2018 Reflections
The biggest catalyst this year was ridding myself of limiting beliefs. In the past, if I had a new idea I wanted to try, I would have this internal dialogue that would tell me all the areas I could fail. As you can imagine that doesn’t exactly help you accomplish shit. Through my life coach, I learned to look into those doubts and ask myself why I felt that way. Facing your fears head on, shrinks them. A lot of my worry is what others might think of me, it was SO limiting because a) you can’t control people’s thoughts so it’s an uphill battle & b) other people’s thoughts shouldn’t be a determining factor in how you spend your life. Sitting in that doubt and accepting that I might fail, that I’m not everyone’ cup of tea was freeing.
So freeing that I started chasing my dreams. I accepted when I needed help because I no longer thought other people would think I was weak. I started doing things out of true internal desire as I stopped giving a fuck what others thought. As you start shedding all those negative thoughts, obstacles become smaller as your mindset becomes more positive and encouraging. You start being thankful for the ability to chase your dreams. It changed my whole outlook on what I wanted to accomplish in this life.
With this new found outlook, I discovered that you can’t control everything and you don’t have to let it affect you. How you react to things is a choice. As the year started to give us hardships, I felt this attitude helped me realize that life is going to hand you some bad cards sometimes but that doesn’t mean you’re life is bad. If anything, I became more thankful that my “cards” weren’t the worst hand out there. Especially, when you see someone dealing with worst, still showing their happiness and gratitude towards life. Do you realize how humbling that is?
One of my favorite quotes was from the book, “Do More Great Work”. It described “an anniversary card I once saw that read, “Thanks for the 20 great years… 7 average years… and 2 absolute stinkers.”
This year really felt like one of those years that just tests you. Part of me wants to just list all the things we overcame because I’m feeling pretty proud about my outlook after everything. But more of me wants to talk about how humbling life can be.
As I’m recounting all my accomplishments & mindset shifts this year, I receive a call from my mother informing me that my grandmother had passed today. And all I can think is that life is humbling. As sad as hearing her passing is, for some reason I mostly feel gratitude and thanks for all the memories I made with her, for my close relationship with her, for teaching me about marriage & for her lack of suffering. The other part of me is almost shocked at how my mindset has shifted this year. I’m in such a positive mindset that instead of feeling sad for my family and at a loss of words, I get to reflect on how wonderful my grandmother was. I had an amazing grandmother who cherish all her grandchildren’s passions. She was one of those mentors for me, encouraging me to pursue interior design. I couldn’t be more thankful she got to see me grow that passion into a business before she passed. Again, I feel humbled and in awe at how a simple shift in perspective can help me handle bad news with such positive resolve.
At my wedding reception, on the same date as her 63rd wedding anniversary.
I discovered this year that the best rewards in life come during those average to stinker years when you really discover how strong, determined & lucky you are. I couldn’t have tackled this year without that shift in mindset.
I highly recommend taking some time today to thank yourself for all the things you discovered & endured this year. Don’t worry about all the things you didn’t accomplish this year, focus on all the little things that happened that made you happier, stronger, more prepared for your next accomplishment. Enjoy today, you deserve it.
XO Amy Lee
