Apologies, Aspirations, And the Small Matter of Making the World a Better Place…

I’m late. I’m always late.

The 2017 goal setting party started bloody ages ago and I’m just rocking up now. Looking dishevelled, with no gift and no real excuse.

Whereas everyone else arrived on time (or early), wearing a well thought out outfit, furnishing this new year with a lovely bunch of flowers and a slightly smug look on their face. Dammit!!

I’ve never been into goal setting, not as a proper exercise anyway. But this year I wanted to put a bit more thought into it. And here’s why:

Last time out, I wrote this…

Oi 2017 – Our Children Are Watching. And No, It’s Not OK. I was and still am, upset & disillusioned by the current state of things in the world. A world my children will stride out into with less & less of my protection as each year passes.

I can’t change the world on my own but I can have an impact on my own little corner of it. So that’s where I’m going to start. I want to feel like I’m doing some worthwhile things that will benefit others, not just me or my immediate family. I want to lead by example, I want to try and spread some positively. Which for me can be difficult. I’m such a ‘glass half empty person’, sometimes, so this is taking me right out of comfort zone.

I’ve put some goals together for 2017.

Some personal ones and some family ones but then also a few focusing on other things that I can do myself (with little resource or spare time) as part of my one-woman mission to make the world a better place. Because you can’t moan about something if you’re not prepared to take any action to change the situation.

Being out of my comfort zone is exactly what I need right now, so here goes.

Here’s a snapshot of what I hope to achieve:

None of these are revolutionary, I know that. For some of them, the only real challenge will be finding the time.

Personal Goals
Reading & going to a gig – I know, big deal, right? But the sad fact is I haven’t properly read a whole book or seen any live music since my daughter was born almost 5 years ago. These are two things I love and that I need to make time for.

Family Goals
I’m excited about these. My daughter can’t get her head around going to another country, so if we make it to France for a camping trip this summer then that will be a great experience for her. And growing some veggies in the garden is such a fun thing to do with kids, plus we are determined this time after last year’s failure!

Other Goals
Many of you will have done some of these, or perhaps do them regularly? Like giving blood for example. I can’t fathom why I haven’t done that before?

I love running, it’s my thing, so I’m going to do one of my events for a charity this year. And my daughter is keen to clean up the old toys and give them away. Two easy no-brainer ideas right there.

These are small things.

I know that, but just imagine if every adult in the UK (or even half that) picked a couple of things to do this year that benefited others? What a huge difference that could make, don’t you think?

“I’m hoping I can inspire a few people, then perhaps they could inspire a friend, who inspires a friend, then hey presto! We’ve started a revolution……”

What is everyone else doing this year?

I’d love to hear about other things you’re doing with your families or an interesting personal challenge. And especially ideas for helping others. Please leave me a comment.

I’ve written these down and shared them simply because I want to be held accountable. I want to be able to look back at this year and say ‘yeah I did those things’, I tried to make a difference. I tried to teach my kids some worthwhile values.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not perfect.

And I don’t believe that thinking this way makes me better than you but what it does make me is human. I think we should all take a little time to think about what that means these days. The person standing next to you in the street, that you don’t know, is similar to you in almost every way. And all the small nuances that make them different are all the bits that make them interesting, that help them to tell their own story. You will most likely have much more in common with them than you imagine. So let’s be kind to each other.

Before you go, please take a moment to watch this, it’s quite brilliant. It’s a TV commercial but the sentiment regarding humanity is so relevant right now.

TV 2 | All That We Share

Right, I’m off, need to get busy if I’m going to get all of this done! First stop is a goal just for me – Brighton Half Marathon, Sunday 26th Feb.

RUN MUMMY RUN….

 

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