Goood afternoon 👋
It’s officially July 4th, Happy American Independence Day to everyone reading from the US 🇺🇸
I do have to ask, though, how on earth are we over halfway through 2026 already? Where has the time gone?
As is customary on the page, we are well overdue for an update on how my New Year’s Resolutions are going so far this year – which is exactly what we’re going to be fixing today.
Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!
Once a quarter, I like to do a blog like this that acts as an accountability tool for me. It gives me the chance to take an honest look at how my goals are progressing, celebrate the wins, and recognise the areas where there’s still work to do.
More importantly, this style of content creates the paper trail of a journey – my journey through life.
What I mean by that is that it allows me, and anybody else who follows along on this mysterious adventure through life, to see how goals, ambitions, and priorities change over time. They remind us that success isn’t always an overnight thing.
As long as we’re becoming a better person one day, one conversation, and one step at a time, we’re heading in the right direction.
So, with all of that being said, how am I doing so far on my goals for 2026? Here’s an update ⤵️
🚗 Have loads of adventures and intentional trips away
Where do I even begin with this one? I’ve been on holiday in the US and Ireland, had weekends away with the Undefinables in Devon and Gloucester, and trips to London, and that’s only starting to scratch the surface. I’ve had West End Live, gotten the chance to watch four shows live, and genuinely had a mad ride along the way.
It’s been a crazy year so far, filled with networking, making memories, and meeting some fab people.
🪴 Incorporate self-care and self-appreciation into my daily life
As I’ve recently started my new role (I’ll be sharing more about this soon on the page, maybe on Monday 👀), I’ve been trying to give myself a lot more downtime where I can – spaces to switch off, unwind and recharge, which have been going really well.
Following being out of full-time work for a year, as I switched to a more temporary freelance style, it’s been great to start getting more of a fixed routine back in place. I haven’t fully figured it out yet, but it is something I’d love to start chatting about more as we head into the future. I’m currently learning to be more patient and kinder to myself, and I have full faith that I’ll find an awesome way for it all to work.
👋 Meet up with more connections and friends in person
As I’m sure you can tell from my adventure goal above, I have been spoilt for choice this year. I’ve recently started a new “Sweeney’s Social Spotlight Series”, where I’ll be highlighting some of the awesome people I meet, so stay tuned for more of them to come.
📚 Read 60 books from across cultures and genres
I finished reading book 46 for the year last night, so I’m well on track for this one!
Some of my favourites from the last three months: A Stage Set for Villains, Infectious Generosity, The Beekeeper of Aleppo and There Are Rivers in the Sky. I’ve been trying to mix up my genres and usual style from time to time – I’ll do some extra blogs on this soon, I’m sure.
🗣️ Use my voice to help others find theirs
I’ve recently been chatting to a brilliant new mentee who’s also got a stutter. It’s going to be great to see how we can help each other gain more confidence and show that a stutter doesn’t have to limit what’s possible in life.
I’m not 100% set on how the mentoring relationship is going to play out as of yet, as I like to let these things evolve naturally, but it is something I am super looking forward to. It should be a very fulfilling and educational experience for us both, hopefully.
Well, there we have it; there’s a little update from me. How about you?
Are you managing to stick with your New Year’s Resolutions for this year? What’s something you’d love to tick off the list before we reach 2027 – it’s coming around faster than a lot of us realise.
As always, thanks a lot for reading – this page wouldn’t be here without people like you.
All that’s left to say is keep smiling, keep learning and keep on being you. Until the next one,
Sweeney
Sweeney's Blogs 