I'm kicking off a new series of guest posts on my blog starting this year. Having different points of view as well as from writers from those outside my little place in the world, will help me see and learn new things. To start off the guest posts, blogger and freelancer writer Alba Lanuza has agreed to write a guest blog post for my website and talk about overcoming adversity. Without further ado, here's what she has to say:

The New Year always comes full of new purposes, renewed faith and a strong will to achieve our goals. But we all know what happens with the list of New Year’s resolutions: when it gets a little tough, we drop.

The reasons are wide and varied, and have different origins. However, all of them have something in common for me and it is that they are excuses. At some point we get lazy, doubts hold us back and the next thing you know is “Well, maybe next year.”

“If you can dream it, you can do it.”

I have been there too, friend. It is easier to push it back than failing. But each time that you delay your resolutions the monster of fear grows stronger and soon you will not even want to make your goal because you’re thinking, “What is the point?” I was there a week ago, right after entering this 2016, promising that I was not going to fall again into the same silly game that everybody makes and nobody accomplishes.

Although statistics say that at least 5% of the people actually get their goals crossed off their lists… WHAT?!

What do they have that you don’t?

I thought about it for some time and then a quote that I read recently came back to my mind like the last number I needed to solve the equation.

Pretend you won’t fail.

I know, right? What a silly principle. Is that it?

No, it is not. But there is a saying that always keeps me wondering, and I would appreciate if you could take a few seconds to answer this short question: What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?

The first time I saw this quote something jumped into my mind very quick: write. And then it was followed by many other things such as traveling the world, make the world a better place, learn an instrument, write a book… The list is infinite and always leaves me with a feeling of devastation, as if none of what I do now is worth it.

Well, let me rephrase this: as if all I did a few months ago wasn’t worth it.

Today, I am a writer and a freelancer. I have done a solo journey (short but worth it) and I work on my blog to make a better world. The instrument will have to wait a little, but I am resolved to do it too.

Why? What changed? I took myself seriously, and did the same with my dreams. And I started pretending that I won’t fail. I started saying that I am a writer and working toward that. I started looking for jobs as a freelancer and… guess what? It is working.

So, why not apply the same principle to my New Year’s resolutions? Today, this very morning, I devoted an hour to craft them, shape them and write them down so there is no way I can escape this time. And let me tell you this:

This Year I am going to…

Get into a new daily routine that consists in four parts: meditation, to keep a clear and rested mind. Work out, to stay in shape and have a healthier life. Read, because reading something new is always good for your intellect. Write 500 words, to lift my creativity.
Guest post for Casey Neistat and write an article for the New York Times.
Make a road trip in America with my fiancé so we can have an adventure and get lost from the world.
Earn $1,000 from an eBook that I will write this year.
Grow my email list to 1,000 subscribers.

Sounds crazy? Well, I am crazy and I don’t regret it because I am going to accomplish all these things. I never said it is going to be easy; it will actually require a lot of work, planning and commitment on my behalf. But, can you imagine my joy on the 31st of December when I will be able to tell everybody: I said I would do it and I did it.

And all because I pretended I won’t fail.

Doubts, uncertainty, fear… we all know those emotions very well. They live among us and get fed by our mistakes. Attitude isn’t the only thing youwill need to turn them into your allies, but it will help a lot. People will look at you and say, “Wow, that person is amazing” because your confidence will override them.

Just for today, stop focusing on the “what if” and the excuses and doubts, and act with determination. Don’t say “I will try,” say “I will do it.” Don’t say “Maybe tomorrow,” take a moment to do it right now. Because there is nobody out there that should believe more in you than yourself.

Alba Lanuza is a passionate, young woman who decided to stop dreaming about writing and start being a writer. She was born in Spain and has moved around quite a bit; traveling is one of her favorite things to do, together with reading, eating chocolate and writing to make this world a little better. Depression is her particular monster, one that encouraged her to do more and be more. Read more about Alba Lanuza on her blog.