New Year, New Life, New Merde… Excuse my French. I can’t even begin to tell you how many “new year” posts I’ve read since the beginning of January. What I can say is that poor old ‘resolutions’ seem to have gone out of fashion and been replaced by ‘goals’. 

Courgette vs. Zucchini. 

Pepper vs. Capsicum. 

Eggplant vs. Aubergine

Different buzzwords, same idea: the need to change, reinvent oneself, become a better person. Seriously? Aren’t we all imperfectly perfect already? 

Plus, out of the 60% of us who make New Year’s resolutions, only 8% successfully achieve them. So what’s the point?  

Half-bored, half-envious of all the mysterious writers behind such enthusiastic posts, for some inexplicable reason, I kept on scrolling. You too? Why?

You’re not alone… 

Your family, partner, friends, pets might think you’re insane. They might question why you want to set all these goals for yourself and can’t just SIT DOWN and RELAX. Don’t worry though, you’re not alone. 

Reading pages and pages of New Year resolutions made me realise that I wasn’t the only one who wanted to do it all. I have to say, there is something undoubtedly reassuring about finding out that there are others out there who’d like 2019 to be about finding a beneficial, enjoyable, and sustainable balance between work, passion, and home.

If they can dream, you can too!  

Perhaps you won’t keep your resolutions or achieve your goals. Perhaps you will. Either way, as far as I’m concerned, it has never hurt anyone to dream – dream about what life would be like if you took a few steps towards whatever it is you’d like to achieve. 

I’m too old to think that my whole life will change in 2019, too cynical to believe that I will become a world-renowned author and presenter overnight, yet I can’t give up on that Be Beyond Borders message.  

You’re writing for you. 

Obvious?! It wasn’t for me at first. I saw all these New Year’s posts as a way to gloat until I realised that writing down resolutions or goals was a way for the writer to hold themselves accountable. It’s the idea that now that their intentions are out there, they can’t take them back and have to go through with it.  

So, with this in mind, it’s time to let you in on what I’d like Be Beyond Borders to achieve in 2019: 

  • As you know, I am working on a poetry book called Where?which I hope to publish this year. Where?will be my third book, if you haven’t read the other two yet, you can find them here
  • I also would like to put together an art exhibition in Melbourne using different creative approaches in order to spread the Be Beyond Borders message. This terrifies me!!! I’m not trained, not talented, not prepared… Just really excited and totally naïve?!  
  • Finally, I can’t wait to share more stories beyond borders with you all! So, if you have one, feel free to get in touch today!

A Balancing Act

To be honest, choosing these three has been so tough. There are so many other things I’d like to do: start a Be Beyond Borders podcast, tell you about my great grand uncle who was a French author based in Australia (crazy right?!), write more stories and books, make my existing books best-sellers (how?!), do more public speaking, and MUCH more. 

But one has to prioritise and now that I’ve gone back to work, time has become an even greater challenge. That’s why, for 2019, I’ve picked one key word: BALANCE.    

And you… How would you summarise your hopes and intentions for 2019 in one word? Share it in the comments!


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Note: All pictures are works of incredible artist M.C. Escher currently exposed at the National Gallery of Victoria