I have leapt into 2023 as I normally do; full of optimism, motivation and a determination to make this the year I do *more*. Whilst I am wary that each year this fizzles out rather quickly and I trudge along, fluctuating between moods and switching between interests, not being able to stick to anything, this one feels a bit different. It feels serious. It feels like a kick-up-the-arse realisation that it’s time to get my shit together and give everything my true all, and a chance to excel. I won’t brand 2023 as a word that would make you wince but I will say that my aim is to grow, personally and professionally.
I enter a new year with a dog. A strange adjustment, for sure. But a welcome one. I won’t say I hit the ground running getting a puppy, despite having a family dog for the majority of my life. Depression, anxiety and stress all kicked in from the minute we brought her home. People don’t often speak about this side of getting a puppy because you have a little bundle of cuteness in your life so why would you feel depressed and anxious? This is exactly what I kept telling myself but kept losing sleep on the fact my life has just changed entirely forever, the fact I now have a puppy to care for and the fact I won’t be able to sit down and watch The Sopranos anymore without a squeaky toy going off somewhere in the background. But they’re not wrong when they say it gets easier. I couldn't imagine ever changing my decision on getting Vera, our little black Labrador.
Reflecting on 2022, I noticed that I too often like what I like. I’d rewatch the same series and the same films. I’d listen to the same music. I’d do the same things when I was bored. I never really looked to learn something new, stick to a new project or dedicate myself to that new series. I regularly seek comfort in the known. But in 2023, I am making a conscious effort to escape that comfort, build better habits and set an ongoing routine that helps me mentally, physically and emotionally instead of settling into a continuous loop of neglect and stagnation. I won’t start listing off cliches here, as I am sure you’ve all read them on LinkedIn or watched a Reel about them somewhere. I don’t set resolutions. I don’t believe in them. Not as in if they were the tooth fairy, more that they’re framed wrong. They’re set on a way of ‘fixing’ people, instead of pursuing growth. Instead, I’ve set goals and milestones I would like to reach by the time a new orbit comes around. I won’t bore you with them. Just know I hope to be able to make a swan in the crema of a latte and speak fluent Italian by the time I enter my 26th year on this spherical timewarp. Among other things.
I’m also working on my love/hate relationship with football, with my work, with creativity, and with social media. More often than not, my love and motivation for each waver, which stems from the aforementioned hopping from interest to interest. One thing I am reminding myself this year is to not let social media vanity metrics limit creative output, take away the fun and put pressure on me. Since my article on finding the football fan within me from 2020 that was spurred on by the return of football from the pandemic, my passion for football has been here and there. I have never really nailed down a continuous stream of motivation to care since. This is mostly due to my attitude to it, the context of the game itself currently and probably some burnout. With the aim of growing The Culture Division, getting back into enjoying playing and watching again and for my personal sanity, 2023 is the year I acknowledge my attitude and actively combat this fallout. Although I am not naive to how much my life has changed since I was younger, making it harder to be committed to the game as much as I was back then, I want to be able to feel that same passion for football once again. It’s just the lens of how I see the game has massively changed now but that is for another story entirely.
Here’s to 2023, then. The year of learning Italian, becoming healthier, learning how to make a Neapolitan pizza, (re)starting a regular podcast with one of my best mates and all those other goals I have set myself.
