Wrap up my 2022

In general, 2022 wasn’t that kind to me, especially for my job. The political correctness of your workplace sometimes trumped your professionalism and efforts. Furthermore, gaslighting, micromanagement, ignorance, and bullying could all come along with it, and most employers don’t care. Actually, they are usually the reason why these issues occur. From the other side of the world, wars and recessions make people feel stressed more than ever. That was also why it was never easy for people to leave a job they hated.

However, you can focus on those shitty things and keep thinking about how unfair it is. Or, you can change your mind to find something you can still do. I read some books by Michael A. Singer last year. One of his ideas really impressed me.

“The alternative is to decide not to fight with life. You realise and accept that life is not under your control. Life is continuously changing, and if you’re trying to control it, you’ll never be able to fully live it. Instead of living life, you’ll be afraid of it.”

Michael A. Singer, The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself

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So even though there were too many things not pleasant to me, I decided to let things out of my control go and to take a chance to see what I could learn and do anything else to help me grow.

Firstly, I paid more attention to the projects I could do and found some related tasks that no one asked me to do. So even though my major responsibility was to make a product development plan, I extended it to include product marketing and market analysis, and even I took over bulk production and quality control. Furthermore, I took the initiative to shoot campaigns for products. These extra works explored my views on running a brand with the minimum source if you are a small company with limited people and financial support. I also found my passion again for running projects in planning, researching, analysing, creating, and implementing them.

Then, I attended Taipei Fashion Week as an exhibitor with the collections I planned and organised. Seeing my old pals, whom I used to work with at Taipei Fashion Week, was great and familiar. I got a lot of energy from them by seeing some people are still working hard for the things they like. I also found a big improvement in Taiwanese designers compared to the era I worked. Taiwanese designers have more business management senses, whether on their collections or brand development, as I mentioned in Highlights of Taipei Fashion Week: Spring / Summer 2023. I felt moved by their passion indeed. That was also to courage me to chase the dream I wanted.

Therefore, except for a full-time job, I started to work more on my career in my spare time. I pushed myself to write every week, and then I got about 27 articles. I also understand how to run a social media platform on Instagram to share my creation. I’m not particularly eager to spend too much time seeing other people’s lives. As some people say, social media posts are sometimes fake because people just show their positive side and put too many filters on them. However, when I observed those influencers, I discovered that it is okay to show positivity on social media because people usually get power and inspiration from these warm and lovely stories. And as we have enough bad news and haters daily, why don’t we see some bright ideas and news on it?

Furthermore, I understood a vital point after working hard to gain followers and views on my work. Everyone you see has a good life, which makes you jealous, sometimes they work harder and scarify more than you can imagine. I start to generate ideas, inspiration and appreciation for others’ creations after a year of scrolling social media CONSCIOUSLY. I also found out there were different types of working and lifestyles, so why not develop one I desire and enjoy? In the new year, I plan to keep sharing my professional knowledge and experiences by writing down in the fashion industry. The fashion industry is one which rarely shares and like to keep secrets. I want to share more to make more people understand this kind of industry. Besides, I also wonder what results from it.

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“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. “

Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

Even the pandemic brought too many losses to us, and the explosion of information from the internet sometimes made us down and stressed. In contrast, thanks to the convenience of the fast internet and the changed working style from the pandemic, people have various choices for work and lifestyle. Such as, working remotely from home or in a resort village a couple of decades ago was impossible. 2022 was a year to trigger a change in my life to a better place, even though it wasn’t fantastic. From the macro-environment, as I recap in A recap of the fashion industry 2022, it was full of uncertainty. However, there are always things out of our control. So rather than panicking to worry about things that would never happen or something you can’t change, why don’t you focus on which can bring you to grow and happy things?

“The spiritual journey is one of constant transformation. In order to grow, you must give up the struggle to remain the same, and learn to embrace change at all times.”

Michael A. Singer, The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself

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