2023 has drawn to a close and here we are in a brand new year. Did 2023 hold everything you had ever dreamed of? Did you achieve everything you had hoped to? Did new things spring up that you hadn’t expected to deal with whatsoever? Did you perhaps not get anything done that you were hoping to and instead feel like 2023 wasn’t the year you had wanted at all? Whichever of those best suit how your year went, I want to congratulate you for getting through another year! It doesn’t matter exactly what your year held, whether it was the best year of your life or your worst, it’s behind us now and it’s time to move forward once again, whether that’s with fond memories of 2023 or hopeful wishes for 2024.
For the moment, however, let’s take a look back and reminisce just a little. For me, I spent the whole of the year in one country instead of living as an expat for most of the year, which was my 2022. That stability has been really great. This year was a lot of settling in and cracking on, still having fun but the responsibilities between 2022 and 2023 were very different, so my priorities and goals were very different too.
Did I achieve everything I wanted for 2023? Ultimately, no. I set a few goals for this year, achieved some, didn’t achieve the others. With that being said, all the goals I set myself that I could achieve personally, I did do. It was the things that required some outside input that haven’t quite landed where I want them. Yet. And that’s okay! I was able to achieve the things that I set myself out to achieve, and it’s still left me with things to aim for next year.
Very excitingly, other opportunities arose in 2023 that I am so eager to carry on with. And sometimes that’s what we really need, isn’t it? For many of us, we go through the months as we expect, plans coming to fruition in the way we had anticipated with goals to reach at certain points throughout the year, whether they’re an exact date that needs to be met or a loose plan for where you want to be at that point in time. Often, they go as expected, you get done what you wanted to get done, and it leads to the next step in whatever plan you’ve made.
Then there are the new opportunities, the things that come up that you never anticipated. Sometimes they’re daunting, sometimes you’re blindsided by them, but sometimes it’s those unexpected opportunities that turn out to be exactly what you needed, exactly what will help you in ways you hadn’t been able to plan by yourself. They often come from external sources and you don’t really have any notion that these opportunities are going to arise. They pop out of nowhere and they might startle you. But sometimes that’s just what you need, a little kick-start to keep you on your toes and stop you from meandering about too much.
I am, very much, a forward-thinker, I plan everything days, weeks, months, and sometimes even years in advance where I can, but even I know the things that come out of blue have the chance to be everything you didn’t know you needed, offering opportunities that things you were already pursuing might not offer. When things like these arrive, it’s an opportunity for balance (my favourite thing in the world those of you who read this blog might see because I mention balance in pretty much every post). Maybe these new things are something you need to dedicate yourself entirely to, or maybe it’s something you work your way at in between the other things you had planned. Whatever balance is necessary, it’s important to give it your all, in whatever form that might be.
Opportunities that arise, ones that you know could really push you in the direction you want to go, they are not ones to waste. Maybe you think it’s too much, too soon, but who knows if you might regret that in the future? The right decision can be a tough one to make. Is it the right time? Shouldn’t you prioritise what you already had planned? Do you have too much going on as it is? At times like these, you have to take some time to think. Is it something you have to pass up because you already know where you’re headed? Or should it be the thing you dedicate yourself to because it could be the stepping stone you needed that might not come again? Other opportunities will always be there, I do firmly believe that, but could this sudden opportunity take you where you need to go a little faster than your current pace will?
Better still, these opportunities that arise become a part of your plan for next year. If you decide you are going to accept whatever opportunity has arisen, it’s time to start planning that alongside the rest of your life. And for me, a serial planner, there’s nothing I want more than to add in more plans and bridge the gaps between the unknowns in my future.
What my 2024 holds is actually quite a lot; I’ve got a myriad of projects going on in various stages of completion from OFBB that is in its very end stages, the new TDOA that I’m still working on as a result of NaNoWriMo, I’ve got Project #1 that I’m still trying to figure out, Project #2 that’s always being worked on in the background, and other opportunities I’ve got to polish up that have firmer deadlines than others. If some think that’s a lot… it is. But I wouldn’t have it any other way! Give me projects to work on at all different stages and I’m a very happy author indeed. Do I know exactly what this will all lead to in 2024? Absolutely not. But I have lots to work on, and that’s what I love to see.
Happy New Year! I hope 2024 is as productive and fruitful as you wish it to be, and never be hard on yourself if it isn’t; sometimes a set of 365 days is there to work yourself to the bone, and sometimes it’s there to allow yourself the time to marinate. So whatever year you need, I sincerely hope it’s the year you receive.
Robyn x
R. A. Howard 