And it beckons with storm drenched fingers and the hint of ice on its breath.

It’s the time of year we look at our wallets in horror and our waistlines in despair. And there’s a possibility we may indulge in some promises to our future selves;

• In the New Year I’ll go to the gym every morning except on Fridays when I’ll treat myself to a breakfast of kale sausages.
• In the New Year I’ll drink less wine but eat vintage grapes in the hopes of satisfying that urge.
• In the New Year I’ll start using that smoothie maker I got for Christmas (maybe if I use it once it will be habit forming).

But this year I won’t be making those promises.

Those promises stink as bad as that dodgy cheese stuck to the back of the fridge.

There ain’t no promises this year.

Instead I’ll challenge myself. And it’s not for a year, it’s for every day.

I challenge myself to focus more, leave work in the office, use my available hours wisely (easier said than done when there’s Netflix and computer games and *oh isn’t that shiny* to distract me). And I challenge myself to be more decisive, to take risks, and to have fun with it.

I challenge myself to read more.

I challenge myself to write more.

I challenge myself to do more new things and not miss the opportunities that cross my path because I’m too busy making a spinach milkshake that no sane person would ever want to drink.

And as part of all this, I challenge myself to dip my toes, maybe a whole leg, into publishing. Yes, giving my words bookish form, but more on this particular challenge later.

Because it’s about moving forwards. It’s about taking the bull by the horns and giving it a good brush down before letting it run wild and free (because NO RED RAGS AND SPIKY NASTIES AROUND HERE).

So this isn’t it. This isn’t a full stop resolution. This is a LET’S CARRY ON AND KEEP ENJOYING THINGS AND THEN DO SOME MORE STUFF BECAUSE THERE AIN’T NOTHING MAGICAL ABOUT MIDNIGHT ON NEW YEAR’S EVE. And I challenge myself to do this every mother-badgering day.

So Happy New Year to y’all. May it bring some luck and inspiration, but may you bring your best to it.

Cheers, fiends.