It’s 2019 now, and a new year has come upon us. Many people are looking forward to breaking their new year’s resolutions, or just ringing in the new year as unenthusiastic as ever. During the first month of January, people around the world try to commit to a beneficial change in their lives. For instance, they intend to use a gym, be more social with friends and co-workers, or find the love of their life, and embark on another journey of companionship. Others do the standard, typical tropes: quit smoking, quit drinking, and lose weight.
Unfortunately, like the second sentence in this blog post, you rarely hear of people fully committing (and achieving) their resolutions. People give up smoking for a month, then go back. They go to a gym to lose weight, and after running the treadmill, they find themselves at a fast food joint. They celebrate sobriety, until an important occasion comes up, which requires you to toast.
So, as an aspiring writer with a few social issues, I’m right in the thick of it.
I admit I’m not the most social person on the planet. In fact, it’s a tall order for me to go out and talk with random strangers. It stresses me out, and sometimes gives me great discomfort. You would imagine that, as someone who also serves customers for a living, that sort of problem would improve. Well, it has, but only slightly.
Now consider this dilemma: I sometimes see people reading at the coffee shop, and when you look at them, they hold the book up to their chest, so you can’t see what their reading, despite the fact the title isn’t covered up. Sometimes, I’m like that with writing—I don’t cover up my hard draft work in my notebook, but I will when I type up drafts on my laptop. What the hell does that mean? Am I afraid of people coming up to talk to me about what I’m doing? I’m writing, hopefully to be published some day, and connect with an audience. That doesn’t make sense to me!
I’m not going to dig at those aspiring people who are socially-challenged, but have so much to tell, be it in the form of words or paint. I do sympathize with them. As one of those people, you can be both at the same time, and achieve some success. Yes, online communication via a keyboard takes out a large part of that social fear. You can coast through that writing career without major problems, and fulfill your dreams, and even earn money.
However, there are those who want to meet you in person, or wish for you to attend other functions, especially if it’s recommended by a literary agent you may have in the future. Also, it brings you more closer to those fans who would like to hear the person speak. That’s important, and has several benefits. It boosts your morale, your confidence, and, possibly, give you more exposure to your work. Hell, it can even open doors to opportunities that you never knew you had.
It’s still the beginning of January. You can still make those new year’s resolutions, and try your damn best to improve yourself for the future. People tend to focus on too many resolutions, and end up being total failures (sorry). However, you may find, that by picking one and sticking to it, you may have a higher success rate. Further, if you have other self-improvements you wish to pursue, just focusing on that one problem could help resolve the other. Of course, I am not a counselor, just someone who is trying to be positive (despite being a Canadian moaner), so I will add the general disclaimer that your mileage may vary.
For me, I’m hoping to become more social as I continue to write. I’m hoping to become a more learned person of the world, and connect with others. These are all achievable, year-long goals. At the same time, I’m eyeing on publishing a short story in a Canadian literary magazine. While the latter is a potential goal, and may not happen this year, the former certainly is. I am looking forward to that prospect. Two birds with one stone. You never know, eh?
Do you think your own new year’s resolutions are achievable? I bet they are. Just focus on one at a time. Sometimes, baby steps where you fall on your arse is better than taking giant leaps, and tumbling down a flight of stairs.