AND just like that, we are already in the second month of 2022.
Time flies, doesn’t it? The past two, very unprecedented, years have felt like a rollercoaster, awash with hardship for many of us. We said goodbye to people, but there were also positives from the pandemic.
Working from home also meant that we were able to have a better work/life balance, spend more time with our families and enjoy the great outdoors, especially in the UK, which I would have never have done before.
However, I’m here to tell you that it is time to rise from the ashes and embrace your phoenix energy, which is said to bring good luck, peace, love, prosperity, and harmony. That is what I want for and from you all this year.
2022 is the year I have a big birthday. Yes, I turn the big 4-0. I’m not making many plans, but I do want to be happy and healthy, and that is what I want you to also focus on. Focus on being the happiest, healthiest version of yourself.
Healthy doesn’t just mean spending hours at the gym or stop eating chocolate or carbs. No! Healthy means looking after yourself, everything in moderation, free your mind and being kind to yourself. There’s no shame in having therapy or venting to your friends. Whatever it takes to make you feel better, do it.
Mental health is more important than ever. We know this because the last almost two years has really taken a toll on everyone’s mind frame, including mine. Every cliché in the book will tell you with patience, love and time, things will get better. It did for me, and it can for you.
And so, comes the 40th year of my life. A new start, new adventures, and new challenges. It’s time to be a little more selfish and focus on inner happiness. I’ll be talking more about turning 40 in a future column, but for now, let’s look after ourselves, our minds and well-being.
Let’s say no to the things we don’t want to do and say a loud yes to everything that sparks joy. Write that book (as I am doing), find that dream job, get fitter, travel, learn to cook; whatever it is, let it serve you. Because if you don’t do it, then no-one is going to do it for you.
I will leave you with a quote from Joseph Campbell, “We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come.”
Follow Priya Mulji on www.twitter.com/priyamulji or log onto www.priyamulji.com
A burnt out bus on Newtownards Road as the clean-up begins following a night of anti-immigrant riots on June 10, 2026 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Overnight protests in Belfast turned violent in reaction to a knife attack that took place on Monday night, which left a male victim in his 40's with serious injuries. Getty Images 
