‘We’ll Burn Like a Beacon and Then We’ll be Gone.’
That line is from a Frank Turner song (Poetry of the Deed — great song!) and I think it’s a good setup for you and me to talk about how 2019 is the craziest, awesomest year ever (yet!) and we’ve both about to blow the door off its hinges (I’m also thinking about getting a tattoo with that song lyric on it, but you don’t have to go in for that if you don’t want to 😉 ).
This is a sort of welcome back for me: I have been focusing on screenwriting so much that I haven’t posted anything here in several months, but now I’m back — and honey, I am ready to hit my stride for this year. The. Most. Exciting. Year. Ever.
I’m also ready for YOU to hit the ground running too (I’ve also also decided that New Year’s goals should probably always start on an especially pretty day in March — just saying). So, without further ado…
How to Make This a ‘Beacon’ Year
- ‘The problem is, you think you have time.’ Sometimes attributed to the Buddha, this quote reminds me that whatever our age, however long we have to have to accomplish whatever we wish to accomplish, our hours are marked, our time is limited. If you want to write great novels; how many? Help people someday; what about the people who need your help today? Spend your life feeling fit? Today is part of your life too. Whatever you dream of doing, the clock is ticking, and you should begin the work of your life. NOW.
- Don’t wait for ‘perfect’. Start today. Last fall I had big writing goals, so big that I couldn’t stop and try to make my writing (or my writing sessions) ‘perfect’. I just wrote. With love and joy and consistency. And when I looked back to start polishing my writing this year, I found out that all those ‘imperfect’ things I wrote were really good. So stop waiting; you’re ready enough.
- Let go of ordinary. For the next six months I have given up wasting time on the internet, watching low-quality TV and movies, eating fast food, sugar, buying things I can live without etc. It’s not that I’ll never go back to some of that, it’s just that my dreams and plans for this year are so much more important than the status quo. That stuff is day-to-day distraction. And this is the day you make it clear to the universe why you were put here. Speaking of which…
- There is only today. Just the golden hours between waking and sleeping. All you have to do is ace today and then do it again. Don’t think about six months without ice cream, just work on eating well today. Make a list (I like a white board), mark everything off, then do it again.
- You have to decide when you’re ready to live out your dreams. I finally realized last year that I’ll never be totally ‘ready’ to make huge leaps forward, especially to unforeseen destinations. And no one is suddenly going to swoop down one day and carry me off to where I really belong. I’m going to have the find out what’s down the road by walking the path. I have to believe I can flourish wherever my dreams call me to, and with no more proof than the ability I have seen in my own soul — but now, finally, that is enough.
- Get excited! You’re doing this stuff for a reason — and the reason is life will be pret-ty amazing on the other side of your goals! So lean into it, get a talisman, post pictures on your wall, speak affirmations, and spend every day thinking about what you’re working toward.
Six months from now is my goalpost and I’m heading toward it (I’m two weeks in!). I’m sure there will be lots of exciting stories to share along the way on my end and I hope you are getting excited and planning some fun, awesome goals for your 2019 as well.
I’ve been looking back at old posts recently, as I’ve been working toward getting my new site up and running (Write Extraordinary) and I’m struck by how long I’ve been working on this life, on improving myself and moving forward.
I’m not sure how it seems from the outside, but let me assure you: It’s worth it, and it’s working. Done right, improving yourself is a lifelong task, but I’m happier than I’ve ever been and more excited about the future than ever before — a pretty good thing to say in the year I’ll turn 40! There’s so many adventures to have.
So trust the process, feel the different, magical excitement of this year, and…
Stay Extraordinary 