Hello you.
Do you remember back in January [not that long ago in the scheme of things ... but probably already feeling like a world away] when there was an attractive fresh New Year standing right in front of you?
[Naked? I never said it was naked. Who said it was naked? You've imagined that for yourself ...]
And you were so seduced at the possibility of being able to walk away, leaving 2013 behind, that you fell in love with the idea of making a fresh start ...
"Well, hello there 2014. You're looking young, fresh and delightful. I just know you're going to be good for me. You've got so much to offer, and the things I'm going to achieve now that you're here ... well, I'm going to be a changed woman."
... and then well, I don't know ...
- there were all those decorations to put away weren't there? And vacuuming up all that ever-reappearing post-Christmas tinsel just eats into your day doesn't it?
- and it was all just a bit too cold and grey outside to make you feel like making any major life changes ...
- plus the new series of Modern Family, The Great British Sewing Bee and Elementary started and after all it's illegal not to get comfy and sit watching those entirely in peace and without worrying about 'resolutions' ...
You know how it goes.
And you may well have felt a little bad about that. Guilty even. Like you've been cheating on 2014 by still flirting with your old ways.
That's how I felt anyway. At the start of this year I'd made zero new plans for my work or my blog and I felt like I was falling behind, like I was already late ... until ...
... until I recalled a piece of advice I heard a tutor give his students while I was note-taking during a lecture [at my University job] a few years back. Words which I'd scribbled down in my own notebook.
Words which were actual his attempt to motivate / terrify his students into getting their work done in time to meet their summer term deadlines. Words that went ...
"Do anything you like all year ... but as soon as they start cutting the grass ... you have to start working."
And, while it probably should frighten me too ... I seem to find it strangely comforting ...
To me the whole notion certainly removes the tyranny of the whole 'New Year New You / mad rush to make changes in January or else feel like you've failed' way of thinking.
In its own, rather blunt, way it reminds us that while yes it may no longer be such a new New Year ...
... and while yes we may well have frittered our time on lazy thinking and wearing pyjamas and just getting through the day and zoning out in front of the TV [although, can any of us really say that time spent watching Sherlocks - Miller and Cumberbatch thankyouverymuch - ever be considered anything less than essential?] ... and getting lulled into inertia by the regularity of our routines ...
... regardless of all of that it reminds us that everything's not lost. There's still time to get our act together!
We can start again. Right now. Only this time we can do it in the sunshine and with the scent of freshly cut grass in our noses! What's not to love about that?
And, if you're not quite there yet ... if you're feeling like I was before my 'ooh I've got lots of blogging ideas all of a sudden and now I'm finally going to sort out my workroom' inspiration struck me earlier this month .. then maybe the idea that they're starting to cut the grass around you will help to spur you along somewhat ...
... because, really, there's nothing like the sound of blades spinning at your heels to really help focus the mind!
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So what do you think?
- Does the idea that there's always another chance to start a 'new' year give you the 'get up and
mow go' you need to go and tackle that 'thing' you've been meaning to get around to all year? - ... or maybe you like the motivation offered by the more definite sound of blades heading your way to kick-start your motor?
Either way ... I hope it helps! And while we're in the mood - expect a few more 'new beginnings' type posts over the next few weeks ... now we've got it ... let's keep this momentum going!
Julie x
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