So I’m back! Just as I said I would be in my July message to you; rested and raring to go, with new insights to share, and of course, new home decor, Yay! That’s a warning, haha!!! I said I’d be back in 30-45 days. For those of you who have been subscribers for a while, you’ll remember a couple years back, I took a social media and blogging break to get settled into my new home. Let’s just say, it didn’t go according to plan at all. I was gone from social media for a little over 2 months, and almost 6 months from blogging. Yikes! You can watch the “What Took So Long” video here.
When it’s Time To Take A Break
I think breaks are really good, especially if you’re like me, always taking on just one more thing, only to realize later, it may have been one thing too many. Taking a social media and blogging break once a year for about 30-45 days to re-prioritize, refresh, re-boot, rejuvenate, re-ignite, renew, re-start, re-focus and re-charge, has done me well. Taking in all the “re’s” has been wonderful! So what have I been doing? Keeping it simple. I’ve been saying “no” to a lot of things I normally would say “yes” to. Before this break I would say to myself: “Oh it’s just a couple hours of my time”, or “it’ll only take me an hour to do this and drop that off”, or my personal fav, “I’ll be a lot less busy by then so it should be ok.” Yeah right. Since I decided to be a bit more self-centered when considering things offered as additions to my already full plate, I’ve streamlined my acceptances and “to-do” list quite a bit. The one thing I focused on over the last 45 days was settling into my new house. With the exception of a couple commitments made way in advance of my decision to cut out some stuff, I only dwelled on getting my house set up.
Most who know me, know I absolutely cannot function unless I’m surrounded by order, organization and some kind of “pretty.” When I went to the store, it was to a Home Goods, Marshalls, At Home, Target or Home Depot, to get something for whatever house project I was working on. And because I was laser-focused on finishing the set-up of my house in 30 days, (yeah I know, that was crazy, but more on that in a future blog post), it was easy to “keep it simple” and focus on that one goal. Now that the house is finished, on the inside at least, I’m ready to dive into a new goal. This is going to be how I roll going forward. Only one goal at a time.
Doing It My Way
I can’t say that adopting this new attitude has been easy. As a single person, solely responsible for everything on my plate, and some other plates too, it sometimes becomes too much, and I begin to feel worn down, and a tad bit guilty. In this social media shaming culture we live in, with all the “life coaches” out there, touting their avenues for pursuing your own business by any means necessary: #icansleepwhenimdead, “getting your hustle on”, and being a #bossbabe, it wears on even the strongest person at times. I’m sure you’ve seen #dreamsdontworkifyoudont. Yeah, well, one doesn’t dream if one doesn’t sleep! If I don’t sleep, NOTHING works!!! And I’m a #bossbabe just by the simple fact that I handle all my own life stuff, that I’m resourceful and resilient in the face of obstacles and set backs. So not starting that business the third year in a row, or missing a weekly blog post, no longer makes me feel “some sorta way”. I’m totally cool with it. I only have to answer to myself, and I’m learning to simply trust the process, trust my own individual journey, and ultimately trust that God’s got me. I decided it’s okay to embrace my own, self-crafted ride towards the fulfillment of my dreams, utilizing my intuition and my inner source, the Holy Spirit, for guidance.
Being A Bit Selfish…
I realized it was ok to be a bit selfish. I’m going to start doing a whole lot more of what I like and want to do, in moderation of course, but just as it’s important to consistently work on your goals, it’s also good to take a vacation, or push the chair back from your desk, and plop down on the sofa to take in a movie. I guess this is a part of that work/life balance everyone talks about. This is a part of my self-care. In order to be any good to anybody else, you have to put your own oxygen mask on first… right? Isn’t that what the coaches tell you right before you approach burnout? But listen, it’s a totally different story if you’re undisciplined and/or a serial procrastinator, yikes! If that’s you, and you attempt this “take a break” attitude, you’ll find yourself on a perpetual break, constantly re-defining goals, and always at the same point… the beginning, re-starting, talking yourself out of the things you should and need to be doing to achieve the one thing you want most. But I digress, haha!!!
Onward…
I’m so excited for this moment in time, where I’m doing things on my own terms, unashamedly and unapologetically. Before the year is up, I will be active on only one social media platform, and that’s Instagram. Slowly, I will begin to wean myself off of Facebook and Twitter, and urge anyone who supports me on those to come on over and visit me on IG. It all just got to be so laborious. And I was only posting whatever it was I’d just posted on IG. Just a couple seemingly small things that were adding to my overwhelm. I’ll also be taking the next few months to determine what personal business goal I really want to pursue. It’s been said that it’s both a blessing and a curse to be multi-passionate and multi-talented because you have a tendency to be all over the place, trying to do and incorporate it all. That too was adding a bit of anxiety.
I love Marie Forleo. Marie is a business/life coach and creator and host of Marie TV. It was actually one of her quotes that jump started this whole process for me: “Simplify to Amplify”. You can view one of her many insightful, inspiring, motivational and thought-provoking episodes here.
Over the next several weeks, I’ll be sharing decor reveals of my new home, the three-month long traumatic process with my builder (that one is going to be a doosey), and we’ll see if I really was able to move in the way I’d planned all along… hmmm. Needless to say, most of my posts for the time being will be house and home related, so don’t say I didn’t give you a heads up 🙂 What I’ve learned is… it’s perfectly okay to do “it” your way. At the end of the day, we are all the captain of our own ships, and therefore we alone determine how it sails.
