Who else has seen Rogue One? Despite "knowing" the story from Star Wars IV: A New Hope, the movie was compelling. It's the story of an abandoned girl who learns to trust in hope - so much so that she single-handedly brings the rebel fighters off the sidelines and into the fray, despite some really disheartening events.
Hope is powerful. It can inspire change, rebellion, and even revolution! Hope for something better - even something currently out of reach - can spur us all into little mini-revolutions of our own, especially at the beginning of each new year. Personally, I welcome the resolutioners - the ones with pie-in-the-sky dreams and unbridled fervor.
This year, I myself am feeling the lure of hope, especially after a very challenging 2016. Like I posted yesterday, 2016 taught me a lot; but quite frankly, I am hoping for a much better 2017. I'm not naive enough to think that the coming year is going to be filled with sunbursts, rainbows, and nothing but goodness; but armed with the lessons of last year, I DO have the hope that I can stage my own little revolution. And what does that look like?
- Schedule, schedule, schedule. Hubby is out of town for the next two weeks, so I have two weeks to find and practice the best schedule I can for myself. The thing about a schedule is, I can be confident in what I *have* to do and what I *can* do and when. It's both freeing and guiding. It will also aid in productivity which will - in turn - help with the whole lack of purpose and lack of direction thing I've been feeling.
- Focus on the person, always the person. I want to KNOW the people I meet and be known in return. If I am able to help them along the way, so much the better. But my focus is on the person and THEIR hopes. Because sometimes hope falters. Sometimes people get discouraged. What better way to help than to know a person well enough to know when they need a little encouragement? I will KNOW people.
- Read for growth; read for pleasure. I'm breaking my own cardinal rule with this, actually. I'm going to have two books "in process" at all times - one personal development book and one novel simply for enjoyment. My "right-brain" needs stimulated, too - and that is something that has been sorely lacking. To start, I'm re-reading The Compound Effect, and I'm starting a novel called Split Second (and I'm kinda excited about it!).
- Journal, journal, journal. Yesterday I mentioned that I am having a hard time keeping my head above water, that I've been overwhelmed and burnt out. I need an outlet. I also need something to hold my crazy storm of ideas when they hit. I've tried the whole organized, electronic thing; and it never seems to work. So I'm going old-school with a pen and journal and a big old purse to carry it everywhere.
- I will continue the strength training I've been doing. That is the one thing I have not faltered on last year. I am so much stronger, physically, than I've ever been. I have a sneaking suspicion that that may have contributed to the fact that I am still emotionally standing - though battered - after last year. I have no intention of reversing that trend.
And then there's the big one. The hope and the goal to pull the rest along with it. The true rebellion, if you will. That hope, that goal, that rebellion is simply this: to leave my job by the end of the year 2019. It's a scary thought, but it's my hope. And hope is powerful.
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