Do you ever feel like you are on a hamster wheel of life, constantly running away from what you don’t want, but never reaching something you DO want? If so, join me in this video, where I give four practical steps to identify your dreams {read more}
In light of my word of the year (bold), I thought, “May as well start the year off with an intense, thought-provoking post.” As you may have seen from the title, today’s topic is on: discernment, trust and we will explore how these two things relate to joy.
As the year comes to a close, it felt necessary to do a 2021 Wrap-Up, especially for those who have been reading every single one of my blogs. Thank you for being interested, for reaching out and for contributing to the content here at Bright Eyed Smiles! I appreciate every single one of you. Therefore, I owe it to you all to provide the year-end wrap up.
Before we get into my goals for 2021, I wanted to first provide some thoughts on my blog itself. It has been a fun hobby, and more importantly, a way to connect with you all as my readers in a new way. Sincerely, I express my gratitude for anyone who has read an article, commented, reached out or shared my posts.
Having started this blog from a whim of inspiration, little did I know the journey it would take me on. Often, I look back over previous post and end up realizing I need to take my own advice. Sometimes, I’ve used this blog as a way for someone to get to know me; only to realize my communication isn’t all that clear at times. All that said, an entire year has gone by. The original intent of this blog was to inspire others to begin their own journey toward self; as well as be a landing place of laughter, fun stories and life in general. Of course, there is a secondary goal of holding myself accountable to my own hopes and dreams. And, although I haven’t shared this yet, this blog has served a deeper goal I’ve had for myself: becoming more vulnerable.
Throughout this blog, there are posts about having courage. In fact, in my first ‘hello world’ post, I open up about gaining the courage to finally publish something. Prior to this blog, my default was keeping my inner most thoughts to myself. If you know me in real life, this will not be a huge surprise to you; but before posting on a blog, there were about three people total in my life who knew more than surface level facts.
Having had the opportunity to mentor others successfully; I realized that some of the exercises and activities I’d used to help those I mentored, could really help anyone seeking inspiration. Hence, this blog was born.
2021 has been quite the year. Most of it spent still working from home, embracing who my MBTI tells me I am. Dealing with skin cancer, having surgery and changing my lifestyle a bit. Finding new hiking trails for me and Bianca to explore.; as well as taking a bigger trip to Montana (which I never got around to posting about here). All the way to being back in the office for my day job, getting on an airplane again almost weekly. And being social again!
One of the best things I did this year was start a habit tracker. It kept me focused and grounded, and everyday took me back to my center. This year with it’s twists and turns went by faster compared to any other year I’ve lived so far.
So, let’s check in from last December to where we ended up as the year ended.
Word of the Year: “CREATE”.
My 2021 Word of the Year was “CREATE”. It served me well. Some of the things I’ve created: this blog, a few pieces of digital artwork, my ‘love grows here’ mug. Better habits and a desire to try new things. I completed a few sewing projects and started two new hobbies (dancing and singing).
Focus Areas: My focus areas were: 1) Mindfulness 2) Healthy Body 3) Career & Side Hustle 4) Hobbies. These were great focus areas for me specifically. I broke each into smaller pieces but overall I felt these were balanced and well-rounded.
Goals: Throughout the year, I was hitting my goals and would adjust where necessary. As travel picked up and my attention and time was absorbed more so by my day job; my personal goals took a back seat. Overall I am rather disappointed in myself and would like to make some bigger adjustments to how I manage myself in the future.
Timing: Being fully honest with myself, I do wish I had accomplished more this year. There were months where I let my attention slip. Or let my mindset go much too dark. It is something I will go into 2022 with a heightened awareness of. That way, I will get back on track faster and accomplish more with higher quality sooner in the year.
I’ve been consistent with updating you as readers on specifics of my focus areas. Therefore, here is the progress and overall yearly assessment by focus area. I fell short of my own expectations in most areas, except for my hobbies. Mindfulness and staying healthy were tied for second and last was my career and this side hustle. Here is to a much better 2022.
Photos from our recent day trip to Cumberland Knob, a gorgeous park and hiking trail off of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Low Gap, NC.