2017 INTENTIONS

I read this Guardian article this morning which really cemented what I was saying in my last post (question 30) about not setting goals. The article is relating specifically to career but I believe it can relate to all aspects of life. It's really about getting off the treadmill and doing things for the enjoyment and love of doing them, rather than to satisfy an invisible tick list. It's one of the reasons I am not into 'bucket lists'. Apart from the obviously morbid connotations, I don't believe that I will know on any given day what the 100 things I want to do throughout the rest of my life are, that will bring me the most joy, sense of accomplishment or happiness. I am constantly growing and changing and sometimes over a period of time the thing that I get the most joy out of is something simple - like realising I've had a plant for 6 months and it's still alive - something that I probably wouldn't have thought to put on my 'bucket list' had I decided to write one. Furthermore my biggest sense of achievement often comes from doing something that I least expected I would ever do - like abseiling down a waterfall in Vietnam!

So the preoccupation with lists or very specific goals with the only possible outcome being 'pass' or 'fail' are no longer appealing for me. But there are of course things I want to start doing, develop further or change this year and every year,  I just prefer to think about these things in a broader, more reflective sense.

2016 was the year I went to therapy. Regularly. Like actually turned up every week. And it was amazing. I wish I'd done it years ago and I can't wait to carry on this year. It is also the year I suddenly understood why people love yoga so much. I definitely want to write a longer post about this because it's changed my life for the better. As long as I'm still loving it in 2017, then that's going to stay in my weekly schedule. Diet wise, I watched Cowspiracy and basically hated humanity for a week and wanted to go vegan. The problem with deciding to go vegan or vegetarian overnight was that even though morally I had a reason to do it, I still really loved meat and most of my favourite dishes revolved around it. I decided to start eating a little less meat and experimenting with vegetarian recipes and gradually I've found I want to eat meat less and less. The upside to this has been cheaper grocery bills and loads more plant based foods in my life which has undoubtedly made my skin glow and my PMS symptoms reduce to almost nothing. Seriously. (Separate post on this also coming!). Whilst I don't cook meat anymore but I still eat it whenever I feel like it (mostly when I have a craving for Jamaican food and obviously on Christmas day) and I don't have a date by when I'll become officially vegetarian or vegan, it may never happen. I'm happy that I'm well and nourished and limiting my impact on the environment a bit more than before so that's the mentality I will take into 2017.

 

2016 was also the year I freelanced for the first time. I loved it about 80% of the time and I've now realised that the times when I hated it were more related to the work I was doing and less related to freelancing itself. Looking back, maybe I gave it up too soon, but I really needed space at the time to work out what I wanted to do next. More recently I've really enjoyed learning new things - weaving and candle making - and the idea of turning that into a business is becoming more and more appealing. I NEVER in the last 35 years have ever seen myself as the 'type of person' who starts their own business so realising I that I enjoy being my own boss and working on my own schedule was a massive realisation for me. Real talk though, I have bills to pay so I am putting equal vigour into all my options for generating income whether it's permanent work, temping, freelancing or starting something on my own and seeing what sticks. 

I had time in 2016 to generally slow down, appreciate what I have and spend more time with the people I really value in my life, so that is the most important thing I want to keep on doing. Learning, reading, being more grateful and less hungover have made the last few months immeasurably more satisfying as has getting back on the internet, blogging and connecting with people who I can learn from. Politically the world is not in the best shape, but personally I'm genuinely excited about what this year will bring.