Life Lessons
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All the Things I Can Do.
I have never been a big dreamer, and I’m actually somewhat thankful for that. I’m far too practical and reasonable to dream big. I feel big dreams have the potential to put unattainable goals in your distant future, and too many variables can pop up between now and then. I would rather take opportunities as they come or plan for things within a timeframe that is practical, reasonable, and attainable. I’m also quite aware that the future is not guaranteed. I have a hard time dreaming or planning too far ahead knowing full well the opportunity may never come. In the beginning of a leadership training I attended, a group…
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All the Things I Have Done.
This morning, I sat in my office, sipped my coffee, and looked around, pondering the thoughts that have been in my head all week and which I wanted to dive into for this post. As I sat there, I thought less about the chaos that happened over the past week and became overwhelmingly grateful. There are little reminders of the life I built for myself all throughout the room. The books on the shelves remind me of all the knowledge I’ve accumulated. The photos of my dog remind me that my heart is still healing from the loss. The lanyards and name tags from conferences and expos remind me of…
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All the Things I Could Have Done.
I mentioned it before, but I’m going to mention it again. When I was young, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I just figured you grow up, get married, and have a family. I didn’t give much thought to what I wanted to pursue in school and a career never really crossed my mind. I got a boyfriend a couple of years out of high school, and we stayed together for a few years after that. When we broke up, it was like, “Ok, now what?” I had no degree, worked multiple dead-end jobs, was living paycheck to paycheck, and the life that I…
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The (Wo)Man in the Arena.
In the opening of one of Brene Brown’s books, Daring Greatly, she references a quote by Theodore Roosevelt. I recently came across this quote again. It’s full of powerful words that I feel should really be taken to heart. “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming;…
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Lull.
A lull is defined as a temporary interval of quiet or lack of activity. I’m in a writing lull. Not because I don’t have anything to write about, but because I have so many thoughts going through my head that I can’t pin them down into a single flowable post. I have a personality that has been described as having “a rich inner life.” I think some people would say I’m someone who over analyzes everything … In my defense, I do most of it quietly without anyone knowing, so it’s not like I’m annoying people with my constant questioning of who, what, when, where, why, and how everything in…
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Dreams.
I have so many unpublished post drafts in my dashboard, countless others in a Word document, and several others in a Google Drive folder. As always, I’ve been taking some time to reflect. When I read through these posts, it’s an insightful reminder of the emotions felt, lessons learned, and journey taken over the past year. Many posts do not get published, because my thoughts feel incomplete or I feel the post will be read in standalone judgement rather than in the greater context of who I am and what I write about. I don’t want my thoughts on a specific topic to be taken the wrong way, especially when…