🗝 My birthday falls one week before NYE on Christmas Eve (I just turned 32!) and I got to thinking tonight how that’s really pretty cool. Besides the fact that the world decorates for my entire birthday month 🤩🙌🏻✨ and the whole anticipating-baby-Jesus analogy I heard often growing up when we talked about my birthday, the timing is neat to me now, because as birthdays often do, this one had me thinking over all that’s occurred over the past year. Ways 31 was awesome, ways it was really hard, how I grew, where I stumbled . . . how I could choose better in the year ahead. And while that all may have been cluttered (in the best way) by Christmas, I’ve had a week to let those thoughts roll around — and now here we are on the last day of 2018!
Everywhere you look it’s “a year in review” or “best 9 of 2018” and mentions of plans for how 2019 is gonna be different and great. How we’re going to leave behind things that don’t serve us or make our lives better, and how we’re going to move forward with INTENTION and take better care of ourselves (mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally) 🎊🙌🏻✨ I’m all about the reflecting and the planning! But. . .
The message this Sunday at church was themed around this, and around why people don’t end up following through on their goals/intentions/resolutions, whatever you want to call them, and will most often stop/give up/quit by the middle of February 😐
The top reasons being:
They do it alone
Give up too easily
Poor time management
No plan
Unrealistic expectations
Don’t believe in themselves
Sound familiar? Yeah, me too. Been there, done that. Not into resolutions because they’ve led to me ending up disappointed in myself 😒 The MISSING PIECE to the equation is the same whether you’re wanting to deepen your faith / (further) develop your relationship with God, or if your desire is to take better care of your physical self so you can live daily from a happier healthier place inside and out . . . the key is COMMUNITY. None of this was meant for you to do alone. We’re better together! 💖
Some of the biggest blessings of MY year (aside from my family and Gary’s safe return from his Afghanistan deployment 🙌🏻🙏🏻❤️) are the communities I’m part of that have supported and uplifted me in these pursuits . . . it’s why I wanted to be part of the MOPS leadership team at our church back in L.A., and it’s why I became a health and fitness coach 3 years ago. I craved deeper roots. More support. More connection. And y’all, I’m an INTROVERT . . . so I see you if you’re making a little 👀😬 face right now. But listen. Without these communities, I wouldn’t have grown and succeeded in the ways I have. I would’ve fallen harder and had less support during the tough times. Don’t shy away from community forever, friend. It’s new at first, maybe a little uncomfortable, but with time and willingness, it can grow into something beautiful! And it’s SO worth it. 🌱🌿🌳
Cheers to 2019. May it bring you the clarity and courage to take the steps into territory yet unexplored, and make the adjustments that lead to your best, most fulfilled year yet! 😍🙌🏻🎊✨
