Many believe that what you do on the first day of the new year predicts the course of the rest of the year. If that is true then this next year is going to be full of good company, good food and naps. I don’t have a problem with any of that.

Last year, I started a new tradition of laying out a tarot spread for the new year.

The focus of this year is the II of Cups. Cups is the suit of water and emotions. The II of Cups keyword is mutuality a sharing of feelings between two or more parties. My interpretation of this card is the next year is going to be a time to cooperate and reason with others. I will need to listen more to find common ground and compromise.

Listening more, talk less as Aaron Burr would say. Unlike Aaron Burr, I do plan on taking action where necessary. (Ok, that isn’t really fair to Aaron Burr, but hopefully, you get the point.)

Over the years, my friends and family have helped support and encourage me when I’ve been lost or needed a lift. I know in the coming year that I am still going to need that support but I will also have to reach outside my support system to learn the things I need to become financially more stable, healthier and a better writer. In other words, I need to expand my circle.

Goals and Plans

Financially, I am working towards paying off three more debts and saving towards both a house down payment and a trip to New Zealand in 2023. I’ve laid out my budget for the year in a spread sheet so I know there money is there do these things if I remain disciplined and don’t have too many unexpected expenses like I did with car in August. A $2600 car bill will be a major hit to most people’s savings. Rebuilding my saving is a priority along with paying off debt and improving my credit score.

This week, I actually hit my first snag. I didn’t account for needing an oil change a month early and spent a wee bit to much on my last trip to Richmond. It will be alright but does pull me back a step or four in achieving my goals. Budgets are living documents and it is important to remember that.

Health-wise – I am going to make all my necessary doctor visits and make exercise more of a priority than a second thought. Even with dealing with the after effects of contracting COVID-19, it wasn’t an awful year health wise. On going fatigue issues mean that when I have energy I need to take advantage of it, but not over do it. The latter is a lot harder than I thought it would be. Rest and downtime are equally important to exercise. I can’t do everything at once but I can do things.

One thing I realized I would do is right now is that when I need to call the doctor I add it to my list but don’t write down the number. This meant that I would put off calling because the number wasn’t handy. My fix for this is to write the number down when I add it to the list and save the numbers of all of my regular doctors.

This is the only body and mind that I have and I need to take care of it. Health is a package deal. You can’t take care of one and not address the other. At least not if you are hoping to be successful.

Writing – The Devil’s Due is now on its third round of edits. I would like to finish this round by the end of summer and then begin looking for a publisher/agent. Yes, I could self-publish again which I may do. However, this time around I want to try something different.

My two non-fiction projects are moving along and I’m hoping to having those outlined completely by the end of the spring- start of summer.

The biggest obstacle for my writing goals besides day-job stress is time. Specifically, the amount of time that estimate it takes to complete a project. The two non-fiction projects may honestly take years to complete if I want to do it right, which I do.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to hang out with a friend who will if the timing works out be helping me with one of those projects. Weekly blogs here and a new tarot blog are still in the planning stages.

Overall, I’m working on making better plans. Plans where I account for all of the steps needed to accomplish the goa and when I am in doubt, I ask questions.

What is your focus for the coming year? What things do you hope to accomplish?