Somehow I've been married for almost 11 years and have four beautiful kids, but it seems like just yesterday I was packing up and beginning my adult journey way down south. In reality, 14 years have passed since I took that leap of faith, but it will always hold a special place in my heart. That decision paved the way for my future and is a huge reason I am where I am today.
That experience taught me to lean into the uncomfortable rather than shy away and it is a lesson I have carried with me ever since. In recent years, that lesson has been brought to the forefront of my life and this year will be no different.
As a gift to myself this year, I am making some changes in how I manage my time and the activities I pursue. My family and non-profit will be the recipients of the majority of my time. As we begin our fourth year of operation with From Cover to Cover, some major programs have been launched that will touch hundreds of kids. It is going to be an exciting year and by year five, we'll be even bigger. This is a huge accomplishment and one that fills up my bucket time and time again. The road is never easy and I have to step out of my comfort zone quite often to get things done, but in the end I enjoy the challenge and have overcome many fears in three short years. My heart belongs to this organization and I will be devoting a tremendous amount of time to ensuring these programs are a success. I cannot wait for this next step to begin and love that I get to work alongside a few of my very best friends on this journey!
Our family is beginning an exciting new chapter in life soon and though there may be bumps in the road, we are all very excited. This transition has prompted me to really think about what is important in life. My personal goal for this next year is to focus on the positive and engage in activities and relationships that feel good and bring joy and fulfillment to my life. I want to do my best to avoid time-sucking activities and negativity. It is hard in this no-filter, go-go-go society, but being closer to my family and settling into a new community will likely leave me with plenty of opportunities for positive engagement.
To do this, though, I have to break some bad habits. The biggest bad habit? Social media. It is a great tool, but so many times over the past 8 years or so I have wanted to break up with my Facebook account. My time could be spent in much more productive and positive ways than flipping through that damn newsfeed. As a gift to myself, I began my break-up with the time-sucker this week. While I would love to do away with it all together, I need to utilize it for From Cover to Cover and my business and I enjoy being able to easily stay in touch with my family and close friends near and far. Weaning down that account to one-third of what is was produced quite a bit of anxiety, but once it was done it was a relief. Welcome back precious time. I will use you wisely!
As humans, we are a work in progress. Each year I become more and more aware of what is important and who I should spend my time investing in. My family will always come first and I am blessed with a loving, supportive family circle. I have also found that serving others through the non-profit brings the most fulfillment to my life. I feel blessed to be able to recognize this and hope to spend this year focusing on what fills me up and letting go of what drags me down.
Cheers to 37! (Only 13 years until 50!).
No comments:
Post a Comment