OUT WITH A CURSE, IN WITH THE NEW

“Change is imposed on us. Every year, every day, hour and second that ticks by equals change for us. Some of it so subtle, we may not even notice until many days, months, weeks, and even years later.”

So here we are, just one more (or less than) a day left of 2016, before we usher in brand spanking new 2017.

So, how has 2016 been for you? Cruel, kind, average?   Many have dubbed 2016 the reaper year, because of all of the well-known faces that have passed.  For many, I’m sure that it’s also claimed many lesser known faces of far greater importance. To them, my heartfelt condolences.  It is for this very reason that many cannot wait to see the back of 2016.

But can the number of a year really make a difference to fortunes and misfortunes? Surely, in the infamous words of TALK TALK, “baby, life is what you make it….”  No?  You don’t know who they are? Alright, enough said.

So anyway, yes, it’s that time of year when many of us have a mini Mid-life crisis, 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 it symbolises hope for what could be.  The slate is washed clean, yielding 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 which is, if you haven’t heard this before, somewhere around the 20th January.

Truth is, we don’t have to wait until the New Year to make changes in our life. We can do that 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 2016.

Those of you who have been following my writing journey will know that 2016 had indeed been an eventful year, with three audiobooks released and a brand new novel, Psychosis, almost finished, and due for release in Autumn 2017. The blog posts have been few and far between, despite my previous declaration to the contrary, and my social life has also taken somewhat of a nosedive due to working commitments.

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 that in 2017, I shall endeavour  to focus on and make the businesses in and other aspects of my life more successful.  They’ll be no more stress eating, more focus on  my health. They’ll be a firmer hand on eradicating the things that do not enrich my life, like an early spring clean on Facebook friends who stalk my profile rather than be interested in the things I do, as well as a cultivation of the things that are good while not always indulging those things that are bad. At least, not always.

Oh, and by the way, do you like the way I prefixed all of that with the words I shall endeavour? 

Change is imposed on us. Every year, every day, hour and second that ticks by equals change for us. Some of it so subtle, we may not even notice until many days, months, weeks, and even years later. We simply wake up one day and realise that one thing that didn’t bother us before bothers us now, something that we used to love, we now hate, and other things we used to hate don’t seem anywhere near as bad as they used to.

We, and by association, our way of life is constantly evolving. This is how we we adapt to the changes that influence our quality of life; job, relationships, finances, influences.

Many of us make resolutions at the beginning of the year because we want the 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, stressing over never having anything to wear because of the extra pounds we’ve been carrying, or spending the bulk of our life in an institution otherwise known as work that is no longer fulfilling.  However, what we fail to see is that, 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. Us writers do it all 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.

Yet, you, me, we are the master of our own destiny.

For example, I love writing these blogs and, to be perfectly honest, I would like to post them more often, and be able to blog as frequently as I used to, about all kinds of topics.  However, my other commitments often prevent me from doing so, which means that the time I have left to blog is limited. I could use that time for other projects, maybe even more sleep, but I choose to post these blogs first thing on a Sunday morning (with the exception of today because it’s New Year’s Eve)  because I know the majority of you enjoy a good early morning read before your own day begins. I have a choice; languish in bed a little longer or make it happen. I choose to make it happen.

I don’t know what 2017 will actually bring. What I do know is what I can plan for, such as the things I mention above as well as a full writing schedule, focus groups for Psychosis (more about this in the next post – stay tuned if you want to be involved).  I also know that none of these things will happen unless I make them.  That’s because opportunity, progress, change does not need a fresh, brand new year, but more of a fresh, brand new perspective to change the things that disappoint and add more of the things that please.

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 everything you wish for 2017!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 🙂