We’re in the early days of a new year, and so there are still many messages around about being a new you and how to set goals so you can adjust the parts of your life that aren’t working as well as you think they should.
This type of message – FIX YOURSELF IN ONE YEAR OR LESS – can be a real mood dampener because it forces you to focus on what you don’t like. Way to make you want to reach for a croissant or lie in bed watching a whole series of Sex Education in a weekend. What? Who did that? (No seriously, go watch it).
Instead, this year I’m trying to take the advice I got from a very rad podcast I listen to called Kombucha and Colour. They suggest setting an intention as a guide to your year – i.e. how you want to feel / what you want to live like. This seems way easier than setting a resolution or a goal because it provides a bit more spaciousness for mistakes.
This year I’ve set the intention to CREATE.
Create writing. Create time and space for rest and for exercise and being outside. Create art. Create yummy food. Create energy in my relationships. Create new work. Create creations (whatever those are! the mystery! the intrigue!)
It’s big enough to fit all my hopes and dreams into, and small enough that I can’t judge myself. Loving it.
I’ve started out the year on creating time for writing, especially for new writing. I’m not sure how other writers feel but for me the writing is way more fun than the editing and refining process. The act of putting ink on a page and watching words come out of your own mind is thrilling. So I’ve:
- Finished an edit on my novel and sent it off to the publishers for feedback (hold thumbs and cross your fingers and toes please).
- Signed up to a monthly writing workshop with Maire Fisher and Chantal Stewart.
- Signed up to a memoir writing course next week with the Life Righting Collective.
- Signed up for a writing residency at Studio Faire in France in June/July and booked my tickets!
I’m hoping that this will be a year of happy creation, and I’m wishing anyone who reads this the same!
Jen Thorpe 