Exciting Times Ahead

The start of a new year is always an exciting time. It’s full of promise in the blank spaces of my appointment schedule and my to-do list. That it’s quite empty right now can be a little unsettling, but I also choose to see the excitement of possibility lying in there.

What will I do this year? I have a few more new books lined up to be written, hopefully some volunteer activity I have in mind, and again, to put more momentum into writing this blog. The yawning expanse of the year will fly by in a snap, I know, so I’ll have to shake off my holiday stupor and start making things happen for myself before December runs into me like a fast train.

I learnt a long time ago that opportunities have to be made, not waited for. That’s always served me well, and I can’t wait to get started again. Today seems like a good day. 🙂

In an interview I did a few years ago with Maggie Henríquez, the CEO of Krug, she said something that resonated with me. She said, “You can choose to be a channel of positivity, or one of negativity for those around you.”

It resonated because it echoed a sentiment I have always held since a teenager: you can choose to be happy or choose to be angry/miserable/negative. How you respond to the things happening around you is often a choice you can make; so what do you choose? To be happy or at least zen about it, or let it irritate you and eat you up inside? Of course, one should also recognise what you can and cannot change. For things you can change, change it for the better. But when faced with the latter — which is always harder to handle — you do have control over how you then respond to it.

This is something that has kept me happy. In a long roundabout way, by responding as positively as you can for yourself, you do become a happier person. Happy people are generally positive people for themselves and those around them. It may be simplistic but it works. To me, the biggest compliment is one from my hubby – he says I’m the eternal optimist.

Finally, I am grateful for what I have every day. Family, good friends, health, a safe country to live in (the world is going crazy these days, so this is a big plus!), room and resources to pursue my own interests and dreams, and positivity of people I encounter, and the random acts of kindness I sometimes receive. They remind me constantly that life is really full of good things despite the bad.

No time to be negative. Lots of excitement out there to be seized and embraced and spun into wonderful things. A very happy new year to one and all!