This has never happened before. This year I REALLY was not looking forward to my birthday. Sure, I’ve joked in the past about how I’m getting SO OLD, but I didn’t really mean it. But over the past few months as I got closer and closer to today — my 38th birthday — I panicked.

Yes, I panicked about the wrinkles and the lines and the belly bulge that just won’t go away. But I also panicked about something else — my writing goals. 
I started to think of all the things that I thought I’d do before I was 30 and realized there’s a chance I won’t even accomplish these goals before I’m 40 and this left me just downright depressed.

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of the mantra “December is the new January.” Every December I encourage my blog readers and the women of See Jane Write to start setting and slaying their goals for the next year long before New Year’s Day. And every January I am ready to do ALL. THE. THINGS. But I never actually do.

I used to beat myself up about this but not anymore because I’ve come to realize that maybe February is the new January.

Before I share my goals and plans for February I need to take a moment to reflect back on January and I highly recommend you do the same. So often we’re so eager to move on to the next goal or the next task that we don’t take the time to give ourselves credit for the things we’ve already done.

As a writer, I love spending Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day reading the words written and spoken by this great man in his lifetime. Of course, we turn to Dr. King’s words for thoughts on issues of justice and equality, but he spoke just as much about faith, aspirations, life and love. So many of his words can encourage us creatives as we seek to make our dreams come true and strive to make our world a better place with what we create. Here are some of my favorite Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. quotes.

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