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7 Ways to Finish the Year Strong
It feels like just yesterday when we were welcoming the new year and looking ahead to 2022. Now with just two months left of the year, it’s a good time to pause, reflect, and look back on the past 10 months. It’s also a perfect time to check in with yourself to determine if you’re still growing and in alignment with your plans, goals, objectives, and purposes for 2022. It may seem that there isn’t enough time left to do all you wanted to do. Discover seven (7) ways to finish the year strong.
7 Ways to Finish the Year Strong
Fatigue has kicked in. Holiday plans are solidifying. Everyone is on autopilot and slowing down. We’ve reached that time in the year when people’s energy begins to taper off and, “I’ll see it in the new year” becomes everyone’s mantra. But like in a soccer match, that last-gasp goal in the final minutes changed everything. Here are seven ways to help you finish your year on a winning high:
- Shift your mindset. Sometimes we aren’t aware of our own negative thinking on things because those ways of thinking are so ingrained in us. A lot of what holds us back is how we think about ourselves and our circumstances. Do you have a negative attitude, self-belief or insecurities that have held you back? If you aren’t sure, schedule a session with a therapist to help you introspect on your thinking habits. This is a good way to begin preparing how you’ll go into the new year.
- Celebrate your wins. Stop. Look back. And celebrate. We spend so much time on the go and moving onto the next one, we don’t stop to celebrate wins, big and small, along the way. Review your year and pat yourself on the back for the things you managed to achieve.
- Redefine your goals. As the year has progressed, things have changed. Take some time to evaluate where you are, what you want to do and if these goals are still aligned with your path.
- Declutter. Carrying unnecessary weight and baggage is heavy. Clean out your closet, your contact list, unused apps, and items that you like the idea of having but just aren’t using. This will help you make room for the new.
- Accomplish one last big thing. Identify that one thing you’ve been meaning to start but you put off. And do it. Make the call. Write that business plan. Push ahead with the knowledge that doing it will give you that proud, relieved, and excited feeling.
- Begin setting your objectives for 2023. It’s never too early to start planning for the new year. If 2022 is anything to go by, the months go by quickly. Start thinking about the coming year and what you will need to do to help you achieve those personal and professional objectives.
- Help somebody. “It’s better to give than to receive.” This is a common saying that does as much for you, the giver, as it does for the receiver. Helping others is a reminder that there’s more to life than our issues. There’s a great satisfaction in knowing you have helped someone achieve something. And it also gives you a sense of purpose. Something we all seek.
Questions To Ask Yourself
By now you realise that the things you need to do to help you finish the year strong look the same as the things you planned to do over the course of the year. What you need is time, which at this point in the year, doesn’t seem to be on your side. But the good news is, the year isn’t over yet. You still have time. You look back on the year and ahead to what’s left of the year, ask yourself a few important questions:
- What has gone well?
- What small things kept you from achieving the big things?
- Is your health, family, finances as strong as you’d like them to be?
- What held you back? What kept you going?
- What are you most grateful for?
- What has been your biggest takeaway of 2022?
- What have you learned about yourself?
Looking Ahead to 2023 and Beyond
It’s fun to sit, dream and imagine what life would be like if you could do ABC. We have good intentions and set goals and plan when we want to achieve them. What we neglect doing is putting down the tools and steps you need to take to ensure you achieve those goals. That can seem like the hard part. But it really isn’t when you consider that goals are made up of several elements:
- Results. What do you want to achieve?
- Actions. What actions do you need to do to achieve your goals?
- Time. How much time do you have to accomplish your set goals?
- Motivation. When the going gets tough, what will keep you going? How will you motivate yourself to make sure you do all you set yourself out to do?
Write down your action plan in bite-sized portions and formulate steps you need to take, you set yourself up a win.
The best time to start anything was yesterday. The second-best time is today. That’s 8 weeks and 5 days until 31st December. This gives you just enough time to get one more thing started. Or finish off that task you’ve been struggling to tick off your list. If you do this, you will not only finish the year on a strong note, but you also set yourself up for a great start to the coming year.
