Don’t worry, I’m not confessing to a crime.
Early last April, I contracted covid. Back then, test track and trace were, shall we say, pretty appalling so I didn’t get tested. Besides, I barely had any symptoms, but my partner and daughter did. We weren’t in the statistics; however, we respected our civil duties and quarantined for 14 days. I had a headache for 7 days; extreme lassitude and my tinnitus went off the roof (it has been since then). No loss of taste or smell, no high fever. Oh! On day 3, I coughed once in such a way that I had never done before or since and my fever rose slightly. Although I sat at the computer every day, I didn’t produce much work.
I was feeling rubbish. When the 14 days finished, the headache subsided but the lassitude and tinnitus persisted. I tried to write blogs, describe what was happening. However the motivation was missing. I drafted many yet only published a few. For the last few years, I kept up a good fitness level. Nevertheless, April and May 2020 were slugging. June and July I felt like emerging, sometimes doing some weight training. August, I took the decision to concentrate on my health, but I struggled to establish a routine. I needed to react, to get out of this stagnation. So, I set personal, professional and fitness goals.
Personal (although it’s now a professional goal): I would publish my first novel before the end of 2020. Done √
- I learned to self-publish and published a novel (L’Enfant-Gardien 1 : Instinct de survie).
- I’m now working on novels 2–5 and beyond.
- I write a weekly blog (in French and in English).
- After a lifetime of jolting down stories, I’m an author.
- I will publish my novels in both languages.
- My genres of predilection fall into #quantumfiction, #sciencefiction, #fantasy and #crime.
My next goal: to understand amazon ads before I publish the following book in the trilogy (in July 2021).
Professional: I would reassess the company and its offering by March 2021. Done √
- Last year, everyone was going full panic and survival mode. All leads disappeared overnight. In health innovations, the only conversations were about Covid and, with the right skills, it was the thing to do. It gave us PPE, ventilators, treatments, and vaccines. I didn’t jump on the Covid wagon, I observed, evaluated, and prepared for the new landscape of health. - I’ve started connecting with my network (and beyond) on a LinkedIn weekly post.
- I redesigned the website and focused my business.
My next goal: I plan to write a monthly blog and publish a non-fiction book in 2022.
I begin with this one!
Fitness: In a year, I would run 5 km in 30 min or less. Done √
- I began in September 2020 by running 10 minutes every day for a month.
- Then, three times a week, I would run 15 minutes, increasing by 5 minutes each month until I could run for 40–45 minutes.
- Until last week, I would run 5 or 6 km in 35 to 45 minutes.
- As of 24/05/2021, according to the Fitbit, I have run 5.02 km in 29.42 minutes. Not a fluke: the following run was also under 30 min!
My next goal: to run 5 km in 30 minutes without breaks. I plan to reach it by September 2021!
In this blog, I wrote about my climb out, about a time when everything was going crazy around us. I realised I would return to happiness by taking care of what I could control. I couldn’t do anything about the way the government handled the crisis, I could do something about the way I handled it. I was (and still am) following the ‘confusing at time’ rules but I don’t wait for others to do things for me. I seize the day. In the turmoil, I embraced the process of change and allowed my true nature to shine through.
Set one goal, it doesn’t need to be as big as writing a novel (I worked on that one for years before sitting down to complete it). Although, if you want to write a novel, I’m happy to help! Change one thing or accept one change at the time and see how it goes. When I started running again, 10 minutes was excruciating, but I put my trainers on the next day and I persevered. I enjoy the scenery by the river, and it gives me time to think. I’ve written many blogs and even whole stories going around the park. Changes come from one little step at the time.
'The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step '
Lao Tzu
I browsed the internet to confirm the reference for this quote and I discovered this website which gives you quote from key words.
You never know where your journey will take you, the adventure is in living it. Carpe diem, enjoy the ride and don't stress too much about setbacks, they are springboards to better things!
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Image by bluebudgie from Pixabay
Image by Lothar Dieterich from Pixabay
Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay
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