It was the worst of times, it was the dullest of times, it was the age of being lost of meaning, it was the age I was reminded every day I was a boy in a grown man’s body.
When I first became an adult, I never imagined this is where I’d be at 12 years later watching new year celebrations in my parents’ house.
Where was the adventure? The good times? The romance?
Was I destined to be THAT uncle? The life-long bachelor who was pleasant in an unassuming way, but who people laughed about being a screw-up behind his back?
I did not want my to sit back and watch my life go past.
What was my purpose for being here?
The fireworks continued to bombard the blackened night sky as the clock struck 12.01.
I slumped off to bed.
The next morning, I woke feeling a clarity of direction – well not a direction, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, or how I’d get out the mess I was in.
No – the clarity was certain this wasn’t a fate I had to accept.
The 1st January 2014 was a special day. It was the time I decided to strike back against my dissatisfaction and be accountable.
My first step was to set New Year’s Resolutions – something I’d never done in my life, as I believed “They are a waste of time, because no one sticks to them.”
But how was I to know this of myself if I’d never tried?
I looked at a blank page and thought
“What do I want?”
I didn’t need to think for too long –
What started as one resolution soon turned into two.
Two became three
Somewhere around my sixth resolution I figured:
“Who cares about being focused – write everything you’ve ever wanted (no matter how ridiculous) onto the page, you can refine it afterwards”
Several sheets of A4 notepads later, my mad scribblings engrossed the pages.
There were spider diagrams, and bullet points.
Little caveats of additional information squeezed in the margins, and I’d even pulled out a red pen to highlight some of the ideas that appealed the most.
It was a wonderful mess, but still a mess nonetheless so I took this hour of madness and began structuring everything into Microsoft Word.
Through that input I was able to devise key themes of where I wanted to improve my life:
- Be able to express my creativity
- Find meaning and fulfilment in my career
- Build and maintain my health through physical fitness and good nutrition.
- Create new relationships, and embrace the possibilities they could bring.
- Find my independence, so that I had the freedom to do what I desired and was not a burden onto others.
- Explore projects of interest and keep trying new things.
Ideas would grow or fall by the wayside, either way these would serve as a drive for a lost boy to find his meaning in this world, with a clear vow – keep driving no matter what.
All those years ago I never quite realised what it would all lead to.
Welcome to Perfect Manifesto, I started this blog nine years ago as a place to document my self-improvement journey, but for me it’s become so much more.
I wrote this post to get you thinking:
What can you do today, to change your life tomorrow?
James @Perfect Manifesto
Perfect Manifesto 