Written by Ashley Lopez

Hi everyone, welcome back to Ashley Spills. Ashley, here. You can check out my other posts here.

The picture above sums up my lovely month of October. I crashed my car, I turned 27, I put my head inside a pumpkin, and I dressed up in a costume a few times.

Getting into a car accident was so scary. The crazy thing is that at least four people that I told were shocked that it had been my first one. I didn’t know accidents were such a common thing. Of course I see them but I didn’t know that people get into them so often. I don’t want anything like that to happen again.  

Turning 27 and my monthly reflection

Turning 27 was kind of a slap in the face—I can’t believe how fast time is going by. I literally just turned 25 and now I’m 27. Aging doesn’t scare me, what scares me is not feeling fulfilled when I’m actually old. I wonder when I’m going to feel like I made it. I don’t ever want to feel like I’m settling. How does one truly ever know when they’re done with new adventures and ventures?

Recently, I have been feeling happy, satisfied, and eager for what’s to come. I’m happy because I feel brave enough to write more. I’m satisfied because I realized I actually do enjoy writing and my new job. I am eager because my future is looking a little clearer.

I don’t know if the above has anything to do with my new job or just my new passion projects, but October sure felt fulfilling and I’m excited for November and December. I’m enthusiastic to see how this year ends. I’m so glad to have finally transitioned over to a self-hosted site. It feels like I’m finally reaching more people.

Start the new year strong

If we want to start 2022 strong, we have to end 2021 strong. Since there are only two months left in the year, I figured we can put some items on our to-do list into action. To put something into to actions means to brainstorm the steps that go into that goal. For example, if I ever want to finish a story from start to finish, I have to hold myself accountable by:

• Writing every day for at least 15 minutes
• Reading every day before I sleep to feel inspired
• Starting another story if I lose motivation
• Adding an additional 15 minutes of writing if I was too busy the day before

All of these steps will push me to write a story from start to finish and the only thing that will stop me from doing so is me. October sure showed me that I stop myself from doing a bunch of things! I could have done all the things I’m doing barely now oh so long ago…

ANYWAYSSSS, instead of scarcely putting things on your to-do list because you’re scared you won’t complete them, just do it. It’s time to face the reality of what we actually do versus what we want to do; the more we face it, the more motivated we’ll feel. Check out this post on ways to help you find inspiration.

So, go make that long list of goals and don’t feel bad if you don’t complete them by the end of the year. Any progress is progress and honestly, you never know how much you can surprise yourself.

Thanks for reading, xo.

Other resources

Passion Planner