Goodbye 2016. You Taught Me Quite a Few Things….

2016. You taught me more about who I am than any other trip this planet has taken around the sun. This was the first full year that I lived on my own, away from the chaos (and also the love) of my parents. The first year after I graduated college. The first time in almost 2 decades that I didn’t have to wake up and go to an educational institution every day. The first time I really felt alone & was forced to teach MYSELF instead. The lessons were sobering at times but necessary always.

This year I learned I don’t have all the answers, but I’m humble enough to revise even my deepest-held beliefs based on new evidence. That’s more important than being the smartest person in the room.

I learned that I can’t do it all on my own, and it’s okay to ask for help. I don’t have to suffer to be successful. It’s allowed to feel easy when you love something & it’s meant for you. Don’t fight it or block it with guilt – fall to your knees in gratitude. The world doesn’t have to be so hard, and I realized how much I was making it that way by holding that belief.

I learned that people can be assholes. And sometimes I can be the asshole. But I don’t have to be confined to that role forever, because I am allowed to change & grow. You can’t beat yourself up for the mistakes that make you who you are.

In 2016 I learned that fear SUCKS, and it’s not real because what’s going to happen will happen whether you spend the days leading up to it worrying or not. Fear engulfed a chunk of my life this year and stopped me from reaching my full potential. In this final month, I can finally say I kicked its butt & figured out what works for my brain emotionally & nutritionally. I want to spend 2017 helping you guys with fear & anxiety too, because I know the deep hole it can be. Just know it is NOT who you are.

I’m not making any resolutions. I’m promising myself to continue the positive journey I’m on. I’m proud of me, and you should be damn proud of you, too – even if you lost it all this year. Don’t resolve to change the incredible person you are, but promise yourself to keep PUSHING. Keep GROWING. Keep dreaming and praying and believing. Your journey has just begun.