On January 1, 2022, I didn’t make any resolutions, nor did I choose a Word Of The Year or WOTY. Last year, I chose the year of ME and accomplished some personal goals. I began 2022 with an intense advanced screenwriting class and immersed myself in screenplays, movies, a textbook, and homework on top of novel writing. I didn’t blog the entire month of January. When I had a beastly day a few weeks ago, everything changed.
That was it!
2022 will be THE YEAR OF THE BEAST.
I’ve always been goal-oriented and can self-motivate, but what if I took it to the next level? Added a little extra energy to everything I accomplish? Become BEASTLY?
You may ask:
“How does a WOTY work? Will thinking about being a beast transform you into a hyper-focused warrior with the ability to thrash all opposition? Will the word give you the unrelenting power to crush your goals?”
Well yeah, sort of.
In my case, I hope THE BEAST will nudge me into action on my lazy days.
“What is it exactly?”
The Beast is that extra push, determination, the swat that shuts up my inner Resistant Rachel.
Remember Resistant Rachel? She whines whenever I don’t want to make an effort. “I don’t want to,” she says and covers her head with the comforter. The Beast rips it from her grip and pulls her off the couch — tosses her into action.
The Beast is that magical energy that ignites the kinetic spark that goes POW!
The Beast lives in all of us.
It’s the urge to do something before we talk ourselves out of it with all kinds of lame excuses. The excitement in trying something new. With The Beast comes discovery, awe, and accomplishment.
“So why don’t you summon The Beast every day?” you ask.
So many questions.
Most people have lofty goals but don’t reach them. As humans, we take the easy route from Point A to Point B. Our brains are hardwired like that.
Summoning The Beast and riding it through mind traps requires extra energy, perseverance, strength, and the ability to struggle against the status quo in our lives. Some days will be rough, and we’ll fail, but it will be worth the effort.
Any other questions?
You — in the back row with the Chuck Shadow t-shirt.
“I didn’t raise my hand.”
Okay then, are you ready for a wild year of beastly adventures? Want to join me in the Year Of The Beast? Let’s harness The Beast’s energy and see where it takes us!
Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Do you choose a Word Of The Year? Do you have a beast lurking inside you? So many questions…
Click for the Beastly misadventure that instigated all of this.
Susie Lindau's Wild Ride 
I stopped the resolution thing a long time ago, it just never works! 😂
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I always forget what they were halfway through the year. This might be different because The Beast is etched in my brain. 😂
Thanks for stopping by, John!
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Fun WOTY and motivation. I hear your roar! 😋
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LOLOLOL! Love it. It must be working since this is my third post and drawing. 😅
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Year of the Beast… I can’t wait to hear how this goes.
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Great Post! Yes, I have an inner beast and she comes with a sunshiney mad personality too – ha! Happy Day – Enjoy!
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Thank you!
I’m glad to hear that, Renee. The Beast LIVES… LOL! Have a beastly weekend! 🤩
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Susie dear, mind if I loan you my inner beast this year? I’m ready for a year of the lamb! But you go girl!
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LOLOLOL! Yes, UPS your beast and enjoy the relaxation. After a year in hyperdrive CHILL will be my WOTY in 2023! 🤣
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Count me in! Tomorrow I confront the inner beast, but for today you make that couch and comfy bankie look awfully good, Susie. ZZzzzzzz….
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LOLOLOL! Right? I’ve been fighting the beast for that blanket all day! 🤣
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Sometimes losing is a win/win.
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That is so true! 🤣
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Yeees you are going to kick resistant Rachel to the curb this year Susie!! Happy New Year (I’m super late, but I didn’t visit for a while!!)
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I could tolerate nearly a year at sea for Desert Shield/Storm working 12 hours on, 12 off, 7 days a week and made it without slacking my duties, along with several days in the desert at one point, walked away from a T-bone car crash and shrugged it off and replaced my car by the end of the same week, managed to avoid too much drink, overspending (being single that’s hard..lol)… but… keeping a New Years Resolution….pffft. May as well ask the Earth rotate in reverse. 😉
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WOW!!!! Thank God, you survived, Kevin!
