ONE ATOMIC HABIT THAT TRANSFORMED MY LIFE THIS YEAR

 

One atomic habit

Do you practice self-reflection at the end of the year? I do, and it’s something I really enjoy. For the past four years, I’ve been religiously making time to look back on everything that happened in that year—the highs, the lows, and the small wins worth celebrating. It’s my way of appreciating myself and the journey I’ve been on.

As I was going through my journal this year, I noticed something interesting. There was one thing I never wrote about. Maybe because it wasn’t something that bothered me a lot to the point where I needed to complain in my journal. However, while trying to look and think back about my small win this year, I realize that it’s worth recognizing as a valuable part of my life journey.

It was a small habit—an “atomic habit” to borrow James Clear’s term—that worked wonders for me. A small win that deserves appreciation: my writing practice.

How It Started

For the longest time, I always wanted to write a blog. And I sort of did—except I never had the courage to make it public. I’m not sure if it was imposter syndrome or just self-awareness that my writing wasn’t “good enough”.

But eventually, I mustered the courage to post something on a public blog a few years ago. To my surprise, someone left a comment! I remember thinking, Wow, someone actually read my post! That little interaction was so encouraging.

I don’t recall exactly what happened after that, but I abandoned the blog. I even forgot it existed. Then, during the pandemic, things changed. After a three-day workshop with Tony Robbins and five days of classes with Lewis Howes, I decided to take a bold step: I bought a domain for my blog.

I wanted to take my writing more seriously and hold myself accountable to my dream. Starting from scratch, I learned everything from basic writing techniques to the technicalities of blogging, thanks to YouTube gurus.

But that wasn’t enough.

Week after week, I received emails about technical issues with my blog—problems I couldn’t solve. Tutorials, articles, advice from blogging groups—none of it worked. My blog remained inaccessible.

Eventually, I had to face the truth: I couldn’t fix it. And honestly, I didn’t enjoy the programming side of things—it just wasn’t for me.

Someone once offered to help, but I couldn’t afford to hire a technician. So, once again, I stepped away from writing. It was painful but at the same time taught me a tremendous lesson.

Also read: Your Guide to an Effective End-of-Year Journaling Session

Getting Back on Track

Four years later, the urge to write resurfaced. This time, I decided to focus solely on writing—the content itself—and nothing else. I chose a simple, free platform on Blogspot and set a clear intention: just practice writing.

I didn’t worry about niches or SEO. My goal was to show up consistently and write.

The 1M1C community was a huge help. They became my accountability partners, pushing me to submit at least one post a week. Whether I was busy or free, I found time to write.

I even remember deliberately booking a single-seat on a VIP shuttle during a hectic period when I was working 14 hours a day while also travelling back and forth from my place to Jakarta. This way I was still able to commit on my writing as the comfortable seat gave me the space I needed to write on the go.

Finding My Niche

Finding my niche felt like a homework for me. At first, I wasn’t sure what to write about - to narrow down the ideas for my niche. I tried to refer back to my initial intention of writing a blog which was to help people by sharing the lessons I’d learned in life, hoping to save them from the struggles I went through. But then I realized—I’m not an expert. Who am I to teach others?

Therefore, I decided to pivot. Instead of trying to help others - which I have no capability of doing it - I decided to help myself first. So, I occupied my blog as a space for me to untangle my thoughts and reflect on my experiences. I can review back the lessons that I have learned wherein some lessons need to be relearn while others should be unlearned.

This practice gave me clarity and allowed me to see life from new perspectives. From that point on, I started to get the picture about my niche.

Also read: The Two-Journal Method: My Journey to a Life Changing System

Sticking to What Resonates

When I started to write again this year, I faced the same trouble that I had before: what should I write about? I got stucked, but I refused to use that as another excuse not to start over. Not this time, never again! So, I decided to return to the niche I had explored in my previous blog: sharing how slow, intentional living and minimalism changed my life. I find that writing about these topics feels natural and fulfilling for me.

