Photo Copyright Rin Simpson 2009.
Her popular blog A Year ‘Til I’m Thirty shows you just what can be achieved in one year. One year. Many challenges. One inspirational woman. Ladies and Gentlemen, Rin Simpson.
Why did you decide to start a blog?
I’d been thinking for a while that I’d enjoy writing a blog, since I’m a serial journal keeper, but didn’t want to just ramble. It was only as I was approaching my 29th birthday, and thinking about all the things that I wanted to achieve before the big 3-0, that I realised my last year as a 20-something could make for an interesting blog topic. And what better way of motivating myself to actually do the things I wanted to do, than sharing my goals with an audience?
What are or were (if you’ve already achieved them) some of the things you’d like to achieve by the time you turn 30?
It’s a really random list which runs from small, easily achieved goals like baking a pie in my as yet untouched Pampered Chef pie dish (still haven’t done that one!) to getting published in a national newspaper (something I achieved just a fortnight ago, when my first, albeit anonymous, article appeared in the Guardian). Other things I’ve ticked off include completing a teaching course, knitting a jumper, and seeing the balloons take off at 6am at the Bristol Balloon Fiesta – but I’ve still got loads to do, like cycling from Bristol to Bath and cooking a three course meal for my whole family.
Are the things you want to achieve before you turn 30 recent goals or are some of them lifelong ambitions?
Getting published in a national was a pretty long standing goal, as are a few of the other, but others are more recent. I think the very act of writing down my goals made me realise how many more I had that I hadn’t even realised – and I seem to be adding to the list all the time!
A lot of people have goals they’d love to achieve but, for whatever reason, they just don’t “get round to it”. What advice would you give to someone who wants to achieve a goal or ambition but doesn’t know where to start?
Put a date in your diary. Honestly, it’s the only way you’ll do it. It could be that you need to block out just one Saturday afternoon to actually get yourself to that museum you’ve always wanted to visit, or maybe you need to pencil in half an hour each morning to train for the marathon you keep saying you’ll run. Whatever the case, having it there in black and white is a great motivator.
Is planning important? Is it important to make lists and write your goals down on paper?
I would say definitely, but then I’m a visual learner (something I learned about myself on my teaching course!) Not only will it help you stay focused, and not let you forget anything, but there’s something incredibly satisfying about seeing items on the list get gradually crossed off. Whether you prefer pen and paper, like me, or an electronic version, I would definitely recommend making lists.
It’s August and, once again, the promised barbeque summer has materialised as a monsoon (well, it has here in Cardiff anyway). How are things progressing? Have you had any major successes you’d like to share? Have you achieved many of your goals so far?
The most exciting thing I’d like to share is that, after writing fiction for about 25 years but being too scared to let anyone other than close friend and family see it, I finally sent in a short story for publication – and had it accepted! I just cannot believe that the first thing I submitted is now going to be published. It’ll be out in January – just in time for my birthday in February – in an anthology of fashion related stories called Cut on the Bias, which is being published by a Welsh women’s press called Honno.
Have any of your goals proved more difficult to achieve than you had previously expected?
Probably those that involve other people. It’s all very well motivating yourself, but motivating other people can be a nightmare. I want to go ice skating at one of the outdoor rinks at Christmas, for example, something which should be simple, but I know it will prove a lot more complicated than some of the goals which I can get on with quietly without any input from anyone else.
Achieving just one goal takes a huge amount of confidence, tenacity, motivation and inspiration. Who or what motivates you and who or what inspires you?
Different things motivate different goals. Sometimes it’s people (cooking a three course meal for my family, for example, is less about achieving culinary greatness than blessing my family), other times it’s curiosity (I really want to know what my Austrian great grandfather’s letters to my grandmother say, something I’ll never know until I get them translated). But mostly I guess it’s just a quirk of my personality – I like to achieve. It makes me happy.
Would you agree with the statement that, in terms of achieving goals: talent is nothing without tenacity?
Definitely. The world is full of talented people, so why should anyone pay attention to you? You can’t wait for things to happen to you, you have to make them happen, and you have to keep persevering until you reach your goal.
My challenge brought me many unexpected rewards: I can order a pint of beer in Cornish and I got to meet a few of my heroes. Has trying to achieve any of your goals led to any unexpected rewards and/or unexpected positive things being added to your life?
I think what I hadn’t expected was the overall change it has caused in me as a person. I’ve always been a real dreamer – full of ideas but pretty lazy – but that’s started to change now, and I’m starting to get off my backside and do more. Which was the whole point of the exercise really, so I’m glad it’s working!
Can you speak any foreign languages?
I’m not fluent in any one language, because I’ve never really tried hard enough, but I can speak little bits (literally the ‘hello, how are you, my name is’ stuff) of a few obscure ones – German, Afrikaans, Xhosa and Japanese. Oh, and British Sign Language. I can also say ‘where’s the party?’ in Spanish, on account of one very cool holiday in the Dominican Republic a few years back!
What do you think of my language learning challenge and blog?
It’s a great idea. People think that there’s no point in learning a language unless you go the whole hog and get fluent, but I think we need to change the reputation Brits have for steadfastly refusing to learn any language other than our own. Even if you only learn how to say please and thank you, or to ask for directions, it shows willing – and you might discover you want to learn more.
Do you think it is important that all of us celebrate the things we achieve in life (no matter how small the achievement)? If you do, why?
Absolutely. Who’s to say someone’s ‘big’ achievement is any more important than someone else’s ’small’ one? Also, if you don’t encourage yourself the small achievements, how will you ever have enough enthusiasm or belief in yourself to reach the big ones? Remember, they didn’t think ‘hm, let’s put a man on the moon’ and then do it the next day.
Finally, the recession seems to be impacting on a lot on people’s lives. One of the main things that hold people back from achieving their goals is money. Any tips for making positive changes to your life when you’re on a budget?
Actually, I’ve recently gone through a break up which means my finances are well short of what they were when I started my blog, and if anything the lack of funds has encouraged me. Where I used to eat out, I’m trying more recipes at home. Where I would have spent a fortune on Christmas presents, I’m now making my own. There is absolutely nothing that can stand in your way if you really want to achieve, so don’t let a little thing like a tight budget get in your way.
FOLLOW RIN’S PROGRESS BY VISITING HER BLOG:
A YEAR ‘TIL I’M THIRTY
