A Year of Reflection, Service, Family and Community
I’ll never forget the stark contrast of emotions I felt celebrating the 10-year anniversary of living a board a tall ship with my fellow floaties up in Vancouver on June 8, 2018, and the fear that took over my body and left me collapsed on the floor after receiving a call that my Dad was in the ICU after having a severe stroke. It was one of those moments that will always stay with me, but it was also a pivotal day that changed my priorities and has steered me on an important journey of discovering and prioritizing what matters most in my life.
It was an important reminder that we often wait until a horrific event to catalyze important changes in our lives. But I hope that by sharing my story you will take one step today, and another step tomorrow and so on and so on to work towards creating your most desirable life. As cliché as it sounds, you don’t have to wait for a traumatic event to reflect on and refocus your time and energy.
Instead here are a few signs it may be time for you to make some bold changes
You are burnt out from putting work or everyone else’s needs above your own
You have been putting off your self-care practices and have become less confident in your own skin
You have forgotten to how to prioritize or create quality family time
You have started to measure your success or self-worth purely from you financial or career success
You have given up everything that brings you joy and that feeling of excitement like a kid
If any or all of these sound like you, then it’s time to start re-envisioning your life. Don’t wait another day or for your own traumatic event to start taking control of your life.
To get started, I encourage you to complete a simple Wheel of Life exercise to help you identify your priorities and where you want focus your energy to start to rebalance your as we look ahead to 2020.
For me the last year-and-half has been about creating flexibility and balance in my life, prioritizing family time, health, building community and friendships in my new city and leveraging service as a means to grow and create impact and feel the energy and excitement of my youth. It’s also been about redefining how I create impact, measure my success and self-worth.
Until 2018, I measured my success based on my professional growth, income, career advancement and believed my only way to have impact was through my work. But it left me burnt and unfulfilled out as I sacrificed sleep, family time and my health as I worked full-time (if not over time) while also pursuing my MBA.
When I made the decision to rebalance my life, I gave myself permission to work less and earn less in order to have more time and less stress so I could focus on the things that I had been neglecting. By doing so, I’ve been able to have the amazing experience of feeling present in a way I’ve never experienced before now, whether it’s spending time with family and friends, volunteering, traveling, exercising and even dating.
Sometimes we just need to reset, find a new balance, make room for new opportunities and shift our focus to re-evaluate our prioritizes. And it’s important for us to not wait until our worlds are turned upside down to make some of these shifts.
We only get one life… so let’s not let another day pass without focusing on our energy where we want results!