Looking back on 2012 and forward to 2013

“Change is imposed on us. Each day, each year that ticks by equals change. Some of it so subtle, we don’t even notice, we simply wake up and realise that something that didn’t bother us before bothers us now.”

So here we are, just 2 more (or 1 and a bit) days left of 2012 before we usher in brand spanking new 2013.

So, how has 2012 been for you? Cruel, kind, average?  Did you, like many British Olympic athletes, realise many dreams or did they fade with the morning sun?

Yes, it’s that time of year when many of us have a mini Mid-life crisis (read previous post about this here) , the time when we, along with life as we know it, pause to consider the past year and the events that took place within it. Some good, some bad, some awful and others, well pretty much the same as they’ve always been.  Yet many of us continuously idealise the start of  a new year because if symbolises hope of what could be.  Our slate is washed clean, and we have the opportunity to start anew. Hence why many resolutions are made by New Year’s day but sadly abandoned by the most miserable day of the year (don’t know about that? Read about it here).

Truth is, we don’t have to wait until the New Year to make changes in our life. We can do that at any time, it just takes will power, and I’m going to need a lot of that if I’m going to shed all of the extra pounds I accumulated through stress eating in 2012. My post about me restarting work on a controversial manuscript about relationships in 2012 was one of the highest read at its time yet I didn’t write a single word in a whole year.  Not through laziness of course but through the fact that I decided to buy a new company which meant that there wasn’t much free time, and there’s still a lot of work to be done but I have decided that things needs to change, which is a start.

Point being, with the greatest will in the world, our best laid plans get disrupted but there has to come a time when a decision for change has to be made and acted upon. I’ve decided no more working extraordinary hours (okay maybe not all the time),  no more stress eating, no more surrounding myself by things that do not enrich my life. Eat to be healthy and not for comfort and so on.

Change is imposed on us. Each day, each year that ticks by equals change. Some of it so subtle, we don’t even notice, we simply wake up one day and realise that something that didn’t bother us before bothers us now, something that we use to love, we now hate, something that we used to hate doesn’t seem as bad, something that used to interest us is now boring, and so on.  We, and by association, our way of life is constantly evolving, it’s how we adapt to these changes that influence our quality of life; bad job, bad relationship, negative influences (read the article about negative people and how to purge them from your life here).

Many of us make resolutions at the beginning of the year because we want to change to harmonise with our evolution, be that because we’ve finally decided that the practice of sucking tar into our lungs is not the healthiest idea we’ve ever had, or stressing over never having anything to wear because of the extra pounds we’ve been carrying or spending the bulk of life in an institution otherwise known as work that is no longer fulfilling.  Whatever the change, it can be made at any time of the year, you JUST (don’t you just love that word) need to want to make it happen.

We all look for excuses. Writers do it most of the time. If those creative juices aren’t quite flowing, we’ll have a quick browse of the internet, make a cup of tea or allow ourselves to be distracted and then complain that it was somebody else’s fault.

You are the master of your own destiny.  I love writing this blog, quite frankly, it has been my only connection to writing in 2012. I know that the majority of you enjoy reading it first thing on a Sunday, before your day begins, and that’s why I get up early to try to ensure it’s published on time. I have a choice; languish in bed a little longer or make it happen.

I don’t know what 2013 will actually bring but I do know what I’d like it to bring and understand that most of those things won’t just happen to me, I need to make them happen.

Be the change that you want to see in your life and quite literally your  world.

All the very best wishes (and inspiration) to achieve what you’d like to achieve in 2013!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 🙂

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