Disclaimer: Very little editing occurred with this post. I was trying to get it out on my actual Birthday! Apologies in advance for any confusing sentences that don't exactly make sense!
Birthdays...
Whether you love the celebration or hate the idea of being one year older, it’s a constant that happens EVERY SINGLE YEAR! No matter how hard you try to ignore it, the time will pass and each year you’ll be a little older.
Due to this factor and me loving a good celebration regardless, I love my birthday. I love getting excited for basically no reason. Yes, in the grand scheme of things I realize it is just another passing day and there is no actual reason you NEED to be celebrated. Ignoring your birthday isn’t very much fun. You’re an awesome, amazing human that lived another year to me, that should always be celebrated. Give it a shot…as long as you take this opportunity to just be really happy for a day, have zero expectation of who wishes you a happy birthday, I guarantee you’ll have a better day than most random Wednesdays!
Not convinced? Just not a make a big deal kinda person? I understand…well kinda…not fully I am a middle child Aries. The cards to make everything a big deal are stacked in my favor.
Here’s something else I do on my birthday…
The little introverted inside of me loves to sit quietly with a cup of coffee and reflect. I think about how the previous year started. Everything I’ve done over the past year. Lastly, I set some goals. Typically 3 things I’d like to accomplish over the next year.
So here goes, here is my year 32 reflection…
It started in lock down. My birthday last year fell on the first full week the country went into lock down. What a way to bring in a new year am I right?!? Kidding it was torture for me. Remember I like to make a big deal about everything. Thus spending my birthday in lock down and not getting drunk with friends…not. A. fan. However, it did give me an opportunity to go home. Instead of being wild and crazy with random friends, I spent my day of birth with my bestie of all besties, my sister, and the beautiful Momma who brought me into this world. It was really nice. I had a few cocktails on my besties porch before picking up food for dinner (that’s right I picked up my own birthday dinner ingredients. I’m not a complete princess), went home made said dinner while trying to recreate one of my favorite cocktails from Cavan and zooming with my good friends. I thoroughly enjoyed the day. It was the first time in a decade I had spent my birthday with the people I love most in this world. I had a fantastic day!
Very first lesson of 32:
Make the best out of any situation.
I don’t know what it was about the pandemic and lock down…maybe I was finally bored enough…maybe I finally didn’t have any other excuses…maybe I finally had “the time”…I launched my blog. I had talked about launching this blog for ages, 10 years to be exact was the first time someone suggested I do so. There is still a word press out there with very little on it I started back in spring of 2010…no clue the site or log in information. I’m super proud of this blog. It’s allowed me to seriously start writing. It’s allowed me to share that writing with people I love and strangers effortlessly.
Lesson 2:
Do the thing! Stop waiting til tomorrow, next week, next year. It’s not that scary.
Next thing I did…I got a damn business coach. To be honest she should be labeled a goals coach. She is always there backing me up and helping brainstorm ideas to get me to the next level. Is she 100% necessary to my life? Nope. Is she 100% helpful…do I sincerely know I’m 10x further than I would’ve been doing this shit on my own? YES! She celebrates my wins even when I don’t see them myself, helps me tease through what I really want and what my ego is telling me to want, and she has helped me be 100% certain of who I am every single day. Who wouldn’t want that?!?
Lesson 3:
Everything is easier with help. Get the help.
With my coaches love support and brainstorming, I launched my book club. I know you’re probably thinking big flipping deal Laura no one cares that you got a bunch of women together to drink wine and talk about a book. I know that’s the typical book club scenario, but mine if a little different. First off, the books we’ve read are all self-development books. When you start diving deep and asking yourself the hard questions to do “the work”, having a group of friends going through the same experiences and supporting your new thoughts, feelings, and ideas is crucial. I’m happy I found these women. I’m happy I brought them together. I’m happy we are still going strong.
Lesson 4:
Find your tribe…or create it!
I started writing my book. That’s right this little dyslexic princess is writing a book. It’s on the two things I know the most about…failed relationships and self-development. I’m combining the two. I’ve always been an avid dater. I’m either in a relationship, looking for one, or struggling through a breakup. As soon as one ended, give me a month I had another. Not saying it’s flattering. I’m saying it’s the truth. Last year, 2020, I took the year off from dating. I need to do things for me. I learned a lot last year…major things I learned how to love myself (at least better than before) instead of searching for a man to love me. Cliché I know, but it’s the truth. I’m writing a book to help other women, young ladies, learn from my mistakes faster, and have a good laugh while reading it!
Lesson 5:
Do the thing. Commit to the thing.
I did 75 hard. I gave up drinking for 75 days, 81 to be exact. I turned my gut health around in those 75 days. I learned to feel my feelings and not numb them out with my drug of choice, alcohol. I had hard conversations with myself and others. I started holding myself to a higher standard, and I realized how much I can truly rely on myself. I honestly didn’t think 75 hard would do much…but it showed me I can do anything I set my mind to.
Lesson 6:
Challenge yourself.
Over the past year, I’ve sincerely learned how to trust myself. I started 32 still feeling a little lost. Telling myself I didn’t have the traditional “plan” set in my life. If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that we don’t get to plan our lives. We only have the choice of going with the flow. I’ve learned to go with the flow and enjoy every moment of it. Yes sometimes I still struggle with the later. Anxiety or worry sometimes still kicks in, and the over thinking gets the best of me. Yet I’ve set up a support system to help me with those moments. I have few of them every month.
To me 32 and 2020 will be the year things just came together. I stopped wanting to be happy and just became happy. I accepted myself for who I was and stopped trying to live into societal boxes of who I should be. 32 was the year I still wasn’t sure where I was going, but I learned to enjoy the ride as it came to me.
Cheers to doing the work and the work working!
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