My goals for 2024 are different. I want to focus much more on having a positive mindset this year rather than having X number of books published, reading X number of books, or losing X number of inches off my waistline. I want to focus on the here-and-now rather than dwelling on negative things in the past, which admittedly consumed me a lot last year. I want to make positive changes to the things I can control and accept the things I can’t (and doing so without regret would be good too). I want to spend more time out of my head and in reality with people I care about and not slip into a negative mindset focusing on bad things that have happened.

Mental health is important. Lots of folks say to me “I don’t know how you write when you have a little one/ work full-time, etc”. In the past I joked, “caffeine and insomnia”. This year I don’t even have that excuse as I’ve drastically reduced my coffee intake, switching to brewing fresh herbal tea with fresh leaves. Truth is, my productivity (writing/publishing) last year kept me focused and stopped my anxiety from spiralling out of control. I chose to ignore the bad things and instead write, write, write.

This year, I choose to deal with the bad things, not go into a deadlock about what to do. If that means a slower literary output, while I take action on other areas, so be it. The mind and body are one thing; taking care of my mental health is just as important as my physical health. We need a balance of both in order to do anything. That’s a good start to aim for!

Posted by on January 12, 2024 in Health, Opinion and tagged , , .

Leave a comment

Unknown's avatar

About Leilanie Stewart

Leilanie Stewart is an award-winning author and poet from Belfast, Northern Ireland. She writes ghost and psychological horror, as well as experimental poetry. Her writing confronts the nature of self; her novels feature main characters on a dark psychological journey who have a crisis and create a new sense of identity. She began writing for publication while working as an English teacher in Japan, a career pathway that has influenced themes in her writing. Her former career as an Archaeologist has also inspired her writing and she has incorporated elements of archaeology and mythology into both her fiction and poetry. In addition to promoting her own work, Leilanie runs Bindweed Anthologies, a creative writing publication with her writer husband, Joseph Robert. Aside from publishing pursuits, Leilanie enjoys spending time with her husband and their lively literary lad, a voracious reader of sea monster books.

Leave a comment