. Friends against friends and family members against family members. 

The only way we can build a better and happier world for us and those to come after us is to respect each other and our differences. In all ways! To have meaningful discussions when both sides have different opinions and still be able to respect and maybe even like each other.

We should be united in face of world disasters, climate change and support and help that weren’t fortunate to be born in a free country where the opportunities are equal. We should be untided, not divided. 

This is how the change is made. 

I wish us all in this coming year to be able to talk to our friends that might have different opinions, be on the other side of the political spectrum or have other views on medical treatment. Talk – with respect and compassion. Not trying to convince them of how wrong they are. No one has ever willingly changed their minds by being bullied, oppressed, or offended. And maybe it is not about changing each other’s minds. Maybe it is all about the variety of opinions and granting each other freedom to have them. Granting each other freedom to be who we want to be and loving each other regardless. Isn’t it how it is supposed to be anyway? We should never forget where the social divisions have taken the world.

I wish us all in this coming year, love. Love for ourselves. Self-respect, self-appreciation. Whatever you have done, achieved, struggled with – you are awesome! No one out there is like you! No one out there went through what you went through and did what you did. You are a unique being, and there is a reason for it. Give yourself credit for that!

Once again, thank you so much for being here and reading my stuff this year! Although I am in a little of a predicament right now, I promise the travel content will keep coming! And some more!

And who knows what 2022 will bring 😉

Happy new year, my friends! Love you all!

Like what you reading?

Make sure you join the tribe and follow me on Instagram! You will be able to see my up to date stories and locations and stay in touch on a more personal level. I cant wait to see you there x

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Pati's Journey Within

Hi, I’m Pati. A traveller, photographer (aspiring), dreamer and hopeless believer in magic. I caught the travel bug in my forties – and not planning to look back any time soon. I travel solo and on a budget and I try to spend as much time and effort as possible to truly immerse myself in the country I am visiting.

Whether you are like me and decided to change your life around a new dream or just wandering (because not all who wander are lost) – I am here to tell you that everything is possible. 

 

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