As the air turns crisp and the leaves begin to fall there is a sense of an ending in sight. That leads to the thought of new beginnings as we tie together the happenings of the year. For many of us, we experienced a year of change. For some comforting change and for others it was shocking or sad. It can determine your outlook on a full year just by how you remember the hard bits. What you can count on about a year isn’t if it is good or bad but that there is always an end, and in turn a new beginning.
As I was reflecting on the difference that 365 days can make in my own life. I was reminded about life goals that I made a few years back Deep in Covid. While I saw the world unravelling, I had a great need to plan my future, even though I did to know what that was to be, ( we did not even know if we would have toilet paper!)
This was about the time that I jumped into a course with one of my beloved coaches and worked on Goal setting. Some of the people in the class had fitness goals and work goals – for me, I had a life goal. My vision board an 8X11 inch sheet of paper still hangs on my wall next to my bed and is pictured here. The ideas were some that I had back in 2008-2009 a decade before, and I began to dream. Tying together my 4 decades into a plan to help me.
I was widowed in 2018 with a not-quite 2-year-old. At that time, I was not in the right spot for me from a career perspective, and I knew that I needed to change that, but staying employed was the first step. 2019 happened and I muddled through the first year strong and determined. The quiet of Covid in March 2020, came at a time when I needed it most. It was hard to Sole parent in the bustle of pre- COVID world with a kiddo.
My late Husband and I had prided ourselves and still do on the concept of experiences, not things. That meant very often we were out and about every weekend using all of our memberships and enjoying the wonder in our kiddo’s eyes. I knew then I was “Avoiding the Couch” as I worked through my grief.
Often in groups and private sessions when my fast pace was reflected as something to watch, I would reference, a slogan "If I get on the Couch I am not getting off it."
I knew that I had to keep going not just for my daughter but for me. I had to keep the wheels turning and reinvent who I wanted to be. I took that year in 2020 to invest in myself and make a plan. This plan is one I am just finally getting back to! In April of 2021 with another Beloved Coach, I officially started the path to being Board Certified through an intensive training course! I set the plan in place for where I stand today.
It was not easy thinking about the ending of what I knew and the move to something new, but I had to be courageous so I could be Happy. The right job, the right company, the right house, and the right vacation can be a whirlwind, but I had walked this reinvention path before in college after an event that produced great change in my life. I knew I survived and truly lived after, and I would do that again.
So many of us have these stories where we have faced the change, accepted the ending, and found purpose in the next beginning spurring our growth to a new place. I found in my coaching I was good at helping others find this in their lives. I could give them the inside scoop on how to best present themselves in their pursuit of happiness. I could also assist my clients with an action plan that supported business growth, and performance for their employers.
This beginning for me took a while to start. Much like fall this year in Texas hung on to the heat until it was almost Winter. Our temperatures swung daily from the 60s to the 90s and back again for weeks. My courage did too, and while I waited for those right moments, I grew a little more ready to accept the new beginning like the freezing temperatures that suddenly showed up at my door. As I begin to look back at these last 10 months and start to see the end of the year coming, I am also starting to look forward to my New beginnings in the year to come.
What New are you looking for in the new year?
Click the Discovery Call link to schedule a time to talk through what new beginning is knocking at your door!