Lesson’s, I’m finding, are sometimes hard to learn AND accept. This past week, some of my lessons weren’t welcome, they made me doubt myself, made me want to run and hide and brought the awareness that my go-to when things start getting uncomfortable is to want to run and hide. But since writing this blog series, I’m finding that this awareness helps me to get through these uncomfortable feelings. So without further ado here are my 3 lessons from last week February 5-6, 2018
” A mind full of conclusions leaves no room for expansion”. I heard this quote exactly when I needed to hear it; which is a lesson within the lesson because I learned that the solutions to my most daunting issues are sometimes right in front of me. This quote came right after a Passion Brunch that I’d just completed that I’d thought had gone really well – we’d nailed the timing even with late arrivals and the task of paying the bill. The guests seemed to be responsive and encouraging, I felt Jaimie and I were in sync with our facilitation. I had really thought it had been a home run…until we got private feedback from 2 participants who thought otherwise. My heart sank immediately. How could I have been so blind as to think everyone had enjoyed the session? Do I suck and just not realize it? I instantly began the negative self talk and seriously thought about canceling the brunch (there goes my tendency to run coming into play). But after getting coached from Jaimie (yes the coaches need coaching sometimes as well), I realized that this was actually a GREAT thing! That’s where the above quote comes into play. I learned that I can’t get stuck in my own idea of what works and I have to take the feedback of my participants and apply it where it makes sense. Because this workshop is so personal to me and my end goal has always been to help people and change lives by assisting people in discovering their passion, it sucks when you find you haven’t hit the mark. But! Always striving even when you don’t hit the mark, is what matters more than anything. Striving and leaving my mind open to the many different ways of doing things. So I took the advice of our participants who hadn’t enjoyed their experience, thanked them for their candor and switched up some activities this past week. I felt good about the change and so far we’ve gotten a couple of good reviews from our attendees.
I just celebrated my BFF’s birthday (the girl in the black skirt to my left) and had an amazing time, if you can’t tell by the smiles on our faces. We are all rounding out our 30’s so I immediately began thinking of what I want to do for my birthday. I’m learning more and more that my birthday (for me at least) is less about celebrating myself and more so about celebrating life in general with the people around me. I’ve always had parties at my birthday and I’ve often stressed about who was going to come and what fun thing I could plan for them to do. This year however, after celebrating my BFF’s birthday at a brunch in her home I realized that I now want something super intimate and low-key. As I transition out of my 30’s I’d love to welcome each coming birthday in my 40’s, in a place I’ve never been preferably traveling and exploring, whether with close friends or on my own. As 39 approaches (GASP!)I’d like one last hoorah with those closest to me to usher in a new way of celebrating my life.
I’ve come to realize that the beauty of the dawn and sunset are beautiful not just because of how each passing of time lights up the sky, but also because of what that time of day represents. Morning with its promise of new beginnings and the opportunity to start over looks like a rebirth to me, where things were once dark and murky, the sun rises, illuminating the sky with the light of possibility. Sunset, on the other hand, represents the slowing down of the day. It demands that you stop and take notice. At the moment that you do, hopefully you’re reminded that no matter the kind of day you’ve had, there is an ending, a time when you should allow yourself the opportunity to close that chapter and welcome beginning again.
So what are your lessons in the past week? I’d love to know in the comments below!