Writing Bravely: A Gentle Beginning to the Year

My daughter, Natasha, says that her new year starts in the second week of February because that is when she finally gets down to actually working on her goals. This year, I seem to be in the same boat. The beginning of the year was sluggish in terms of work. The Christmas hangover and a wedding in the family threw January totally out of course.

Did that mean nothing got done in January? No. It was only the work front that got put on the back burner. My social life bloomed—and that, to my mind, was no small thing.

Exercising those social muscles

Getting out of the house and consciously involving myself in social activities felt like a huge step. I had stomach cramps before each function and get-together. Still, I pushed through my fear. And now, looking back, I feel stronger and quietly victorious, because I really, really need to exercise my social muscle.

I enjoyed meeting my cousins from Dubai and New Zealand at the wedding—it was crazy fun. I also met up with my school friends after years. It felt good to catch up with each other’s lives, to laugh over shared memories, to realise how time changes us and yet leaves some things untouched.

My society also requested me to be the host for the residents’ get-together. Even though I was prepared with the games, I was nervous. It had been years since I had stood in front of a crowd, holding their attention. But my fears were unfounded. As soon as the mic was in my hand, I transformed into a different person—spontaneous, jolly, motivating. I realised I had not lost my showmanship after all.

Another thing that I count as a success is more or less following a daily routine. As I shared in my previous post, I have created a tracker for all the tiny little things that need to get done in a day. And this month, for the first time in my life, I have found myself returning to that sheet—to check what I have done and see what still needs attention. I haven’t yet managed to tick off all the boxes on any given day, but I’m getting there.

Writing bravely through doubt

Another area that went well was my writing. Thanks to my Wednesday writing group, my Write Bravely Circle, and my You, Me and Poetry circle, a lot of writing got done. More importantly, I have been writing more consciously than before, adding it to my weekly—if not daily—tasks. It feels good to pour my thoughts out on paper before putting them up on my blog. The imposter syndrome still exists, but I am getting better.

Moving into February with awareness

Now that January is done, I have a feeling February will fall into place a little more smoothly. Not because the year is older, but because I am more aware of what I want to achieve and where I actually am—what needs to be tweaked, and what needs to continue exactly as it is.

How has your January been? I would love to hear about it. Do share in the comments.

This post was written in reply to a prompt posted in the Write Bravely Circle. You can read more posts from the members here