January 11, 2016 - Written by: Shiraz Engineer

Unstoppable Me – How I’m Going to Own 2016

Happy New Year, Treasures! Another day, another year, another empty Happy Jar and another set of resolutions.

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I never really write New Year’s resolutions. I usually have some basic plans but don’t tie myself down. For years now, I’ve never really had any specific goals that have held my own attention long enough to stick to them. And every year, I don’t fulfil my potential as much as I want to.

But this year is different. There’s a change in the air around me. Why? Because this year, I have decided to become UNSTOPPABLE.

CAN I HEAR YA SAY ‘YEEEAAAAAAH’?! YEEEEAAAAAAH!

‘But why, Shiraz?’ you may ask. ‘Why this year above all others?’

For so long, I have been stuck in a mental rut. I’m 26 years old and have often felt like my life is going nowhere. I’m not where I want to be career-wise, life-wise or any other-wise. I’ve crawled into the position I am now in and although it was progress, it was slow and cumbersome. Bad relationships did not help with this, so a lot of my 2015 was utterly wasted with the wrong person and the wrong places, in crippling fear of not fulfilling my own abilities.

You know the sound an orchestra makes when it’s tuning up? Those little squeaks and squawks, the cacophony of sharps and flats? It’s alright for a minute or so, but if that’s all you hear when you’re alone with just your thoughts, it bears down on you and drives you crazy. That sound came in the form of the typical ‘No-one’s ever going to love me again!’ ‘What is MY LIFE FOR?!’: me torturing myself in my loneliness, isolation and pit of despair, for months on end.

But then something happened very suddenly around the end of November. I woke up one morning and it had stopped. The conductor had tapped his baton on his music stand and it all fell quiet.

Silence. Glorious, beautiful mental silence. That silence with presence, when you know something amazing is about to happen right in front of you.

And that, Treasures, is what I’m in right now. The catapult has been pulled back and is ready to make me soar.

The extraordinary feeling that I’m finally going to set myself on a truly brilliant path is exhilarating, something I haven’t felt since leaving school. It IS possible to be great and do great things! It just wasn’t my time before. This is what I’d been waiting for and it has finally come.

I know, I know. Sounds a bit like spiritualistic Kumbayah whack-job nonsense. But it’s the only way I can describe it. 2016 is my year to begin being UNSTOPPABLE.

Every time I think about the word ‘unstoppable’ these days, I want to shout it from the rooftops. I want to warn everyone that they’re about to see a lot more from me and that I won’t care how long it takes, but I WILL have a fulfilling and awesome life because I’ve got SO much to give this world.

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So this year, as I said, is different when it comes to New Year’s resolutions. This year I have quite a few, and I’m going to write them down here and expose them publicly in a gesture of commitment.

1. Learn how to drive.

I’ve never had the money to do so before, and if I did, I always preferred to spend it on experiences mainly in the form of travelling. But I’ve decided that this is a skill I must get under my belt, so get it I shall.

2. Get my voiceover career up and running.

A couple of years ago I got a demo reel done, signed myself up for a year’s worth of voiceover mentoring, paid the money and did zilch with it. Pure, unadulterated bupkis. I’ve even got the home recording equipment and swore I’d do it all but I hardly touched it. I was so damn scared of failing, it crippled me. But now I’m done with fear of failure, it can take a hike. I’m going to try my hardest to make it happen for me because I know I can do it. The key here will be not to give up easily, which is something I’ve done all my life. No giving up on this one, no sirree.

3. Get fitter.

I already regularly attend a Zumba class but this isn’t enough. I’m Chief Bridesmaid for a wedding this year and I have to look good in that dress. So I’m going to stick to an intensive workout and watch myself change into a fitter, healthier person. Healthy body, healthy mind.

4. Go meat-free for a month.

Everyone who knows me knows I love my meat. But lately I’ve been feeling sluggish in myself and reckon I could do with a new challenge. I’d like to have a new perspective on eating and am going to give my body a break from something I eat far too much of. This will increase my culinary repertoire, broaden my approach to food, feel better and I’ll raise money for charity whilst I’m at it! It’s hard to see a downside to this one…

5. Write more.

So many children’s stories I’d like to get down on paper! I have lovely ideas but I’ve never written them down. Now’s the time to get creative and just give it a go. What’s the harm?

These are my main resolutions, although there are more long-term ones in the extended version. But I feel they’re all doable. Some are not necessarily to be finished this year, just started. Starting is the hardest part. But I can feel that I will succeed in at least some of these.

I hope you also feel as if this is going to be a good year for you. I hope you SMASH 2016. Because d’you know what? You may not know it yet, but you’re UNSTOPPABLE, too!

If you enjoyed this article, why not check out ‘Make 2016 The Best Yet! Are You Ready To Smash It?’