“Make lemonade!” I hear you cry. Well, it’s often more complicated than that.
Earlier this year I reached a personal fork in the road and my life took a turn I never expected. My blog took a backseat to other more urgent matters and I started out on a steep learning curve, trying to make lemonade out of my lemons.
Over the last year I’ve done a lot of looking back and I’ve realised that you can’t move forwards while looking over your shoulder. My grandfather once said to me “the only way out is through” and he was right (he usually was, he was the kind of guy who could do a whole cryptic crossword in his head). When you encounter challenges in life the only way out is to work your way through them, whether it’s work-related or personal. Change can be tough but it can also be the best thing that ever happened if you embrace it, put in some hard work and give it your all. Incidentally, if you're not a big fan of change, I recommend reading Who Moved My Cheese? for a different perspective.
As a translator working from home, I often have music playing while working and music also features heavily in my free time, having sung on local and national radio in my younger days music has always played as a soundtrack to my life. There are so many songwriters whose lyrics motivate and inspire us through periods of change - John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson… One of my personal favourites is Passenger - “Scare away the dark” in particular reminds me that we always have a choice. Ultimately though, no-one sums it up better than the great Noddy Holder: “Look to the future now, it's only just begun.”
Wishing you all a peaceful festive season and a very happy new year ahead.