Progress and Setbacks

Dear World

This week has been a solid mixture of progress and shite. I  had drinking sessions on two occasions this week, both of which resulted in a truly shocking following day. I've found in recent weeks, that the medication I take for my Bipolar Disorder is hitting me a lot harder than it used you, presumably because I'm now four stone lighter than I was eleven weeks ago. There's a lot less of me, so these tablets kick the living shit out of me if I don't take them at the right time of day. I've found it increasingly difficult to wake up in the morning as a result. The combination of the now harsh medication and a few drinkypoos results in feeling abosultely terrible the following day - I can barely function. Therefore I've made a decision to quit alcohol for the foreseeable future. It seems that drinking completely stunts the huge progress I've been making, so that's it, no more booze. I need to focus on myself, my healing and my new life of drive, motivation and ambition. I need to do everything in my power to ensure nothing affects this.

This week I've been busy with job interviews and painting. I curated a cubicle at Ben's Canteen, which was great but took me a solid eleven hours of painting! Also, I painted group portrait of Christian O'Connell and his Absolute Radio Breakfast Show team. I spoke to Christian on Thursday, and after a further discussion with his producer, I'm going to have the opportunity to appear on the show and present my painting/plug my business. this is super exciting and I'll keep you posted on what happens.

I unfortunately received a couple of job rejections this week, which, although disappointing, are just part of life and I'll keep plugging away.

My diet has been really good and I'm continuing to lose weight, the evidence of which will appear on next week's blog. Unfortunately, for a combination of reasons I've only been to the gym once this week, which isn't at all good enough. I've also sacked off a couple of training sessions at Samaritans. Like I said, the booze has a lot to answer for.

Next week, I've promised myself to be more proactive and focussed. This is starting tonight with a chilled out evening and early night. I have a good feeling about the next seven days, so I'll do all I can to make it a good one.

Overall, I'm definitely still on track, thanks to how good my diet has been, but I need to up my game in more than one area. Watch this space, next week's blog will be epic, I promise.

"Progress in life is like driving. Sometimes, you move forward quickly, sometimes slowly and sometimes not at all. Sometimes you even have to move backwards. You have to avoid unexpected obstacles and occasionally take detours. However, what remains constant is your destination. If you keep focussed, you'll always get there eventually".

See you next week.