Remember, “Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.” – Hal Borland
Word of the Day: omniscient
This word has appeared in 49 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year. Can you use it in a sentence?
October News Quiz for Students: Midterm Elections, Baseball Milestone, Kanye West
October began and ended with two tragedies involving the deadly crush of a crowd: On Oct. 1, at least 125 people died in after the police fired tear gas into tightly packed crowds of soccer fans, which set off a deadly stampede. On Oct. 29, at least 150 people were killed in after they were crushed in a Halloween crowd.
How Sam used his passion for music and love of numbers to become the first person to turn Spotify’s podcast APIs into data visualizations
Meet Sam, a new dad who taught high school math in Hawaii before the birth of his first son. Sam decided to move into the in-demand field of data science by enrolling in the IBM Data Science Professional Certificate on Coursera. In the program, he not only gained job-ready skills, but he also discovered ways to combine his passion for music with his data science practice. Read his full story, below!
My name is Sam, and I have always loved math and numbers. While working as a math teacher in Hawaii for 7 years, my wife and I had our son. When you have a child, your whole world changes. You want to provide for them and give them the best life possible. For years, I had been telling my high school math students, ‘Data science is a great job,’ but, finally, I decided to heed my own advice. I knew I was good at math, but I did not have any computer background, so I was always wary about getting into programming. Nobody had ever explained to me that programming is basically logic and number theory. Which I love! After some research and an initial Python course, the IBM Data Science Professional Certificate on Coursera was the first one I picked up, I dove right in, and it was great!
I chose the IBM Data Science Professional Certificate because it had depth and breadth, which was great, especially for my first experience with data science. I was eager to learn all the skills I could, and this course definitely provided a deep, detailed learning experience. I also chose IBM’s program because I did not want to go to just a random place; I wanted to go to a company or institution that had a meaningful name in the industry. My dad and grandpa had both worked at IBM their whole lives, and I also worked there for a summer, so I knew about IBM, and I trusted what they would produce and offer. And I was right – the program was really great!
When I took the IBM Data Science Professional Certificate, I realized that I could combine data science skills with any other passion. I’ve always been interested in music—I actually used to be a drummer in a reggae band—so, once I started playing around with Spotify APIs, taking the skills I learned in the course and doing my own projects with them in my own interest areas, that’s when my growth really exploded. I would encourage people that are struggling or stuck to try to find some area of their life where they think they can apply these skills, and immediately start trying to do that, and you will be so motivated to keep learning.
The IBM Data Science Professional Certificate gave me a lot of confidence. I never saw myself as a computer person, but the program has you do all these complicated things like working in the Cloud and connecting to APIs, and it was so cool to me, to see how easy Watson Studio actually was to use, and how much you could do on it. I ended up messing around with the Spotify API, and I was the first person on the Internet to pull out their podcast data and do visualizations. It’s not that crazy of a task, but you can’t really say too often that you’re the first person on the internet to do something. I even made a tutorial about it to show other data scientists how they can do the same thing, and it felt really good to be able to provide something back to the community of data scientists. You read all these tutorials from other data scientists, but you don’t really imagine yourself being able to provide back. It was a really cool experience to be able to do that with something I’d created myself!
Do You Have Enough Access to Places Where You Can Play and Exercise?
How difficult is it to get to parks, gyms, recreation centers, rinks, fields or courts where you live? Are these public spaces ever too crowded?
Word of the Day: cunning
This word has appeared in 125 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year. Can you use it in a sentence?
UFOs, is there a scientific explanation?
This question, which resonates with us all, has been the starting point to bring together 16 experts in their field and thus explain the mysteries of hundreds of unexplained cases of UFO sightings.
Image: Jurik Peter/Shutterstock
On this new mission, the official NASA site reveals that “16 people have been selected to participate in its independent study team on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP). Observations of events in the sky that cannot be identified as aircraft or known natural phenomena are classified as UAP.
The mission will take place over the next 9 months and is headed by Daniel Evans, deputy associate administrator for research at NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. The findings will be made public in mid-2023.
