Goals

Historically for me, the month of December has always been a time where I would take stock of what’s happened during the year and map out what will be happening in the next year.

I find this mix of the learning of lessons and the discovery of possibilities very exciting indeed.

Over the last couple of Decembers however, I’ve not really been in the right mind to do this exercise properly but this December has been different and it’s great to be back.

So with all that being said and with the end of 2022 fast approaching, it’s time for me to finalise (but not set in concrete) my list of professional and personal resolutions for 2023.

I’ve decided that this non exhaustive list will be a series of activities that I will do more of. How that will transpire throughout 2023 will be determined on a day to day basis.

With my core goal for 2023 being to live a slower, steadier, simpler and more silent life, I present to you what I want to doing more of in 2023…

Write:

For someone like myself who is a songwriter and a blogger it seems pretty obvious doesn’t it?

I will be making the time to write more songs, blog posts, short stories, poems, journal entries, anything that can get what is in my mind and heart out into the world

Re-establishing a daily writing routine will be good for my musical output as well as my (mental) health in general.

Practise:

This can be interpreted in a number of ways.

On the music side, this means that I’ll find the time to write more songs and spend more time learning the guitar, bass, piano and the recording studio.

This would also mean that I’ll be playing more as a result of this practise and for me, practise and play are the cornerstones of creativity plus, these are all the things needed for me to master the craft of being a songwriter, musician and producer.

From doing this I will also be able to record more music, finish more music by revising my archive, release more music and collaborate/network with other songwriters and musicians locally and globally.

On the personal side, this means that I’ll find the time to do all of the things that are non-work related but still essential in ensuring that my core goal is realised such as meditation, writing, exercise, gardening, cooking and so on.

All of these activities seem small and insignificant by themselves but when put together in a daily, weekly or monthly routine it really makes a difference.

Read:

I fully admit… I don’t read enough.

I always felt that reading was more of a functional activity, a means to get to a destination rather than something you do for pleasure.

In the past, when I made attempts to read a book for the sake of it, I would immediately feel guilty and start thinking of all the other things that I could’ve be doing with my time.

It’s time to change that mindset.

In 2023 I will find the time to read more and slow my life down as a result. Immersing myself in words will help me to become a better lyricist and engage in my imagination a lot more.

Relax:

Moving away from the city and living in the country has helped a lot in enabling me to slow down and relax but I still have a lot to learn about effectively stopping the world so I can get off of it.

One of the things I will be doing in 2023 is to stop multi-tasking and just concentrate my focus on one thing at a time.

Instead of trying to do many activities at the same time and not completing anything I’ll be experimenting with setting aside chunks of time dedicated to specific tasks or activities during the course of my work day or, for doing nothing at all.

When I work, I work and when I relax, I relax. Seems simple enough doesn’t it?

Exercise:

This is a no brainer really. Plain and simply, I need to move more, walk more and do more on a physical level. I know that nothing will get my creative juices flowing more than feeling good about myself and the world around me.

I have let myself go a little bit (more on this in a future post) but 2023 will be the year that I reclaim my overall health.

I know what it felt like when I was on top of my health therefore I know that I can get there again. By doing this I’ll be more productive but most importantly, I’ll a much better person for myself and everyone else.

I know what to do, I’ve just got to go and do it. Healthy body, healthy mind, healthy life.

This list is going to be constantly changing, morphing and being redefined. Therefore, I need to be flexible in my approach to all of this (which has been something that I haven’t been in the past).

Considering what has happened to me over the past couple of years and where I am at right now I reckon I’ve got this.

What are some of the goals and resolutions that you want to achieve in 2023. Let me know and perhaps we can all help each other but in the meantime, I want to wish everyone a safe and creatively prosperous 2023. May it be everything that you want it to be and more.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas and New Years break that is full of family, friends and maybe some overindulgence as well, a perfect way to celebrate the year that was.

For me, 2021 was a year to consolidate my emotions and redefine my sense of meaning and purpose in life. This is of course due to Mara’s passing just over 12 months earlier.

Plus, with a couple of pretty major health issues (diabetes and hypertension) at the forefront of my mind and knowing full well that there would inevitably be a time that I would need to move on in my life, I also used 2021 as a means to work further on my health and to get myself back to some sort of spiritual centre.

So, with today being the first day of 2022, I want to share with you the things that I’ll be doing for this year.

2022 will be a year of transformation, a reinvention of the self from who I was in the past to what I will become in the future.

Until now I have been processing and grieving the loss of Mara as well as maintaining a holding pattern for my life until such time that I was ready to move forward but I now know that 2022 is the year that this will all be possible.

It will be possible because this year I will…

Continue on my path to reversing my Type 2 diabetes diagnosis, lowering my blood pressure and just getting healthier in general.

Continue to keep losing all of the unwanted weight that I have accumulated over the years and re-establishing a better relationship with food and what I put into my body.

Continue to look for opportunities to expand on my creativity whether it be writing music, performing live, building web presences, creating content through writing blogs, recording podcasts and shooting video for myself and/or my clients.

Continue striving to be the best I can be through self reflection, meditation and living an examined life. I will learn from all the lessons that come my way just through embracing everyday life and all that it offers me.

Continue to keep Mara’s memory alive in everything that I do because she was the greatest influence on me and a champion of the journey that I’m taking on at the moment so no matter what happens next, Mara will always be with me every step of the way..

I can feel the emotional fog lifting a little, I’m slowly but surely getting out of the house and lifting my head above the fog to see what’s happening.

Right now, I’m in a good place and what I can say is that this year, I’ll be creating more content to see, hear, read, watch and share. After all, how do I know if this transformation and reinvention caper is truly working unless I document it somehow?

Anyways, thank you so much for being part of my personal and musical journey so far and I sincerely hope that 2022 is everything that you want it to be (and much, much more).