Over time, ideas flow more smoothly and even get evolved. I found myself expanding my writing into related themes like self-discovery, personal growth, and mental health. I figured that while doing what resonates me the most, I get a better understanding about my nice. And oh, not only that... I also realized that I might be a storyteller at heart as I enjoy sharing experiences in a form of stroytelling.

The Biggest Challenge

Writing isn’t always easy for me. From getting an inspiration all the way to the final process of posting it. And along the way, I found more problems to overcome. There was even one humongous issue that took me months to come with a final solution.

Initially, I wanted to focus on an Indonesian audience and started writing in Bahasa Indonesia. There’s already a lot of content related on these topics of my niche written in English, so I thought writing in my native language would help bring awareness to more people, especially in my country.

But it was harder than I expected.

I could spend hours and hours crafting a single topic in Bahasa Indonesia. Proofreading and editing took days. And coming up with titles? That was another challenge entirely.

Well, even though Bahasa Indonesia is my mother tongue, at some point my brain works primarily in English. I guess it's probably because my workplace uses English as its main language and I mingled with my colleagues who are also my inner circle in which we get used to communicating in English even outside of work. Therefore, without realizing it, English has become second nature to me.

Interestingly, my brain also throws in random Korean and Japanese expressions, and for this one, I blame it to my hobbies and exposure to those cultures through dramas and reality shows. And the thing is... there’s a big price that I have to pay for it. The mix of English and these two other languages sometimes makes my Bahasa Indonesia sound a bit off. At times, I could sound like a Google translator and I couldn’t help it. It's so embarrassing and diminishing!

I’ve also noticed the unique challenge of balancing formal and colloquial Indonesian, especially with regional variations. While I’m fluent in the colloquial Jakarta style, finding the right words can still be tricky. I could get stuck finding a word in Bahasa Indonesia while writing or speaking. And when that happens, I won’t interrupt the flow of the ideas by finding a dictionary to translate it. Instead, I just write (or say) whatever word that my brain provides and let the language mix. I accepted it as my trail and growth process.

Also read: The Day I Question My Body Imange and Find Peace - Why It's Okay Not to Love Your Body

How It Changed

After months of deep thinking, eventually, I considered writing a blog in English. But starting from scratch again might not be a wise decision. I even see it as a repeated pattern in me - a mistake about writing a blog that I performed before, and I don't want to repeat the same mistake.

“Something gotta be fixed,” I thought to myself. I should have learned from my mistakes and make a conscious efforts to fix it. But before that, I consulted my close circle first. I would like to listen to their opinion.

Well, their advice was simple: do what feels comfortable. They encouraged me to keep my existing blog and write in English if that’s what works for me. They also added that occasionally I can still write in Bahasa Indonesia when I feel like it.

Hmmm, that sounds like the right thing to do. 

I gave serious consideration to their advice and even contemplated it until my heart made a strong yes confirmation. There was one thing that resonated the most, though... one of them reminded me not to strive for perfection by starting over. She has learned that lesson the hard way and I thought she was right. That might be the repeated pattern I see in me.

I felt like I got clarity on what I should do. I should keep writing as it might be my passion. Besides, this blog is my remedy—a space to express myself freely. That means, I should do what feels right for me.

So, here I am, letting my ideas flow in the way that feels most natural. And sharing this journey with you now feels like a weight lifted off my shoulders.

A Year of Small Wins

Looking back, I’m so grateful for the progress I’ve made this year. Step by step, week by week, I’ve shown up for myself and built a writing habit. It’s proof that small, consistent actions—atomic habits—can lead to meaningful change.

My journey in writing is still way too long (it hasn't even a year since I started writing this blog), but I am more willing now than ever to continuously take one step at a time. I still don't know how to get my blog indexed by Google. I don't know how to deal with the redirect error, to search for keywords, and all of those blogging stuff.

I'm just gonna try to keep moving how small and slow my step might be. I believe, when the time is right, it will all fall into place. God's help is always near. I just need to focus on doing my part--things that is within my power and my control.

So, again, thank you, James Clear, for the inspiration. And thank you to everyone who’s been part of this journey.