Evans commented that the team of professionals is made up of “the world’s leading scientists, data and artificial intelligence professionals, aerospace security experts, all with a specific title, which is to tell us how to apply the complete approach to science and data on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP)”. If you want to know more details of the staff, you can find it on NASA’s own blog.
With this study, the Space Agency clarifies that “there is no current evidence that UAPs are of extraterrestrial origin, or any indication of extraterrestrial life, but the limited number of observations makes it difficult to draw scientific conclusions.”
In fact, they suggest the events could be caused by human-generated “airborne messes” such as leaking balloons or plastic bags, or the result of natural phenomena caused by ice crystals, moisture or heat.
The report admitted that they had no evidence to suggest or rule out an extraterrestrial origin. In any case, this mission has a clear objective: “to help the space agency to draw scientific conclusions” about these phenomena. In addition, keeping the following promise to the global community, “Findings will be released to the public in accordance with NASA’s principles of transparency, openness, and inclusive science”.
Definitely, a fascinating theme, which leaves no one indifferent. If you want to learn more, be sure to visit the following selection of links with interesting recommendations related to the subject:
NASA Announces Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Study Team Members
NASA to Set Up Independent Study on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena
NASA Team Begins Independent Study on UFOs
NASA kicks off UFO study with 16-member team
The GIMBAL VIDEO: Genuine UFO or Camera Artifact?
Unidentified: Are UFOs and UAPs Ordinary, Extraordinary Terrestrial, or Extraordinary Extraterrestrial Phenomena?
Why UFOs deserve scientific attention.
NASA is going to study UFOs. Here’s why
THERE’S GOT TO BE SOMETHING OUT THERE.
Defining NASA : The Historical Debate Over the Agency’s Mission
Reinventing NASA: Human Spaceflight, Bureaucracy, and Politics : Human Spaceflight, Bureaucracy, and Politics
You can also enjoy some videos about Roswell, one of the most famous UAP cases about:
The Roswell UFO Incident | COLOSSAL MYSTERIES
Roswell: The UFO mystery that still haunts America | Planet America
History’s Greatest Mysteries: ROSWELL SECRETS Revealed in Eyewitness Journal (Part 1) | History
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Author : Vanessa D”angelo |
Industry Spotlight: Copywriter
They are the wordsmiths. The ones whose words stay with us long after the ink has dried. These individuals know not just how to tell a story but weave it in such a way that you feel invited to be a part of the story. It’s an undeniable skill and talent and we’re shining our industry spotlight on the copywriter. We speak to Kim Mlangeni, a copywriter and businessowner, to tell us more about the industry and everything aspiring copywriters need to know before stepping through the doors.
My introduction to copywriting
Please tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is Kim Mlangeni. I work at BlackSwan as a Mid-Weight to Senior Copywriter. I’ve been in the copywriting industry for seven-eight years. I’m a mom, a sister, a friend, a lover. I enjoy discovering new spots. I am a foodie. I love to laugh. Laughter is more than medicine to me. It’s my soul-keeper.
How did you get into copywriting?
I got into copywriting through a journalism internship I did back in 2014-2015 and I fell in love with the art of writing. My career evolved from there to where I was an online editor for a TV channel and then it grew from there.
Life as a copywriter
What does the day-to-day life of a copywriter look like?
At the moment I work for an agency so day-to-day revolves around pushing out content in terms of whatever the brief is. Let’s say, if we are working on a new campaign and some of the elements of the campaign are radio, emailers, social media, and billboards. We would then look at the ‘chase list’. This is a list that tells you when and what flights when. If a client has told us that emailers go out first, the day-to-day would be rolling out those emailers. Or, if we need to brainstorm a new campaign, we’d read the brief, huddle as a team, brainstorm and then meet to discuss ideas. We see what we can put down, we find imagery that speaks to the idea and words that speak to the idea and we build from there.
Not only am I a copywriter, but I’m also a conceptual copywriter or I’m an integrative copywriter, which puts me into different spheres. I don’t just write e-mails. I write social media posts. I brainstorm ideas. I brainstorm campaigns. I work with a production team. I roll out advertisements. I roll out billboards.
