Happy 2025, Everyone! I don’t believe in “new year, new you”. I believe in 1% better every day, and I also believe that we get to reinvent ourselves at any time of year, because we are adults, and the bosses of our own lives.
For the first time ever, I ended last year with no “resolution” for January, because I set and meet goals, make little habit changes, and implement new systems as old ones no longer serve me, ALL.YEAR.LONG. If I were to compare the person I was 1, 2, 5, or 10 years ago to the person I am today, one wouldn’t recognize the other. And I continue becoming one little step at time.
If you know me or follow me already, you know that learning how to dig out of overwhelm is my story, and helping others do the same is my passion. I’m seeing a lot of good conversations and publication around burnout right now, and that shows me that this continues to be a challenge for many of us – it’s not just me. What I would like to do with this blog over the course of the next several months, is chronicle my journey over the course of the last several years; how I went from completely drowning to sustainable thriving. It’s messy and it isn’t pretty, but I’m honest about the process. I am adamant about the fact that there is no silver bullet when it comes to growth and self-improvement, and anyone who is trying to sell you one is a liar. Lasting change is built OVER TIME. It’s not sexy, and it can be hard to stomach, but the truth remains nonetheless.
It is so tempting to believe that there is something magic out there that is going to move the needle toward our goals faster than anything else, but there simply isn’t. If you want change in your life, you have to do the work yourself. If you want to build muscle, you must put in the reps. No one can do it for you no matter how many people try to tell you otherwise. The “magic” is in the journey, not the destination. You never arrive at finished, but meeting a long awaited goal sure is sweet.
Each of us is going to have a different starting point, and will go in a different order as we prioritize what changes will have the greatest effect for us in our growth. I have developed a tool I use with clients as an intake assessment if you don’t know where to start. If you are interested, you can access that here. But no matter where you are currently, the one thing everyone needs in order to get quiet and assess is a chunk of uninterrupted time. If you are as deeply burned out as I once was, just scheduling this may feel like a herculean effort, but it is the only way. When I reached my breaking point eight years ago, my “escape” looked like three hours at Starbucks on a Saturday. It wasn’t nearly enough time, but it was just enough to get quiet and get started.
In the next several weeks, I will share what order I worked in, at what pace, and how I handle backslides (which will and do happen, because…life). Your journey will not look the same, and none of my sharing is meant for you to compare, but rather, to give you ideas of what you might try and where you might start. Take what speaks to you and disregard the rest.
We can’t change everything all at once, and you must fight the urge to do so. I also realize I’m not reinventing the wheel here – and you shouldn’t either. Much of the work I’ve done will simply point you to resources I have loved – take them or leave them. Only YOU can decide what will work for you, with your unique personality, in your unique season. And above all, you must learn to trust yourself – you know best what you need. Learning how to do this was probably one of the biggest parts of my own work.
As you move through this process, please let me know how I can support you. Your feedback helps me know what people need, what they’re looking for, and it informs my writing for how to be of greatest service to others. I’m looking forward to hearing about your own journey of healing. Let’s get started.
Don't Let It Be You! 