Feeling New at 32
Today is my 32nd birthday and I can honestly say that I’m heading into my 32nd year feeling like a brand new person. The overwhelming love and support I’ve received this weekend as I announced the creation of this space has been tremendous and it’s really made me feel positive about all the places I plan to go with it.
I am a huge proponent of goal setting, so as I reflect on 31 I wanted to share the things I want to focus on in the year ahead.
Personal Development
As a goal setter I really enjoy consuming personal development content. Whether it be in podcast form, books, Instagram pages, etc., I love learning about the ways others are taking it up a notch in their lives. My favorite podcasts to consume right now are Hol:Fit Talks, the Joyous Health podcast, the Jamie Scrimgeour podcast, and First Name Basis. I will for sure be sharing a more detailed post on my top podcast picks on another day.
My personal development game is definitely lacking in the book department, so this year I’d love to commit to reading at least one non-fiction personal development book a month. That’s at least 12 books between now and next August. Any suggestions in the comments below would be greatly appreciated!
Give Back
As I dropped my recyclables off at a bottle drive on the weekend, I ran into a member of our Jazzercise community who was volunteering. I know that he and his partner play an active role in the organization I was donating to and couldn’t help but think as I drove away that it must feel really good to give your time to something you truly support. It stayed with me for the remainder of the day. So, this year I would really like to focus on donating monetarily and physically to some of the causes that I believe in.
Learn a New Skill
I feel like this is a bit of a cop out, since I am definitely new to blogging, but I do want to learn more. Right now this blog is really a hobby for me and a way to get back into writing, but I have big dreams for this little engine that could. Over the next year I hope to step up my tech game and want to look back and giggle at how amateur this space was at its inception.
Get Clear on Career
If I’m being completely honest with myself (and all you lovely readers), COVID-19 has made something abundantly clear that I’ve been silencing in my mind for some time: I’m not 100% sure I want to go back to being a classroom teacher. For all my teachers out there I’m preaching to the choir, but being a teacher is so. effing. hard. Our children deserve teachers who are passionate and come alive doing their job, and as much as I enjoy being in the classroom I know full well that it isn’t the thing I love doing so much that I never work a day in my life. I’ve got some soul searching to do this year, but I have ideas and dreams I know I want to chase down.
I could go on about the other things I want to accomplish this year but I’ve got some celebrating to do! There are a lot of unknowns ahead but I am excited to launch into a year of committed leveling up (because I’ve got nowhere to go but up.) And with that in mind, I’ll sign off for today with a quote from Malcolm Gladwell that has been with me this weekend: “Every option is open to you once you realize you can’t predict the future. It’s only our desire to try and predict the future that ends up limiting our choices.”