Photo by Rachel Audette
This post contains affiliate links, meaning, if you click through and make a purchase or sign up for a program, I may earn a commission. This is at no additional cost to you.
“Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it.”
The War of Art, Steven Pressfield
2019 has been an interesting, exciting, fulfilling, but also a challenging year for me. Technically, this has been my first full year of building my own professional speaking career. I’m grateful that I have exceeded the expectations and goals that I set out to meet at the beginning of the year. I gave a total of 27 speeches/trainings in 14 different states, including a keynote speech, teaching a university class, and personal development coaching. My original goal was 21. I was also certified as an instructor for Mental Health First Aid. I built a website and I’ve been creating my own monthly blogs, newsletter, and new training materials. I’ve vacationed and volunteered in Peru and Costa Rica. Between a combination of stays with Marriot, Hilton, Airbnb, and other hotels, I’ve spent a total of 62 nights on the road!
2019 is also the year I had to say goodbye to the two most important beings in my life. I lost my therapist of nine years to pancreatic cancer. Losing my therapist was probably the hardest thing I have had to deal with in a long time. She was my anchor. I credit her for my mental health recovery and overall wellbeing. I also had to depart from my dog, Lola. She is still alive but has moved away. I had Lola for almost 7 years. She was my whole world. Lola’s birthday was last month and it was the first time I didn’t have her on her birthday. So, combining these two losses, I am still learning how to mourn, be vulnerable, replace these two invaluable beings, and keep moving forward with my life.
The biggest lesson I learned from 2019 is that the biggest enemy is our own internal mental limitations. If we can overcome this enemy within, the sky is limitless. I talked a lot about this during my mental health trainings and in my blogs; we are so often bombarded with the noise in our head telling us that we are not good enough, smart enough, and good looking enough. These noises are the cause of our inner fear, self-doubts, insecurities and self-sabotaging tendencies. I struggle to fight off these noises on a daily basis. However, with simple daily gratitude practice and positive affirmation, I am able to slowly transform this negativity into positive actions. The more I focus on what I love and stop paying attention and engaging in the things I dislike, the happier I am. A simple example is that I love and enjoy learning and listening to people’s personal development, business growth, and success and failure stories. So, instead of keeping the radio on while I am driving, listening to the news, or watching TV, I listen to educational podcasts. Just by changing and developing this new small habit, I noticed that I am more content and have a positive outlook in my life.
Overall, looking back, I am extremely thankful for all the people that have assisted and supported me, participants that have attended my speeches/trainings, and the people that read my blogs. I have a number of exciting projects coming up in the year 2020. One of them is that I will be in a short documentary film that is scheduled to be released in the summer. So, stay tuned! Happy New Year!
Recent Comments