I shudder when I hear the term “New Year’s Resolutions”. In my mind, the term leads to inevitable disappointment and a sense of failure, not to mention the bucket full of guilt experienced when I break resolutions by the end of January.
In 2011, I was fortunate to bond with a group of entrepreneurs, who are now my good friends (shout out to Liesl and Juliette), and they introduced me to having mottos to guide you through the year. I found this so much more effective.
The first motto I adopted was #JustDoIt. That year was about doing things that you always wanted to do, but made excuses as to why you couldn’t do them; from spending a day meditating up Bathsheba to writing a feature length movie.
The motto for 2015 is #EvolveAndProsper. Our stories are being told, but now it is time for artists to profit from their work in order for the industry to become more developed. I aim to get my book of short stories, In Time of Need, and the collection of stories written by Caribbean women, Senseisha, to more regional and international distributors. Bajans In Motion Inc., is set to release the DVD of the PAYDAY movie in the United States, and the next PAYDAY movie in the local cinema by March. Plans are also in place for another movie called The Hotline, a drama about finding love after abuse.
In 2013, I saw a great idea on Facebook. For New Year’s Day you would find a jar, and when something good happens in your life, you write it down on a piece of paper and put it in that jar to read on the next New Year’s Day. The goal of the activity was to be motivated by all the great things that happened during the year.
Boy, did it backfire for me. You see, I had only documented work-related achievements and although I was grateful, I did not get that blessed feeling of nostalgia I was expecting. I won’t make that mistake again.
This year, I’m going to do the jar idea again, but this time I am going to document the small moments that made me smile – the jokes and comments from crazy friends and family members, the feeling of waking up in a plane to a red sunset above the clouds, or giving help to those in need.
