Picture the scene:
A lonely candle burning on the bedside table.
Its flame casting a dim orange glow, barely strong enough to illuminate the single-roomed abode.
A mother — let’s call her Nina — lies trembling on the old wooden floor, back pressed against a door with no lock, clutching her sleeping, three-month-old baby girl.
Outside snarls of hatred pollute the night air, screams for help echo throughout the district, followed by the laughter of vile beasts.
Through tear-filled eyes, Nina watches as the flickering light causes shadows to dance across the paint-deprived walls, their hypnotic movements, her only escape…
“Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” — Joshua J. Marine
The Tongariro Alpine Crossing in New Zealand is a must for adventure seekers wishing to test their mental and physical strengths. It’s a challenge rife with reward.
Standing in Mangatepopo’s gravel car park with Mount Ngauruhoe looming in the distance — Mount Doom for all you Lord of the Rings fans — myself and Jeff (friend) performed the final checks to our backpacks to ensure we had everything we needed;
Just when you think life couldn’t get any better, your world gets flipped on its head and you’re forced to go back into hiding.
The past few months have been great here in New Zealand. The weather fantastic, attitudes relaxed and more importantly, we’ve had the freedom to live life almost as normal.
Yes, while the rest of the world has been busy dealing with the chaos of COVID, we’ve been over here enjoying music festivals, exploring our own backyard and soaking up the summertime vibes.
But not anymore.
After months of relative freedom, Auckland has now been forced back…
I love to work out and do so five or six times per week. I train Krav Maga, hit the gym, run, go on hikes — check out my latest adventure below— and take part in trail races whenever I can.
I also try to eat relatively well, for the most part — though I am fond of a drink or two at the weekends.
However, today I’ve decided to take a different approach and will spend the next twenty-four hours (or whatever hours I’m awake) having a fat and lazy day.
It shall go something like this;
For the past six months, my consistency and enthusiasm for writing have been abysmal.
I just can’t seem to get going.
There are times when I write one, maybe two articles per week—and that’s a good week. Then it could be a month or longer before I muster up the energy to create another.
What’s that all about?
When I first began my writing journey and found my stride, I was able to produce an article per day, sometimes two on occasion, so the problem isn’t lack of skill, I’ve proved that.
But, regardless of past ‘achievements’ — which mean…
We all want to win in life and change our lives for the better. But in order to do so, you’ve got to put in the work.
It’s easy to become a victim of your own lies. Justifying your actions (or lack of) with little stories and excuses to make yourself feel better. But when push comes to shove, the results don’t lie.
So, let’s be honest, are you doing enough to achieve your goals?
I, like so many others reading this, included some writing goals in my New Year’s resolutions at the turn of the year.
After the stress, hardship and all-round chaos of 2020, I’ve decided to take a laidback, don’t give a shit attitude towards 2021.
We are all guilty of it.
Whether it be in your personal or professional life, I’m sure you can think of numerous, actually, copious amounts of times you’ve wasted playing out little scenarios in your head none of which ever came to fruition.
Overthinking knows no limits and can be the bane of your life should you allow your imagination to run wild in the wrong direction.
It can be the cause of much deep-seated anger and frustration…
I’m going on an adventure!
While most of the world has been on lockdown, cautious of their surroundings and taking calculated risks just to provide the essentials, I’ve been working on a different kind of feat.
Yes, tomorrow morning, at approximately 7.00 am I shall be making my way towards the starting point of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing — a walk deemed as one of the best one-day hikes in the world.
I’m both nervous yet excited.
I’m excited because it’s a hike I’ve been meaning to do for years; ever since arriving here in New Zealand, 2012, I’ve had…
This is a piece written out of necessity.
It probably won’t be great; it definitely won’t be the best article you’ve read all day but it may be just the kick up the ass you need the next time you feel like slacking off.
As I sit down to write this my motivation levels are idling on zero, basically, I can’t be fucked creating a new article. But I’m gonna do it anyway.
Over the past few days, I’ve been preparing for 2021; setting goals, formulating plans and shifting my mindset in order to make the best of the months…
It’s not unusual for your writing productivity levels to rise and fall, especially over the Christmas period.
But now the holidays are over and we have begun a brand-new year, it’s time to get back on track. Here’s how I plan on doing it.
If I’m being honest, my productivity levels have been well below average since around mid-2020, in everything, not just writing.
Of course, it would be easy to blame the events of last year for my downfall, come up with excuses as to why the lockdowns disrupted my flow and convince myself it wasn’t my fault, but…