What was the most surprising thing you learned about being a copywriter?
I think the most surprising thing I learned about being a copywriter is the power of the copy that I write. Sometimes you write so much copy that for you it becomes just a “job”, but you don’t understand the impact that the emailer or radio script has on the lives of somebody who reads it or listens to it. So, I think that was the most surprising thing for me, when I met someone who had engaged with a piece of copy I had written and they said, “Wow, what you wrote really changed my life and it helped my future.” The work I do is quite amazing.
What was the biggest lesson you learned in your career as a copywriter?
The biggest lesson I learned in my career is not to take my voice for granted. Being black and female and wanting to come into a white-dominated space, a lot of times you would feel you need to close yourself off or let other people lead and you follow them. What I have to say matters. What I have to say is valid because not only am I putting this on paper, but I have heard testimonies from people that what I am doing is “life-changing”.
For aspiring copywriters
What words of advice can you give someone who wants to be a copywriter?
Don’t come into copywriting because you just want a job. You don’t just sit at a desk and write. While there is copywriting like that, but that’s not the kind I do. You have to be passionate about being one. My advice to someone who wants to be a copywriter, is based on where I am in my career. “Don’t just be a copywriter because you can write a few sentences. You must be really passionate about it.”
What skills should every aspiring copywriter have?
You need to have a way with words. You need to be a quick thinker. You need to always be on your feet. You need to keep your ears on the ground and listen to trends, listen to what’s out there, what people are engaging with because when you write, you need to write a piece that engages with people now and not “then”.
The art of writing and writers
What are the big misconceptions about copywriters?
The biggest misconception about copywriters is that we are well paid. LOL. The biggest misconception about copywriters is that we think we are ‘know-it-alls’. No. We are just people who take the extra step to research and look into more detail at the information we want to bring across and give to people.
Is writer’s block real and if so, how do you overcome it?
Writer’s block is a real thing. There’s nothing worse than experiencing writer’s block when you have a deadline. How do I overcome writer’s block? I usually step away from whatever I am working on. I focus my attention on something else. If I am working on my PC, I stop and get a paper and a pen and jot my ideas down. I try and string some sentences together and build that way. In my writer’s block, I don’t just sit with it, I try and work my way out of it.
What gets your creative writing juices flowing?
I love a good and exciting campaign. I love youth-driven products. I love anything that speaks to me or generations younger than me. I love informing and educating. I love something that I can relate to.
Becoming a copywriter
What should one look forward to when entering the job market as a copywriter?
Don’t expect people to love you at first glance. Don’t expect people to understand your style of writing at first read. Sometimes you find yourself in a space where people are so in tune or engraved in their way that they don’t see your style as something that their audience can relate to you. Sometimes it’s not what they are looking for, and they want someone who will write in a boring style. That’s just the way the cookie crumbles.
What’s the biggest challenge you have faced as a copywriter?
One of the biggest challenges faced being a copywriter is feeling validated and feeling like what I say matters. As I spoke about earlier, sometimes you write something, and your seniors will make you feel like they could have written it themself. But that’s my personal interpretation of what I thought I needed to do. The biggest challenge is feeling like I’m not heard, or my feelings don’t matter.
Career paths copywriters
What are the career paths available for a copywriter?
You get your mainstream copywriter. You get your conceptual copywriter. Scriptwriters, song writers. There are different types of copywriting streams you can go into. It’s now taking me to art and creative directing. There are different channels you can move towards and into.
Final words
What are some of the tips to survive and thrive as a copywriter?
Stand your ground. Don’t dim your light or shine. You will get naysayers who think you are too forward, or the writing style doesn’t interest the masses. It’s not in tune with what we want. But stick to your guns. Sharpen your craft. Every single chance you get – sharpen. Learn. Find out what is out there. Try and go the extra mile. Also, pen to paper. Jot things down. Make notes. Sometimes, try to focus on the main thing and then show how the other smaller things and ideas came about.
Interested in becoming copywriter? Below are a few courses you take to enhance and hone your copywriting skills:
