On January 1, do you reflect more on the past year, or plan more for the upcoming year?

I think I’m usually the latter. But this quote above really stopped me in my tracks and forced me to reflect right then and there. And in that moment I felt proud. Truly proud. None of my fails or shortcomings came up, even though there were plenty.

I DID grow so much.

This was a big year for me. Have I appreciated it enough?

OK so I might be going a little “Dear Diary” on you now but hey, it’s 2019 and all our thoughts and hopes and dreams are public information, right?

(kidding).

I would love to be able to reflect back on this blog post next year, and also throughout the upcoming year. Plus give myself some accountability! If you are interested in reading how my year started a little low and ended really high, read on….

I’m going to back track to the Fall of 2017, when I moved back here to Charleston. Without getting into all the details, I decided to start going to a life coach here. I wasn’t depressed by any means, but I had long term goals and dreams and I’d lost a lot of my spark. I knew I needed to get it back in order to make my dreams happen. Plus, my 30th birthday was looming and I assigned a lot of meaning to that.

My life coach truly helped me transform my life this past year. In the Fall (2017) I set a small business goal while I was working with him and I surpassed it. Then the New Year (2018) came along and I reluctantly set my first business/salary goal. I’ve always been afraid of goals. I was too afraid to not meet them. So I would just fail ahead of time. But I’ve learned the value of setting goals and writing them down so I did. I left my notebook open to that page on my desk at all times, and marked my progress as it came, along with what was left to reach my goal. It really helped me visualize. I had actually initially set my goal on the lower side and my team lead encouraged me to increase it a bit. In the end I landed in between my original goal and the higher new one. And to me that is a success. My career has always been extremely important to me, so this was huge.

My life coach also helped me view money differently, handle anxiety, watch how I speak to myself, and most importantly he helped me realize the “story” I was telling myself, and helped me write a new one. I can truly say I am living my new story, you guys!! My business is thriving and growing, my husband and I got married, went on a lovely honeymoon, bought a house and made it a home. I started this blog (something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile), I hired my first part time assistant (full disclosure: it’s my sister! Thanks sis). I started meditating. I finally got my own office space. My husband and I made trips to the mountains and to see family and friends in Southwest Florida. I worked through some strong emotions. It truly was the biggest year of my life so far.

All of this is not without fails and stress and difficult moments. I have anxiety in all different forms. I’ve gained a few pounds. I’m really struggling getting into an exercise routine. I’m not eating as well as I used to and know I should. I let doubt creep in. I worry.  I compare. I’m on my phone WAY too much. I don’t wake up early enough during the week. I can be really shy and don’t get “out there” enough. I don’t manage my money well. These are some of my many struggles throughout the year. But, there can be many highs amongst the lows.

I started listening to this amazing podcast called The Life Coach School this year.  Something she says all the time that is life is 50/50. It’s 50% amazing and 50% shit. And the sooner we recognize this and truly believe it, the better off we are. If we expect life to be 100% perfect and we expect to be 100% happy all the time, the less happy we are. We will always fall short. Just let the bad times come….and go.

This is a message I plan to focus on in 2019. It works for all aspects of life. I think it will help my anxiety significantly.

While we’re at it, a few other things I want to focus on in 2019:

• Pay off student loans

• Renovate master bathroom

• Bonus: renovate kitchen

• Reach my goal weight

• New sales goal and salary goal

• Move my body more! Find some exercise I enjoy

• GET OFF MY PHONE. (I just got this for my car to literally get off my phone while I’m driving). The nature of my business means I essentially work 24/7.  Many things are time sensitive. If there are any other real estate agents or business owners that have any tips for me, please send them my way!

• Keep meditating. Maybe do so a little more

• Get out there! Be more social

• Eat better

• Spend more time on my blog

There are only two concrete goals here (my sales goal and goal weight) because these are the kinds that I find it’s best that I give myself an actual number to reach.

I don’t want to give myself a TON of rules, like: work out 3 times a week, meditate every day, pay “xx” toward my student loans per month, etc, because I think that can get overwhelming (for me) trying to track. I plan to print this list out and keep it at my desk and maybe somewhere else in my house so that I can see it every day as a reminder of what I am constantly working on this year. I’m looking for progress, not perfection. 

.

I guess the point of sharing this with you is to share how much can happen in a year, especially if you’re starting from a low point. How you can change your own life. How things can get so much better. How you can really make your dreams come true. How you can feel like your dreams have come true while they’re coming true. How crucial it can be to set goals and write them down. How important it is to work on managing your mind.

2018 was a year of growth. There are still so many things I want but I feel like I am on my way and I am focusing on enjoying the ride there.  

Cheers to 2019.