It's time for the obligatory New Year = a time for reflection and resolutions post. However I'm not going to dwell too much on what had happened yesteryear but instead concentrate on the future.
The only looking back I will do is to say over the last year I've been inspired by those people that, no matter how much shit life throws at them, they never stop fighting. They don't let themselves be defined by what hands they are played. Let it shape them, maybe, but instead of letting themselves be controlled by their life they take the control and keep driving forward. They achieve against all odds because they are driven by determination when the easiest thing to do, and no one would blame them for doing it, would be to roll over and give up, admit defeat.
I was inspired by the soldiers who took part in the Invictus Games. By Malala Yousafzai for her continued campaigning for women's right to be educated in Pakistan despite the Taliban attempting to assassinate her for doing so. Also by the pro biker, Martyn Ashton, who was paralysed by a crash in one of the Animal Bike Tour stunt shows, but has pushed himself through rehabilitation and through new challenges refusing to let the accident take away everything that he loves.
It's Martyn's story I'd like to tell you a little more about. After breaking his back and learning he was paralysed from the waist down and that the paralysis was permanent, in less than a year he learnt to ride a hand bike, challenged himself to #TryBeforeJuly, setting himself a list of different activities to attempt in a time period. Many of the activities would be simple to those of us who are able-bodied, like navigating the London underground but when you are in a wheel chair, is a whole different ball game and I can imagine quite intimidating attempting it for the first time. Then there were tougher activities like canoing and amazingly he even got to ride a motorbike. His challenges didn't stop in July as he had planned but he continues to push himself through new achievements and he is determined to get back on a bike one day. I, for one, have no doubt he will do it. He wrote a blog post a year on from his accident and the emotional yet inspiring piece is well worth a read.
So, what does that mean for me and the year ahead? Firstly, I'm going to be grateful for all that I am blessed with. More so than I ever have before. Secondly, I'm going to stop putting things off and give things a go. Start crossing things off the To Do list.
Stuart said, for him, the year was about setting goals and achieving them which fits in nicely with my own new drive and attitude. We have started our list of (SMART) objectives for the year. The list includes house jobs we've been meaning to get done like replace the garden fences and the downstairs cloakroom, trying new activities as a family, like geo caching, or taking part in organised runs. Nothing particularly life changing I admit but we are just getting started and we first need to establish the boundaries of what is achievable. We've had to cross off a couple of activities as Millie is too young, such as surfing and a bush survival course so they may be in next year's list. No use putting stuff on the list which we've no hope of achieving. It isn't about changing the world (yet) it's about giving life a try, saying yes and achieving what we set out to achieve. Building our confidence and our belief in ourselves that we can get things done and do the things we've been putting off. Then who knows, maybe next year you will be reading a post about how I'm going to change the world.
Thank you for reading and wishing you all a happy and prosperous 2015.
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