Resolutions and goals

We all complain about our lives, but we do little to try to change them. I was reminded the other day that there are billions of people worse off than me. Many people my age can’t even switch a computer on, let alone type a blog and run a website. I have known things to be much worse than they are now. 2008 was a bad year and I resolved to make 2009, a lot better. I wrote a novel!

Perception of the future determines whether we are happy or not. If we have something to look forward to, we are much happier. We tend to think the future will be like the past. My past at the end of 2008 wasn’t very good. I called the paramedics, four times that year to take me to hospital. I had some unpleasant medical procedures and I had eye surgery and more treatment to come. Nothing really looked that good.

I decided to write a novel and I told people about it and some people encouraged me. I got more involved in social media and since then I have got to know other writers and artists. I found no one was interested in publishing my novel or anything else that I write. I did have an article published and so I thought. I can do that! I can publish my own stuff. I did some guest blogging and then started this blog, then a year ago I started a zillion ideas and that site slowly improves.

I have also done some other things I wanted to do. I’ve helped students with their studies in several countries.  I improved my photography and a year ago I was in the finals of a photography contest. My picture now hangs in the hospital where I was taken so many times in 2008.

Four years might seem a long time, but I was sick for much longer than that so I am only really just starting to turn my life around. I want to build my website up even better, improve my photography more and continue doing what I’ve been doing. I also started buying shares on the stock market and investing. I put money into Zopa and that investment has been a success. In 2011 I bought shares in Premier Foods, they are up 191% so far. I also bought Lloyds Bank and they have done well, up 60%. So this year, I bought Royal Bank of Scotland and they are beginning to improve, up 13%; so far. It did cost me money initially to learn how to trade shares. My first investment a few years ago was a disaster when a major shareholder blocked a takeover, those shares lost 95%. I’m still up 29% even with that huge loss.  You pay to learn and I do write a blog every time I buy shares. I will be buying more shares this year and I expect some shares to go up and some to drop. The market as a whole will probably go up, but trading is like swimming in shark infested waters. There are bargains to be had and money to be made, but you need experience and to know what to buy and what to avoid. Even then it’s a risk.

Do you want my economic prediction for the year? I expect the government to cut benefits for the most vulnerable in society by a few billions. I also expect, billions to find there way into the stock market, because they will do more quantitative easing (printing money). How much quantitative easing? I expect an average of a billion a week. The rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer. You can expect to see less cheap stuff in the budget supermarkets and more magnums of champagne.

So, am I looking forward to 2013? I am making plans, but I do need something new. I need to be inspired to write. I do have a plan to get some of my pictures into an art gallery. I’m going to finish my new short novella. I’ll write and publish some short stories. I also want to get more writers involved in writing for a zillion ideas. Most of all I want to do something within the community. I wanted to teach people in hospital how to write short stories, to help them survive the horrible experience of being in hospital; but the hospital didn’t seem too interested. I will be looking at community groups and projects to see if I can help them and they can help me by dragging me out of the house a few times a week.

Also in 2013, I want to continue improving my health. I’ll try to eat better. I’ll try to get out and get a bit of exercise. I don’t take many pills now, but I’ll make an effort to remember to take them! I shall be writing lots more articles here, so why not subscribe? There is more on a zillion ideas too!

Related articles

• Building With Trust – Writing Resolutions Blog Hop (shanjeniah.com)
• From 2012 to 2013 and forever! (despicablewonderfulyou.wordpress.com)

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