You went through an intense year, shrugged off stress and stuck to your duties. The Beast must have left the building, so you could enjoy some well-earned down time. 😎
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It was aboard ship, except the little desert trip. But, it was no luxury liner…lol The biggest enemy (after the Iraqis), was cabin fever..lol. Especially after Saddam torched the oil wells and it was no longer safe to be outside the skin of the ship for several weeks. Oh, yes… we all had loads of Leave built up when we came back. The Navy waived the Max leave accrual limits. So, several of us actually went on leave 30 days, came back for a week, then took another 30 days. Even the fist month back, those not on leave only had to work on their scheduled 24 hour duty days. (always kept a 3rd of the crew aboard ship for emergencies in port. No normal work days at all for that first 30 days back in the US.
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Correction, first 60 days back. Half the crew took 30 days leave each – in two sets of 30 days. But, during that 60 days, anyone not on leave worked one 24 hour duty day, and were off 2 entire days. None of the normal Mon-Fri routine that we normally did when not at sea.
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It must seem so intense when looking back. If I haven’t said it before, thank you for your service!!!!!
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Yeah, the panic for months that Saddam would use chemical weapons if we had to force him out of Kuwait. And CNN trolling all of you here at home predicting ‘hundreds of thousands’ of us coming back in body bags…lmao But, there were a few genuine intense moments too. Thanks, but no need to thank me at all. I was lucky enough to qualify to join the Navy at a time when standards were much higher than they are today. And, I wanted to join and do the job I did do as an Operatons Specialist. 🙂
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So cool! Have you ever written about your experiences or do you have a novel in mind? A lot of people write them without any first hand experience!
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Not anything formal or published. If I ever did, I’d have to be careful about not divulging classified information. 😉
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True!
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That must have been WILD to finally be freed. With lots of stories to tell, I’m sure!
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Was a bit like being paroled I guess…lol Yeah, a few stories. 😉
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I would guess there was a lot of lent up energy! 😆
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The year of the BEAST is perfect!! I believe you will kick ass this year. We´ve had two years of forced chilling out, I believe it’s time to get moving again.
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I have a cycling coach who often shouts “Unleash the beast”. I suspect you & she are on the exact same mindset! Some days we all need to find that beast within ourselves & push through whatever holding us back! You go girl!
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Exactly!! Whether we’re being held back by fear, laziness, or self-doubt.
My son made a song titled Unleash the Beast when he began producing EDM music ten years ago. He should remaster it and get it out there!
Thanks, Lynn!
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I have never been a fan of New Year’s resolutions, mostly because most people don’t stick with them, myself included. Rather, I try to focus on accomplishing something every day that challenges me a little bit. This year I decided that I would “get rid” of at least 1 thing every day. There are so many things around my house that never get used, so I decided to just give them away. I’ve cleaned out lots of drawers and closets but I make an conscientious effort every day to remove at least one thing that I touch that I have to move out of my way to get to something else. I examine that thing and if it’s something I haven’t used in a looonnnggg time, off it goes. It’s been kind of liberating.
I have beastly days as well. Some days, I’m satisfied that I made it through the day without killing someone.
Good to see you out and about and killing it as usual. Keep it up.
Patricia Rickrode
w/a Jansen Schmidt
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Great to see you, Patricia!
I LOVE the idea of getting rid of something every day. It might take years to go through my basement though. Lolol! Yes. I have work to do.
I hope your week has a lot less murderous moments!
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Sounds like you have the right attitude, Susie. Hope you have a great 2022!
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You too, Paul. Gotta work hard AND play harder in 2022!
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What I need to do it get back on a weekly schedule with my posts! 😜
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I didn’t blog at all in January, so I know what you mean!
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A wild year of beastly adventures! Sounds absolutely brilliant and lets hope the beast keeps pushing us all into new experiences. Great word of the year.
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Yes!!! There are times when everyone needs a beast to push through. ❤️
Great to see you!
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Wow powerful stuff. Today I started a journey of recovery from addiction. Reading your article just made me realize there is a beast in me and I just need to unleash it. thank you !!
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YES!!!!! Change is all about building new brain pathways. Stop by anytime for support. YOU CAN DO THIS!
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Hi Susie….We met at Danny’s West High Reunion. I love your BEAST drawings. Here’s a song I use during my workouts to bring out the beast.
You may not want to publish this post since there is a “mofo” here and there. The artist lives here in MT. Anyway, great to meet you the other night. Suzanne
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Hey Suzanne,
So nice of you to stop by the Wild Ride. It was great seeing back in Madtown!
Thank you so much. I’ll be sure to give the Beast by Rob Bailey a listen. I bet it ROCKS!
Happy Fall! 🍁🍂🍄
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My link didn’t go through. You can hear it on Youtube.
Beast by Rob Bailey
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