Welcome to 2020! It’s been four years since I started Matthew Keeps Swimming giving you a little view into my world. This year I want to explore more about who Matthew is and why he needs to keep swimming.
Each year as the new year starts we think about what our resolutions for the upcoming year are going to be. Each year “New Year, New Me.” is heard as people vow to start fresh and become new people. It’s a philosophy many may choose to adopt and live by. And I have said this many times year after year. I think it’s time we change this state of mind.
“New Me” implies letting go of who we truly are.
We all made mistakes we wish we could take back, or want to make strides to improve our lives. But that doesn’t happen by letting go of the person you truly are.
In 2019 I was fortunate to work with some amazing brands including the Chicago Auto Show, Dove Men+Care, Grey Clothing, Chicago Water Sports and many more. One of my favorite partnerships from 2019 was getting to work with Express to promote their PRIDE collection.
I lost my way a little in 2019 and I needed to find my way back to my path. I needed to find out who Matthew truly was and where I’m going. This was a bumpy ride and with the help of my family and a new friend from an unexpected place, I was able to find my way back to who I truly am and continue to keep swimming forward.
We are capable of becoming better people, without losing our sense of identity.
I was not without flaws in 2019. I struggled with issues both external and internal. Issues that cause more stress than I conveyed to my friends and family. Some things I dealt with are from years of mistakes and making the same bad decisions. Finances were my biggest struggle in 2019. Besides the financial stress, I also was struggling with relationships in my life. In the past 2 years, I’ve slowly lost connection to friends I made in college. I realized at the beginning of 2019 outside of my family I only had a few acquaintances. I really didn’t have a best friend–that one person who you know will always be there for you.
Meeting Ava really saved me, and she helped me realize the importance of relationships. We both struggled with investing time into friendships. We made a pact to do something together every week. In 7 months we haven’t missed a week. And we don’t plan on stopping. She is now my best friend and we even have a trip planned in 2020!
In reflection I’m not looking for a “New Me” but a “Better Me” in 2020. Everyone has flaws they wish they didn’t, but we don’t have to abandon who we are to fix them. We all have the ability to become a better person, without losing sight of our identity.
To become a better me I needed to find areas of my life that need improvement and put in the work to be better. That’s what I started doing towards the end of 2019.
Change is possible without becoming someone else.
We need to learn to love ourselves again.
As humans, most of us live in a constant state of self-consciousness—meaning that we are always looking for things that are “wrong” with us and focusing on our flaws. This ultimately makes us unable to be happy.
This year I’m making self-care a priority by setting aside quality time to do the things that bring me joy and make me feel good about myself. Allowing time to celebrate my accomplishments, no matter how small or big they are.
I’m a work-in-progress. And so is Matthew Keeps Swimming!
