joanna montgomery

I am typically not a sentimental person, but I cannot deny the array of emotions that accompany the closure of one year and the beginning of a new one. If you are lucky enough to know me in “real life”, you will know that I am a massive goal setter. I set daily, weekly and monthly goals - so it probably won’t come as a surprise that I also make resolutions every year. I usually uphold most of them.

Last year was a mixed year. It was frustrating in that Pillow Talk still didn’t complete its voyage to the shelves but rich in other ways. I won awards, travelled to new countries, attended outrageous parties and met people who opened my eyes and changed my life. I loved, lost, found, questioned, challenged and gambled. I watched two of my best friends get married, rekindled old friendships and made new. I joined a new gym which brought me far more than I ever thought it would; new perspectives, amazing friends and higher aspirations. 

Two thousand and thirteen gave me more challenges than I ever saw coming and pushed my mental, professional and emotional capacity to its limits. Like any good year, it gave me moments of giddy elation, heart-breaking lows and everything in between. It is the year I finally realised I don’t know everything and that everything is not always going to be okay. 

I started the year resolving to be a happier person, to try and achieve a better work/life balance, and to just... be better. These resolutions were all successful because of the people I met. To everyone who helped shape me in 2013, I thank you.

In 2014, I am making a promise to myself to do the following:

- Experience somewhere new - Do something I couldn’t do before - Meet someone who alters my perspective on the world altogether - Ask ‘why?’ more - Ask ‘why?’ less - Love something - Let go of something - Fight for something - Ask difficult questions - Remember to look back down the mountain at how far I've come

Finally, I am going to hold onto the people who have changed me thus far and let them continue to support me as they have during 2013. I want to return the favour. I promise I will support someone the way I have been supported by so many people who entered my life last year. 

These are my personal promises, feel free to adopt some or all of them - and share with me every time you fulfill one. I want to know if I impact anybody’s life, even in a microscopic way. 

"Yes well we all do that when things don't work out. So - "Miss Creative Extraordinaire" - easy to put up when you feel good about yourself, but less easy to live with when you doubt yourself. But that title is still true. Isn't it? That's why you wrote it. A setback, no matter how significant, does not deny all the achievements that precede it. This is not an easy world to have setbacks in. We use social media to profile ourselves, to draw attention to our successes. When we fail, then it is ourselves who are most conscious of the mismatch. So try to ignore it. Don't let it make you vom (which is something you'll always excel at)."

I met Tony the Fridge today! We'd stopped at the Scotland/England viewpoint on a drive up to Edinburgh and John said "Er... is that a man with a fridge on his back?". I read Tony's book a few years ago, so knew who he was, and almost got run over in my haste to get to the other side of the road. He'd just had some press photos taken at the Border line and had set off again, but the photographers told me just to run after him, so I did. 

He is running 40 marathons in 40 days with a fridge on his back to raise money for charity.