The Blessings That Spark My Ambitions for the New Year

I’ve recently learned about two kinds of achievements in life. One is when you’re up a creek in a bad situation, but miraculously, things seem to resolve on their own. The second is when you have to work extremely hard to achieve your ambitions, and charge through whatever life throws at you.

If you’re fortunate enough for the first to happen, use it as encouragement to fight for the second. When a major problem of mine goes away after I’ve hardly taken any action, it’s like I’m receiving a message saying, “Even though things haven’t been going your way, this blessing should give you the hope you need. Now get back into the fight of life.”

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January 7, 2020 Columns by Kala Godin

Common New Year’s Resolutions Don’t Apply to Me

In my last column, I wrote about several of my dreams that were realized in 2021. One of those dreams, becoming a regularly published author, really did seem to fall into my lap without much effort. In September 2020, my mom just happened to be listening to a podcast, linked to her by a friend, that mentioned SMA News Today. I had never heard of the website or its parent company, BioNews. It’s not like I was searching for the information.

In October 2020, I asked Brad Dell, the director of community content, if there was an opening for another SMA News Today columnist. Brad liked my résumé and everything I could bring to the table, but said no openings would be available until 2021 or later. I accepted this, because I know there’s not much people at a company can do if they don’t have the resources for a new hire. On the other hand, who wouldn’t be disappointed to see a great opportunity come and go?

I had just resigned myself to the fact that this was a dead end when the door suddenly opened again. In December 2020, only two months later, Brad emailed me saying that an opportunity had arisen!

Two occurrences allowed me to achieve this: hearing the right interview at the right time, and a writing opportunity opening up earlier than expected. This blessing gave me the encouragement I needed to keep fighting for what I want, and sparked the flame of desire to expand my ambitions. I literally dream at night about what I’ll do in 2022. In the time it has taken me to write this column, I have already come up with new ideas for furthering my dreams. You’ll have to wait until the near future to find out what they are!

My advice is not to rely on New Year’s resolutions to get you motivated for 2022. Consider how often they are broken. Instead, think about situations when you didn’t make a resolution, but things worked out anyway. I realize you may have to think back a bit to remember when doors opened on their own, but these memories can fuel you to fight to achieve more.

Together, let’s make 2022 the year of ambition.

If it catches fire and spreads among lots of people, many communities can get the help they need.

Note: SMA News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of SMA News Today, or its parent company, BioNews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to spinal muscular atrophy.