Motivational Monday ·Feb 03, 2021

Motivational Monday Vol. 11

I hope everyone had a wonderful Independence Day weekend!

I cannot believe it's July already...which brings me to my note today. I will admit, I spend most days having zero clue what day of the week it is, let alone the physical date. The days started to blur together during COVID, as I'm sure many of you experienced. This blurring has only been magnified owning a retail store open 7 days a week - a career path that throws the idea of a "weekend" right out the window.

And so last Wednesday in my meditation/breathwork class, it was brought to my attention that it was the 1st of July. Most of you might ask yourself - why is this significant? I know I didn't have the faintest clue.

The significance of July 1st, as my friend Holly Finigan explained to us, is that it marked the official start to the second half of the year. Quite literally, we have made it through the first half of 2020. And what a wild ride 2020 has been so far. I'd say this feels like quite the accomplishment.

So what does this mean for you?

It means you have the opportunity to take all that you have learned from the earlier part of the year and bring it into the latter. You have an opportunity to reflect on how you want to live these next 6 months and how you don't. What you want to bring forward and what you want to leave behind.

Think of the 1st of July like a second New Year, with less pressure and less resolutions. This is a time to truly reflect, take count of where you're at and set intentions for where you're going.

And so I challenge you this week to reflect on the following:

What have you learned so far in 2020? And how will these new findings serve you in the next half of the year?
How have your priorities shifted during COVID and 2020 and how are you going to continue to live for these priorities?

How can you continue to let go of or put less energy into the areas of your life that don't match up with your priorities?

And most importantly, how do you want the 2nd half of the year to unfold?

This last point of reflection is incredibly important. I encourage you to take some time tonight before you go to sleep to think through this and write it down. If you could envision your ideal remainder of the year, what would it look like? Write as if it's already happening.

How do you want to see and treat yourself over the next 6 months? Echoing last week's MM note, how do you want to "show up" for yourself?
How do you want to interact in your relationships? What new relationship do you wish to invite into your life?
How do you want to see your career shift? What new opportunities will come your way?
What goals do you have for yourself that you are determined to achieve?

Lastly, pick a word for the second half of your year. A word that represents where you want your focus and intentions to be.

Holly asked us to do this in our class last week, I chose the word HEAL.

If you remember from previous MM emails, I mentioned I chose a word at the beginning of 2020 to represent how I wanted to show up for 2020. My word was WARRIOR. I would say that WARRIOR has suited me well.

The first part of 2020 has been a fight to rediscover myself, how to live for me and not for others - to love myself and feel enough. I started the year determined to make a change within myself, and then when COVID happened, I was determined to save my businesses and to just keep moving forward.

But it now feels appropriate to shift, to let down my guard, to take off my armor and heal the wounds underneath.

Now that I have that foundation and the tools necessary, I think I'm finally ready to let myself heal - heal my heart from the loss of relationships both personally and professionally, heal the hole that's left behind from letting go of false identities I've carried, heal my physical body which has become sick from years of stress, and most importantly, heal my relationship with myself - forgive myself for years of self doubt and sabotage, and learn true acceptance.

So, I ask you this week, what will your word be? What do you need to focus on for the next 6 months on your journey to becoming your best version of self? And how will you keep that focus? How will you show up for yourself? How do you want to live? What version of yourself do you envision on December 31st?

I know we all have busy lives, but we all can carve our 10 minutes to sit and think through this. Remember, you have to fill yourself up first before you can fill up others. Prioritizing yourself doesn't have to be selfish as it can help you authentically prioritize others.

Happy Midway Year (obviously need a catchier name, submissions welcome)!