Doesn’t this sound like an egotistical post?
It shouldn’t. I invite everyone to do this in December/January because if you have even an ounce of achiever in you – you have already forgotten most of what you have accomplished and are already berating yourself for having a crappy year because you didn’t work hard enough.
Bullshit.
I challenge you to go back month by month and write down EVERYTHING good that you were able to not only accomplish, but experiment. This means trips and great memories and things you did for others.
Guess what else this means?
Failures. Every failure is an accomplishment of TRYING. Of putting yourself out there despise the FEAR. Failure is about GROWTH and I’ve found it’s one of the most important elements in a full, vivid life because it adds texture and angles and makes you so much more interesting.
It’s time to give ourselves not only grace, but a giant pat on the back and start our own parade!
Drumroll please. These are mine:
GROWTH:
I took an online writing course with CHERYL STRAYED. It was a weekend retreat, and it was just as amazing as I’d hoped it would be.
I took another writing retreat at A Writing Room. It was hosted by Sam Lamott and featured speakers like Anne Lamott, Julia Cameron, Sark, and so many others. I left feeling wrung out and filled up all at once. I left better than when I entered.
PERSONAL:
My son graduated and went to college. I cried. A lot.
My mom turned 80.
TRIPS:
An epic, European vacation with my crazy Italian family. We hit Barcelona and then the French Riveria. We had so many adventures and mishaps and laughs. We made so many memories together with all the kids and my eighty year old Mom!
Winter trip to Portland, Maine
Cape May, NJ
CONFERENCES:
Readers on the River- Kentucky goodness with JR Ward and the 1001 Dark Nights authors. Epic as usual.
Readers Take Denver – the first conference launched and my first attendance in years since COVID. It was like coming back home. Can’t wait to return this year!
Publications:
Republished Unbreak my Heart – formerly All the Way
Christmas in Cape May
Yearn – Kindle Vella serial.
Writing:
Christmas in Cape May
That Summer in Sicily
Yearn
Almost 250,000 words in one year.
Stuff I Tried:
Kickstarter – I launched Unbreak my Heart in a brand-new way and it was such a learning experience. A LOT of work but worth it.
Subscriptions – researched a ton and decided to do REAM.
Shopify – researched a ton and decided to build my own store.
Kindle Vella – wrote and launched my first ongoing, live serial story fan based VAnderPump Rules fiction
Concerts:
Matchbox Twenty concert in Saratoga Springs.
Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden
I am sure there’s so much more but this is what I remember. Writing stuff down gives me a new outlook on my life.
As Tony Robbins says, TRADE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR APPRECIATION AND YOUR WHOLE LIFE WILL CHANGE.
I cannot wait to hear and read about yours!
