Perfer et obdura, dolor hic tibi proderit olim

Whenever something bad happens to me, my friends will say to me:

Perfer et obdura, dolor hic tibi proderit olim

Translated as: Be patient and tough; some day this pain will be useful to you. Actually, they don't say that Latin phrase to me (that would really be quite pretentious), but they do remind me that life experiences can make sweet book material... More importantly though, it can make you a better person (which, in turn, can make you a better writer. For the record, I'd prefer a happy life and to use my imagination to create book drama, ta very much).

I'm not a patient person - I want it all, I want it now is quite often how I (wrongly) view the world - but this year I'm definitely learning some patience and I'm learning to be tougher. That's because playing 'local' in London and being a local in London is a completely different ball game and a certain degree of toughness is definitely required to survive London life.

More importantly though than being patient and tough, I'm learning to be happy. I've had blips since I moved to London, but I can honestly say that I'm now happier in an overall sense than I have been all year.

Perfer et obdura, dolor hic tibi proderit olim

I see that now. But I also see it's the people you surround yourself with that make a big difference. There's half a dozen people who have made the past 5 weeks not just bearable, not just tolerable, but actually enjoyable. Those people deserve thanks that I can't adequately express in words, but they have made all the difference.

Perfer et obdura, dolor hic tibi proderit olim

My recent pain has already been useful to me - in a short space of time, it's shown me what I'm made of and reiterated what I want to achieve and *can* achieve. 2010 has been a transitional year for me, but it's been worth it because I know it will make 2011 a definitive year.

What are you thoughts on your 2010? What are your hopes for 2011? xoxo

2 comments

  1. 2010 - I seem to be working towards goals but they can't be completed at the moment because they need validation from a third party, there's a new thing at work but that can't happen till the new year. I achieved NaNoWriMo and now have this document that is 50k+ words long but what to do I do with it....it'll never be good enough to publish but then again I want people to read it.

    2011 - Healthier and happier are my goals. I want to loose a little weight but I'm not going to freak out over it. Yes to weight lose no to starving myself silly. I had a kinda idea to just eat when hungry rather than because it's a meal time but then I get a grilling from my manager about not taking my lunch break lol.

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  2. Oh thank the lord I thought your friends really *were* that pretentious for a minute there

    Good phrase though missus

    Going to do a 2010 to 2011 post myself next week i think x

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