[MAY] Look Back
Hola out there!
This is month two of my monthly Look Back & if you’re new to it, here’s the rundown: I’m a huge believer in looking back on experiences and decisions in life BUT ONLY to thoughtfully evaluate and learn from them in order to set yourself up for better outcomes as you move forward.
With that in mind, I let you in on insights, lessons, and fun or helpful things I experience in hopes that you can learn or improve, quit doing something, or adopt a new thing that works in your personal life too.
I encourage you to also do your own monthly Look Back or reflection. If you do, tag me on social media! I’d love to see them!
Here it goes for the month of May:
[1] Persisting Mantra - “No matter how slow, movement is movement.”
One thing I’m discovering about myself is that I think I’m a perfectionist. (My therapist said we’ll disect this at my next appointment.) Apparently, perfectionism shows up in different ways, and one way is feeling like there’s always more to be done. “I can do more.” “I should be doing more.” “I’m wasting time!” EVEN THOUGH I’ve been consistently crossing things off my to-do list, I’ve somehow adopted a false impression that I hardly do anything at all. Intentionally reminding myself of my accomplishments and check off marks and that change is slow sneaks in the grace that I need to give myself. Truly, movement is movement no matter the pace.
[2] Biggest Influence — MY MARRIAGE
I will have been married for 5 whole years in two months! In today’s landscape of millinial marriages, that’s something worth celebrating 1,000 times. We’ve been together for 12 years and have been consistently growing and challenging each other. Recently, I’ve felt a connection with him that feels new but I know it isn’t, it’s just amplified! I feel like we’re best friends, supporters, encouragers, annoyers, and everything in between. Being in this relationship has grown me in ways that I don’t always notice - a major change being patience. Patience is a virtue but was not a gift given to me at birth. I’m thankful that I have a partner who is patient with me, tolerant, encouraging, and genuinely wants to see and help me be happy. His example of what a partner should be is admirable, and I love him for it. Things are NOT perfect, but things are good, and I’m grateful.
[3] My Must Share — Udemy
I gotta let you in on a little secret - school and college aren’t the only way to learn! We’re so fortunate to have endless information at our fingertips produced by life learners and degree earners. Udemy is an online learning platform geared toward professional adults but has a plethora of interesting topics you can dive into to gain new skills or knowledge. I recently bought 4 courses during a sale geared toward coaching and neuro-linguistic programming (NPL). So far, I’m having fun learning a new craft and will receive a nice certificate saying I did the work once I’m done. Some popular topics are development, IT, business, personal development, and design among others. It’s a great way to test out whether you’re really interested in something before making huge investments of your time and money. Alternatively, it’s also a clutch way to gain the leg up you might need at work or in your social or hobby circles.
[4] May Reflections
My mantra for May was inspired by April’s reflections. Going too slow has been a mental block for me that I’m always working on, but this idea of lending myself grace is a new thing that’s transforming my relationship with myself and the expectations I set! Unknowingly, I began to treat myself like a friend instead of a lazy, undeserving employee. It sounds unkind how harshly I’ve regarded myself, and it is! We’re so quick to be unusually mean, rude, nasty to ourselves but wouldn’t think twice at slapping someone in the face if we caught them speaking the same way to someone we love. I’m learning to not only adopt more realistic expectations for myself, but be soft when I don’t hit the mark. There’s always tomorrow.
[5] Looking Ahead
I’m most excited about this summer weather creeping in! June is for short shorts, beach trippin’, barefoot walkin’, and cookout-goin’ gatherings. I’m looking forward to seeing friends and family, getting back into vending, and exploring Udemy, as well as taking a course on emotional intelligence and leadership in the workplace (a course for CEUs)! I’m continuing to stay focused on my passion projects and embracing “slow and steady wins the race”. I’ll let you know how my tan is looking during next month’s Look Back. ;)
And there you have it! Two months strong. :) If you have a regular reflective practice, how did May go for you? If you found this helpful or think someone else can, please do good and share it with them. ;) See you in the next post!
-seria.