Hello Internet!
I hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy. I am doing well and trying my best to stay warm during this winter weather. Where I live, we have had several days of snow, sleet, ice, and more. So just a reminder to stay safe while traveling. Lots of people seem to forget how to drive when it’s icy or snowy. Maybe that should be their New Year’s Resolution. Speaking of which, that’s what I’m going to talk about this week (did you like that segue?), but before I do that I want to quickly talk about what I published in the past week.
Last Sunday I officially came back for 2022 and I had a Weekly Blog all about that. I just went over some metrics from 2021 and thanked you all for helping me reach my goals. I also set expectations for the year. I let everyone know that I’m still going to be writing and publishing things in 2022, but I’m also going to try to keep myself from being burnt out by publishing fewer things each month. My goal is to try and publish between six and eight pieces a month. I definitely recommend reading that Weekly Blog if you want more details on my reasoning for this change and if you have any questions, that Blog should answer them. Then on Wednesday, I published a Poem titled “Tuned Out.” This was written during my holiday break when I really just needed to take a moment by myself, put in some headphones, and just listen to some calm music. The world is a noisy place and sometimes I can feel so overwhelmed by everything that is going on around me. So this poem speaks to that feeling and just needing to tune out from the world. On Friday I published a Writing Prompt Piece titled “A Small Moment of Sanctuary.” This piece follows a college-aged couple, Quinn and Kai as they survive after a zombie outbreak has spread throughout the United States and presumably the entire world. They have a plan to head south from Seattle Washington to a possible safe haven. They were just newly dating before the whole world fell apart but now they must rely on each other as they scavenge for supplies and stay alive among the walking dead. Lastly, on Saturday, I published a special piece titled “Science and Baseball.” This piece is special because it was partially written by an Artificial Intelligence. I used an Artificial Intelligence Neural Network called InferKit and it helped me write a story about a Baseball Player dealing with pressures of society, being famous, loving science and so much more. Feel free to check out that piece or anything I published in the past week if you missed it.
Now let me move on to what I really want to talk about this week which is New Year’s Resolutions. Or more specifically I want to talk about my themes of the year. Last year I wrote a similar Weekly Blog about how I wasn’t setting specific goals for myself, but instead I was focused on a theme for the year. This idea came from a video from the Youtuber CGP Grey who talks about themes are better than resolutions. And for me I totally agree. Themes are these wide overarching directions you want to go with your life and within that theme are branching paths that get you closer to that nebulous goal. Instead of setting a hard goal for yourself, a theme can help you be in a mindset where you make small progress everyday and eventually end up where you want to be at all.
Let me give you an example by explaining what my theme for the year is. 2021 was all about Progres and Positivity and 2022 is all about Health and Reading. I want to make healthy choices and overall be healthier both mentally and physically. One way I’m doing this actually started with last week’s Weekly Blog where I told you all that I’m going to try to have a healthier balance between writing and my other hobbies. I’m trying to be healthier mentally while also reducing burnout. Maybe my New Year Resolution could have been “enjoy your hobbies more” or something but instead my theme just lets me get into a state of mind where I’m thinking about writing but trying not to stress out about it. I’m trying to find my balance. When it comes to my physical health I could have made a resolution to lose x pounds or cut out sweets or something, but instead my theme of health has me thinking about making healthy choices in general. I’m going to the gym more and working out. I’m slowly transitioning my diet away from sweets and chocolate and adding more vegetables. This idea of themes is really all about small progress and the small decisions that get you there.
Oftentimes people abandon their New Year Resolutions so quickly and basically give up before they begin. But with a theme the deadlines are blurrier and failure is almost impossible. If you trend in a negative direction with your theme, that’s ok. Just whenever you find yourself at a branching path, choose the positive direction next time. Your theme should also be so broad that it can change along the way. A theme of health can mean a lot of things to a lot of different people and that’s great. It might even change for me along the way. It can seem strange to change your resolutions half way through the year, but with themes, that change is baked right in.
My other theme for the year is reading. I want to read more! I have a bookshelf filled with books I haven’t read and I need to change that. Last year I really didn’t read that much and reading is a hobby I’ve neglected in recent years. At the end of 2021 I did manage to read two books through audiobooks and I loved it. It made me realize that reading inspires me and fuels my creativity. Reading helps me be a better writer. Plus it’s also fun to read and I love the stories I’m told as I flip through the pages of a good novel. I thought about making a resolution that I was going to read 12 books this year, one each month. But instead I decided I would just have a theme of reading. I’m still trying to hit that goal but I’m also trying to focus on reading a little bit each day. Getting through a book each month doesn’t sound too bad until you realize it is the last week of said month. If I instead focus on reading a little bit each day, I’ll start to form a habit of reading and build some momentum. That momentum will then lead to me reading more and more books leading to my goal. I already finished one book this month (which I’ll probably talk about in an upcoming Weekly Blog) and I’m halfway through another. I’m really hoping that by the end of the year I’ll have plenty of books under my belt. But again, this year I’ve chosen a couple broad, overarching themes that are meant to guide my decision making and how I think about the choices I make.
Maybe this sounds like a good idea to you or maybe you are more of a resolution person. Maybe you don’t really make resolutions at all. However you want to look at it, I think it’s always a good idea to think about your goals and how you are going to achieve them. If you’ve already broken your resolutions or have forgotten about them, I would recommend trying again. Revise your resolutions, create a theme, or just think about making a small change that could have a big effect on your life. Don’t give up on 2022 when we are only a few weeks into the new year. I believe in you and think you can do anything you set your mind to!
Thank you so much for reading that Weekly Blog all about themes and more specifically my themes for 2022. I’m excited to take on the themes of reading and health. If you enjoyed this Weekly Blog, please give it a Like. Likes help me know what you enjoy and help influence what I write about in the future. You can also leave a comment down below. I’d love to hear about your goals, resolutions, or theme for the new year. Do you feel good about achieving your goals? Or are you worried already? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments. If you really liked this Weekly Blog and want to read more of what I write, I definitely recommend you Follow me here on WordPress. I’m trying to build a positive and creative community on the internet and I’d love for you to be a part of that. We surpassed 800 Followers at the end of 2021 and I’d love to hit 1,000 followers by the end of 2022. It’s only thanks to the kindness of people like you that I will be able to do that. I really do appreciate all the love and support that readers new and old send my way. It really makes my day/week/month/year so thank you!
Thank you again and I hope you have a wonderful week!
-Allen_The_Writer
Header Photo Credit to Pexels.com
https://www.pexels.com/photo/opened-book-on-top-of-table-21120/
Allen The Writer 