Hi all! I hope everyone is getting back to (semi) normal life after Sandy. We were veryfortunate to be left pretty much unscathed. It is devastating to see the destruction along the east coast. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by Hurricane Sandy.
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| the calm before the storm |
It’s my favorite day of the month, the first, which means it is time to reevaluate the goals I set for myself last month and get going on some new ones.
October’s goals were centered around this blog and friendships- two things I adore! I’m psyched that my blog has came so far in such a short amount of time and I am absolutely in love with the design of Eldy’s Pocket. Such a big step up from this time last month.
I made time to catch up with some friends (way over due!) and even made some brand new ones. It always surprises me how powerful a few laughs (and drinks) with an old friend are. I laugh a lot, as a matter of fact, it’s my favorite thing to do. But there is something unique about best friend laughs, they feel different. You leave your friends with your abs and face a little sore from smiling so much and laughing so hard. It’s the best feeling in the world. It’s one of those things that you don’t realize how much you missed it until it happens. You know what I mean, you both look at each other and say, “why don’t we do this more often?” For some reason it’s easy to kind of forget that feeling when you get back to your day to day routine. In reality though, there is no replacement for quality time with like minded ladies (or gents). I also find that the best ideas I have come from bouncing things back and forth with my friends. Why deprive yourself of that?! This can’t just be a monthly goal for me anymore- it has to just be a way of life. Peel away from the computer screen and get out of the office, make time for real life connections. They are so valuable to your happiness (and your sanity). A group of us even committed to rotate hosting for Sunday dinner once a month to make sure we make time for each other which I can’t wait for.
The Blogcademy has inspired me to do things a little differently from now on. As I explained in my recap, this workshop really was SO much more than a weekend blogging seminar. It forced me to do some self reflection that I didn’t even know I needed. I can still feel the positive energy from the weekend in NYC, the kind of energy that gets you devising plans, making to do lists, daydreaming about where you are going next. It honestly gets you thinking about who YOU are and where YOU are going.
A large part (and my favorite part) of the weekend was a presentation led by super talented
Shauna of Nubby Twiglet, about blogging, branding, and creating an online presence. The exercises Shauna designed to help identify and develop a brand forced you to think about who you are and what you want to get out everything you are doing. But at the end of the day, my blog is me, I am my blog. The branding seminar actually prompted me (and judging by the posts from my classmates, them, too) to do some serious soul searching. I went into the weekend feeling fairly confident and I have always *thought I was* comfortable with who I am. Despite that, the questions that forced me to look at myself were, at times, extremely difficult to answer. The weekend left me thinking, maybe I don’t know myself as well as I thought.
Essentially, your brand is identified by who you are to the world. Questions like who are you, what do you love, how do you define yourself forced me to (sadly) realize that I just don’t know those answers right now. It is unsettling to think that the one thing in this world I (should) know best, myself, I didn’t know at all.
I have always been extremely jealous of people who have so easily identified their passions and what they want to do with their life. Having that direction seems to make their journey so much more focused and in my opinion, easier. It feels like they were given a map and those of us who don’t know exactly what we want are kind of left wandering. Growing up my best friend knew with 100% of her being that she wanted to be a vet. When it came down to deciding on colleges, internships and jobs, she knew exactly where to look, what steps to take and how to get there. Other people can easily recognize her passion, it is so obviously part of her personality. This is something I have ALWAYS struggled with. There are a ton of things I am interested, some things I’m ok at, but my true passions? That’s a deep question for me. What makes me, ME?
So many of the women I was with at the Blogcademy were so excited to get back to their jobs on Monday, inspired and ready to work. I was right along with them but when I got to my 9-5 that morning and opened my inbox, I felt like a deflated balloon. I literally felt the positive energy escape me. Don’t get me wrong, I work for a great company (that truly values their employees), an amazing boss (who acknowledges hard work and effort), coworkers that have actually become irreplaceable friends, work that is challenging and even interesting but it is definitely not my life’s passion. At the end of the day I am not satisfied by the work that takes up a HUGE part of my life. I don’t leave my office feeling fulfilled and inspired (inspired to go to happy hour maybe *joking*). As of matter of fact, most days it’s the opposite. I am exhausted, a little burnt out and usually not in the mood to come home and blog, let alone produce quality content. This is frustrating because my blog is something I want to devote my energies into.
Following the Blogcademy, I had so many ideas floating around in my head that I didn’t know what to do with yet. Some I’m still unsure quite where they will fit in. I was ready to get started writing but in the back of my mind I knew that if I want to be successful, not only blogging but in my life, I need to address those difficult questions about who I am, what I have to offer, what I want and how I’m going to get there.
From now on New Month, New Start will focus less on setting the small goals and more on finding myself and my path. I still think it is extremely important to set goals for yourselfto stay focused so I am not letting that go completely but right now is a time in my life where I need and want to focus on the bigger picture. This is my life, this is my journey and this is my blog and all of these crazy/wonderful/scary components are coming together, which I am beyond excited about.
My goal this month (and every other month for the rest of forever) is to focus on living with intention. Living with intention is about exploring your priorities and discovering your passions. It is about utilizing the skills and gifts you already have. It’s about recognizing and honoring what is important to you right now but also making purposeful choices about what you will do next. At the end of the day, you are the only person in charge of what happens to you. You create the reality you live in by using inspiration, reflection and action. Everything in life happens for a reason, so choose a meaning that leaves you feeling inspired instead of bitter. I invite you to follow my progress in finding myself, living a fulfilled life and finding my path and in turn I urge you to reflect. What are you doing? Where are you going? How I’ll get there- I’m not quite sure but watch this space if you are ready to do some major soul searching right along here with me.
