REFLECTION - ZOMBIE STYLE

So, as the year 2017 draws to a close, and as my door draws to a close, and as my pencil draws to a close, it is a good time for reflection.
Zombies do this. They reflect.
​It's a pretty gross reflection.

Seriously. When a zombie looks in a mirror, it isn't like a vampire. You can see everything. All the gross bits that are hanging off are in very vivid detail.
Yeccccchhhhhh.
And when a zombie reflects on his or her year, that is pretty gross too.
"Braaaaaaiiiiiiinnnnnnnnssssss!" they think or say. The length of the word reflects how many brains they have eaten that year, and so lends itself to a conclusion of how succesful their year has been.
"Brains." Bad year.
"BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!" Fat zombie.
At the end of a year, I like to both reflect on the year that has gone and also set goals for the year ahead ... in fact, I set financial year goals, I set quarter year goals, I set seven sets of calendar year goals, and I set five year goals too!
But that is goals, I want to talk about reflection. It's hard, sometimes, when you look back at your year, to decide if it has been successful or not. See, what one person thinkis is successful, another may see as a failure!
Not sure what I mean? Okay, so say there are two professional swimmers. One, Swimmer A, has a best time in the 100m of 50 seconds. Another, Swimmer B, has a best time in the 100m of 59 seconds. Say, over the year, each of them did a best swim of 53 seconds. For Swimmer A, that is a bad year, as they didn't get to their previous best. For Swimmer B, however, it was an awesome year, as they beat their previous best by 6 seconds!
So a very important measure of success is working out what success is for you. It could be beating a previous best at something, it could be staying at the same level.
And sometimes, when other stuff happens in your life, your focus has to go there, and so your performance may suffer in other areas, but it may still be a successful year.
For me, in writing, I like to look at how many stories I wrote, how many books I published, how many copies I sold, and how well I connected with people I spoke to at markets and in schools.
But again, what I aim for will be different to what other people aim for. For some super-busy people, writing one story would be amazing! I aim for more because I have the time to write.
Basically, what I am trying to say is this ... don't compare your year to anyone else's! Who cares what anyone else did. Unless it inspires you to be better, don't worry about it. You work out what you want to achieve, and you go for that. If you reached your goal, awesome! If not, work harder next year.
That's what zombies do. THey don't care if Fred ate more brains than they did. They just enjoy the brains they ate, and there's a little something in that for all of us, and possibly a little something of us in all of that.
So, to finish off my posts for 2017, have a very safe and happy New Year. 2018 is gong to be amazing. I can feel it in my bones. So bring it on, and make it a year you are proud to reflect on in 12 months' time.
AdamWallace