2018 Intentions Check In
At the beginning of the year I wrote a post about the important lessons I'd learned and what my intentions were coming into the new year of 2018. If you've been reading for a little while or following me on social media you know I love goal setting and journaling, and part of the fun for me is checking in on my progress or revisiting my past thought processes through my old journal entries. Since we are half way through 2018 I thought that it'd only be right to revisit the intention I set back in January to see how those things I set my mind and heart on have materialized (if at all) so far this year. Here is my intention for 2018 as written in that aforementioned blog post:
"I don't have any resolutions this year but I do have an intention and direction in mind. I want to be lead by intuition this year, especially in this winter season when I am reflecting and laying the groundwork for the season that is truly about new beginnings: the spring. This year I will be intentional about how I spend my time, creating goals and doing work that speak to my greatest desires and move me towards my purpose. I want to honor who God has created me to be versus honoring whatever society deems to be worth pursing or valuable at any given time."
First of all...Whew! In retrospect I underestimated what doing the work for some of these things would look like. For starters, I think I did a great job of laying low for the winter and really using that time for reflection versus rushing into the year with a ton of resolutions that would require lots of energy. As the year progressed, so much came up from that time of reflection and now that the Spring has come to an end, I'm in a place where I feel like "OK, I have more clarity on what I do/don't want, but what do the action steps required to bring those desires to fruition look like?" Now that we're in June, the "real work" begins as I dive into that process.
So far in 2018 my biggest challenges have been avoiding comparison and being OK with the unknown. With blogging and just being an entrepreneur in general there are many sources of inspiration on the web and social media. I've discovered there is such a fine line between being inspired and comparing your journey to others. I'll admit I struggle with comparing myself to other bloggers who may have been at it longer, or maybe have better pictures that me, or whatever. As a business owner I have the same challenges when it comes to people who look like they are "blowing up" based off their social media feed when in reality I have no idea what their struggle may be behind the scenes. Despite all of those things, even if my pictures do actually suck some days or my business is going through a rough patch I'm learning to be OK with that! Not in a way that's complacent, but rather accepting my journey is unique and committing myself to putting one foot in front of the other and improve little by little every single day. In regards to the unknown, I have always had a tendency to plan ahead and be rigid when it comes to change. I HATE not knowing what the next phase will look like. However, I'm really learning to "get comfortable with being uncomfortable". Getting to the next level requires that I step out of my comfort zone and put my faith in God that my steps are ordered even if I don't know them in advance.