Keeping it Simple

This year, I’m keeping it simple. 

BREATHE

CREATE

MOVE

READ

WRITE

 

When life feels like a big game of dodgeball, and I find myself ducking out of the way or catching full on what’s hurtling toward me, I hope that shifting my mindset to one of those five areas will make it easier to get back up when I’m brought to my knees by a dodgeball in the gut. 

 

And, as an optimistic realist - or realistic optimist! – I plan to hold onto hope the way I once held onto those notes that got me out of gym class: tightly, and with gratitude. 

 

*****

 

How are you approaching the new year? What will you focus on in 2026? Any suggestions for me in any of those five areas?

Unapologetic

My "one word" theme for 2024 = Unapologetic

 

I'm not talking about times when an apology is necessary. I'm talking about times like this – 

 

"Apologetic"  

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I am too old and cranky to wait around for approval, for permission, to be myself. In Matt Haig's The Comfort Book, there's a line that's become almost a mantra for me – "Your self-worth is not found inside the minds of other people."

 

So, this year, I am going to do my best to stop apologizing for myself. I have things to do, and 2024 will be the year I get at least some of them done. 

 

No apologies.

 

*****

Do you have a one word theme? Are you gung-ho or ho-hum on goals/plans/resolutions this year? What are you hoping for, looking forward to, excited about in 2024?

Super Simple

My One Word for 2023 is actually an acronym:

 

KISS – Keep It Super Simple

 

I recently mentioned to a friend that my brain feels too full and too empty at the same time. (Not sure if that makes sense to anyone else but it did to us!) There's too much "clutter" around me and inside of me. It's time to purge and streamline. So, in keeping with that theme, even my goals for 2023 are pretty straightforward:

 

WRITING – focus on the novella/novel

PHYSICAL HEALTH – focus on losing pounds

MENTAL HEALTH – focus on managing anxiety

 

A lot of things will have to go by the wayside in order for me to put my energy, my focus where it absolutely, positively needs to go. I have no idea if this will work, but I'm going with it. 

 

(On a side note, you may recall, my husband and I had signed up for three different miles challenges last year. The results? 0/100 miles on one challenge, 30/100 miles on the other and . . .  drum roll, please! . . . 202.2/202.2 miles! Not great, but not too shabby either.) 

 

Wishing you all a creative, healthy, joyful 2023!

 

*****

Do you have any goals/plans for 2023? Any advice/suggestions for me? 

Numbers Everywhere

I am not a numbers person, but when I look back at 2021 and look ahead to 2022, imagine my surprise when I see numbers everywhere: 

 

Apparently, according to my stats, I have written close to 900 blog posts. I would say I have no words but apparently I do. About 900 blog posts worth of words. And counting. 

 

In 2021, my husband and I signed up to do a virtual challenge of 500 miles. It did not go well. We did learn a lot, though, in terms of energy, pacing, timing and taking into account the seasons (I'm looking at you Florida melt-your-face summer!) For 2022, we decided to do two separate virtual challenges of 100 miles each, one after the other. The focus is on walking, but we plan on adding biking as well. 

 

For the last couple of years, the goal of my Reading Challenge over on Goodreads was 80 books. This is a totally doable goal for me, but since my focus flaps around like a palm frond in the wind, I barely squeaked by. So I'm giving myself a break and setting the 2022 Reading Challenge to 52 books. I will knock this out easily and have an early win, something I really need. 

 

The tortoises are now 12 years old. Larry weighs about 11 pounds. He is a sensitive soul inside that solid shell. Mrs. Larry, who is lighter and smaller, refuses to divulge her stats but wants to make sure everyone knows that even though Larry is large, she's the one in charge. Of us all. 

 

Honestly, I don't even remember my One Word for last year. For 2022, I played with ideas, made lists, searched for the word that will be my theme for the year, that will keep me on a good track. One word jumped off the page – WRITING. Yes, I wrote last year, but it wasn't pretty. My creativity, discipline, focus, imagination, overall oomph fizzled then flattened like an opened bottle of seltzer. My hope for 2022 is that on those occasions when I get anxious, depressed and freaked out (or, in other words, every day) my One Word reminds me of how writing is intrinsic to who I am, that I am not lost, that I am still here, that I am still me. 

 

*****

 

How were your "numbers" for 2021? How are they looking for 2022? Do you have a One Word? Any goals or plans for 2022?

IWSG: Focus, Finish

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Looking ahead to 2018 was like walking around my house without my glasses on - everything was blurry, vague, and I kept bumping into walls, tripping over tortoises.

I spent the last chunk of 2017 cleaning up and cleaning out, and finally saw a better, clearer view of the new year.

It's about fewer goals, more follow-through. It's about focusing, about finishing. I named two large projects that will probably take the whole year. In the meantime, a handful of small ones will help me feel like I'm accomplishing something. A hobby or two (art!) and some fun experiences (classes! day trips!) will round out where most of my effort and energy will go.

With this plan, I feel like I just slipped on a new pair of glasses, and now I can finally see where I'm going.

* And speaking of positive starts to the new year, my 25 word story "Pillow Talk" made the Best of 2017 issue over at Nailpolish Stories! *

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How is 2018 looking to you? If you're good at following through on projects, what's your secret? If you struggle like I do, what do you think holds you back? Too many projects, interests? Time management issues? 

IWSG: The Year of Living Creatively

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In 2015, my creative well ran bone dry. Thirsty ideas meandered over. Some were smart enough to move along after awhile, but others lingered and ultimately wasted away, leaving behind the shrunken skulls and withered skins of dead stories.

So, I decided to make 2016 The Year of Living Creatively.

I don't have resolutions, and I don't have set-in-stone goals. My "one word," my focus is Creativity. And this applies not only to writing, but also to life in general. I already signed up for cooking classes for this winter and for art classes in the spring. I'll pay more attention to the shadows of the palm fronds shifting and fluttering against the window shade. I'll let my fingers linger on the bumps and creases of the tortoises' shells. Flashlight in hand, I'll immerse myself in the craft of writing horror.

I wish you all a year of creative living! Go for it!

Recommended Reading - January 2014

This year, my goal is to read 85 books. This is a lower goal than I set for myself in 2013 - 100 books. I managed to read 101, but it was a push there at the end. This year, I'm giving myself permission to read a bit less and to, oh, I don't know, write more. Go outside. Spend time with my husband. Do some kind of art work. Breathe.

*****

Books Read in January:  6

Total Books Read in 2014:  6

Standouts:

The Whole Golden World by Kristina Riggle - this is not an easy read in regards to the subject matter, but Riggle does an excellent job of using three different points of view to paint shades of gray on what's usually considered a black and white subject. It's the added dimension and depth that take this contemporary/women's fiction/family drama story to another level.

*****

Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis - this YA dystopian novel flew across the pages. The prose is sharp and tight, the voice tense and tough, and it's because of those things, that when all the emotional and heartbreaking moments hit - and believe me, they will! - they're even more powerful and shocking. And if you're looking for a heroine to give Katniss Everdeen a run for her money, look no further than Lynn. She, along with the other characters in this book, will not soon, or easily, be forgotten.

*****

Have you read anything great during the first month of 2014? Read either of the Standouts or plan to? What books are you looking forward to over the next couple of months?