2018 IN REVIEW

Yes, we’re here again. Another Christmas has passed, another New Years Eve is approaching, and I’m in disbelief. How did we get here so quickly?! What have I been doing for the past 12 months!?

Does anyone else look up and feel like they haven’t done half the things that they wanted to? The reality of it is, you have done a bajillion things this year, so don’t minimize any one of them. Me? I tend to blackout… no, seriously. Because we move so much, my year tends to be a blur, and I can’t remember what I did and when.

For example, this winter/spring were as follows:

February – I returned to MN and started to train as a Solidcore Coach

March – closed on our new house in Minneapolis

April/May – I (by myself!!!) moved from our old house in MN to that house we closed on in March

But when I try to recall all of this? It’s like my brain doesn’t want me to remember the moving experience, so I legit forget that I did all of this just a few short months ago. Add that on top of my husband and my first full year of marriage, well, woof! I am shocked we made it. Sorry, correction, that “I made it”.

THE DISRUPTION OF MOVING…

Something that many people forget about when it comes to families in sports is the disruptive lifestyle. Now, I don’t get to go “home home” in the offseason since I’m not from Minnesota, so I’m in foreign territory pretty much 24-7. The biggest hurtle for me since the beginning of this journey with my husband is the working situation. Now, this winter/spring/summer I was SOOOO lucky to be able to jump into the Solidcore team and coach there all off-season along with a spin studio. And to say that this was a good offseason for me is an understatement! I have never felt more like myself, creating my own network, getting back to work.

Now, come October I had to put all of that on hold and move back to Michigan. Not that I don’t love Michigan… but to get in a flow, build a tribe, and then you wake up one day and have to leave? Ya, that’s an adjustment. This is where I have to take a page out of my husband’s book, however I am still learning, so it’s not so much of a ‘page’ as it is tearing out a little corner. But he is SO good to only worry about the things that he can control, and soldiering through the other parts with a smile on his face. But… I never said I could do it quietly :-/

THE LIFE OF A BLOGGER

I wish I had made the decision to do this earlier. Seriously. Because with only a year and a half under my belt of full-time blogging and social media work, I have had some amazing experiences.

Now, I jumped in with both feet, and a bit of my bum too, because I feel more like I did a cannonball into blogging. I have learned the importance of networking in this world and have met some amazing people in this journey. If I hadn’t made the decision to just say “yes”, and put myself out there, then I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to work with all of the dozens of companies that I have created relationships with! And I am so thankful for that and SO excited for what’s to come.

But… you know there’s always a but 🙂 it comes with its downfalls too! Because I’m not the type that “lives for likes”, I take this all very seriously! When you treat this like a business, it does take a lot of work! When it is just you behind the scenes, that means; researching, planning, networking, strategizing, producing, editing, drafting, and, of course, posting! So when I put all of that work into this, sometimes it is hard to see others getting more engagement. I admit it! Social media practically encourages you to compare yourself to others!! So I get discouraged sometimes… okay, a lot of times.

So my resolution in 2019? Continue to focus on the positives of this journey, and ignore the things that could make me feel down about it. Just be myself and keep doing the work.

FIRST FULL YEAR OF MARRIAGE

Everybody says that the first year of marriage is the hardest. So, I was mentally preparing myself for it, but to be honest, this was one of our best years yet. Now, that doesn’t mean that we didn’t have our speed bumps, which at the moment felt huge. My husband had two surgeries in a matter of 6 months, one of which required me to drop everything on a Tuesday afternoon then hop on a 6 AM flight the next day. So, it’s not like we haven’t gone through a lot this year, because, well, we have!

But think what has helped us is that we had also gone through a lot together before we got married. Moving together (a bunch) really shows someone true colors 🙂 On top of that and the regular ups and downs of relationships, we have learned how to communicate and get through things better. Now, ‘better’ still has a ways to go. We both do. But my biggest responsibility that I have learned in this relationship is not making him feel guilty for how I might be handling things or how I might be feeling about things. That doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t tell him how I feel, but to maybe do so in a rational manner before everything boils over? That might help.

on to 2019…

Do I make resolutions? I do. But it isn’t in the traditional way.

I’m a huge list-maker and planner, so I use that skill to my advantage here. Instead of just a few goals or a list of 2-3 things that I want to work on, I make three bubbles: personal, health, and professional. I then make a list within each of those categories of things that I want to improve, or a question that i want to answer for the year.

I’m not done yet!

After that I take each of those bubbles, and make individual notes on each category as to how I am going to complete each of those goals. I’m talking legit, tangible, actionable items to get me there.

I’m getting there…

After that I take it one month at a time. For example, right now I looked at the month of January, and wrote out and planned a few of those action items and planned them out. Literally! If one of my goals was to do yoga 3x a week? I will literally sign up for those yoga classes for the month of January.

After that, it’s one month at a time! I have the groundwork down, I have the big picture written out, I know the end goal, but I take it by chapters/months, instead of thinking I have to get it all done in the month of January. Because that is where people start to get overwhelmed, and by Jan. 31st they forget that had even made resolutions. But not here! I am going to do a “Resolutions Check-In” post at the end of every month. At least, until you all tell me to stop 🙂 I want to use it, not only as motivation and accountability for myself, but a forum for anyone who wants to share their progress as well! So with that…

Write 1-2 things that you want to complete through the ENTIRE year of 2019 in the comments below. I would love to share in this journey with anyone and everyone. Use this tribe to your advantage! You shouldn’t have to do all of this alone.