I’m not much of a one for New Year’s resolutions. I mean, I get why people make them at this time of year, especially in northern Europe where there’s not much else to do at this time of year except drink yourself to a standstill (not something I’ve done for some decades now, thankfully).

Seriously, though. That date ticking over gives almost everyone time to pause and reflect on past victories and defeats, and what life holds in the next 12 months before you get another chance to put your foot on the ball. It’s the resolution bit bothers me. I mean what is it, a promise? To yourself? To others? If the former, what do you do to yourself if you don’t carry it through? Hair shirts are hard to come by these days. If the latter, you probably should’ve done it long ago, buddy, even if it’s not too late now.

Call it a review, then. And in my review, what stands out for me is how successful walking away from things and/or decluttering has been for me.

Take writing. I was out the other night with three pals that I was first in a writers’ group with 30 year ago (the one that evolved into Writers’ Bloc). It was a fine evening, and it made me think back to previous times when I’d spent time with these guys – generally when I was still living in Fife, and therefore driving back home stone cold sober. These are inspiring people, and all the talk of writing and stories would’ve sent me back on that long, straight A92 buzzing with ideas of my own – for stories, novels, poems, all sorts of writing projects.

The other night, nada. The pleasant evening (where a sensible modicum of beer was ingested) led to nothing more than a pleasant walk home. I lost all desire to write back in 2014, after my Dad died, and since then my creative output – as perhaps you know – has been songwriting, with occasional sporadic outbursts of nonsense on this blog. It was strange to look back on what had been a big part of my life for so many years – decades, even – and think that the passion to be the best damn fiction writer/poet on the planet had so thoroughly left me. To be replaced by music, of course.

That’s not all that I’ve walked away from in the last ten years though. There’s the sensible public sector 5 days a week don’t moan too much and hang on for the pension job, as previous posts will tell you if you’ve not read them already. There’s the leaving of Fife in 2021, finally and for good, more years than I care to mention after my 17 year old self left it for Uni and vowed never to go back.

I haven’t regretted either of those moves for a single minute – nor, indeed, the decluttering process that the house move involved. In fact, every chance now I get to take a hard look at all the remaining stuff around me, and decide to get rid of it, I try my utmost to take it.

Some things you walk away from less voluntarily, of course. 5 a side football springs to mind: but I reached a stage where I wasn’t even fooling myself; since then my chances of getting a detached retina through contact sport have increased, so you won’t be seeing me on a rugby pitch either (not that you ever did, unless you were looking on at a windswept school playing field in Fife nearly 50 years ago). Cricket’s probably beyond me now too, at least with a hard ball.

If this all sounds a bit introspective and self-regarding, it’s not meant to be. What I’m trying to say is, if any of this strikes a chord with you, do more of it next year!

Which brings me to the last part of the title: move fast and break things. That’s the tech bros’ mantra, isn’t it? Well, for once they may be on to something. Being in my seventh decade, time is perhaps more precious than it was, and if I’m to make best use of it, I need to try new stuff, decide if it works for me quickly, and then move on. If not space rockets or new business models for established industries, then what?

Well, obviously, some rather more simple things. For example, in a previous post I talked about how I joined a choir in autumn and decided after one term that it wasn’t for me – at least for now. That’s the way I intend to work going forward – if it doesn’t work, don’t waste time trying to fix it.(1)

So that’s my New Year message, such as it is. Friends not staying in touch? Don’t sweat it, it’s their loss. Job not working out? Get another one – even if it pays less, you won’t starve, will you? Want to try a new friendship/hobby/sporting activity/recipe? Do it. Do it now. What’s the worst thing that

can happen?

Thanks for reading my ramblings over the year. I will no doubt be back with more jibber jabber soon. Till then, stay safe, stay warm, and if you have to drink yourself to s standstill, make sure and give it the full nine yards. I need commitment here, people.

(1) I forgot to mention, in terms of social media, I walked away from Twitter about a month ago, and a trial of Instagram also came to an end. Currently trying Bluesky, which seems to be a kind of Twitter for intellectuals, so goodness knows how I even got an invite!