[SUMMER] Look Back
Hola out there!
This is “month” three 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 or seasonal Look Back or reflection. If you do, tag me on social media! I’d love to see them!
Here it goes for the Summer of 2019:
[1] Persisting Mantra - “No one else knows what they’re doing either.”
I don’t know about you, but I’m a person who needs a blueprint. I need to know that there’s a map to follow to get from point A to point B, because how else is everyone else getting shit done without a reference?! NEWS FLASH: No one else knows what they’re doing! There’s no map! People simply see something they want, and they find a way to make it happen. Consistently drilling this into my head lessens the fear I have around being wrong or failing. Plus, if I fall, there’s lessons to be learned on the way down, and truly, that’s where real growth begins. So, taking cues from those around me getting after it and making cool things happen, I’m inspired and energized to go after things I would usually idle on.
[2] Biggest Influence — Doing Good.
Although I’m really big on doing good, and that looks differently for everyone, it’s actually part of the work I do Monday - Friday. I help others to volunteer, but sadly don’t have a routine volunteer experience of my own - yet. I got the chance to volunteer this summer at a festival which was awesome! I really enjoyed it, and it made me realize how essential it is to tether myself to a cause I believe in and donate my time to help push their mission forward. I am currently in the process of finding a more routine volunteer opportunity with an organization, but I’ve also began collecting the litter in my neighborhood once a week. It’s pretty bad, but after cleaning it, it makes a world of difference. And it’s just me, gloves, a trash bag, and maybe one of my dogs. You don’t need formality to make a difference! If you’re interested in getting involved in your neighborhood, do a quick search on Google to find activities - “[your city’s name] volunteer opportunities”. Or you can visit VolunteerMatch.org to get started.
[3] My Must Share — Flytographer
Me and the man visited beautiful San Juan, Puerto Rico in August and had the time of our lives! We go on one big vacation around the same time every year, BUT this year we were celebrating 5 years of being married. Big. Deal! We never had a honeymoon and are generally low key people, so the year of our wedding was decently modest. I really wanted to capture our time there, and I randomly stumbled on Flytographer. You book a professional photographer in your travel destination city to capture a little bit of magic while you’re on your vacation. Dump the selfie sticks and asking random strangers to snap a potentially crappy photo as they pass by. You’ll have quality photos that you can keep for a lifetime! Use my link or code [CODE62214] to save $25 on your first session! Camille in San Juan did our photos, and she was great! She even gave us a few recommendations on things and places to hit up while we were there. I’d definitely book Flytographer on another trip. For my solo travelers, this is a MUST TRY! Fair warning, it might seem pricey for some, but you get what you pay for.
[4] Summer Reflections
This summer, I worked on my tan, traveled for the first time across international waters with my man (I’ve done it before, just not with him.), watched yet another nephew graduate from high school, took several online courses, and dived deeper into my yoga practice. I feel like this summer was a breath of fresh air! It renewed me. Maybe it was all of the salt water and sun rays, or maybe it was my being intentional about doing things that make me happy. In either case, it was a world’s difference from last summer where I was teetering on burn out and ignoring signs to better take care of myself. I guess you need the adversity to truly be able to appreciate when things are going well. Summer 2019 was a success, and I’m looking forward to quarter 4 of 2019 being the bomb dot com too.
[5] Looking Ahead
Although fall is my favorite season, I usually am not ready for it. I feel like my summers aren’t utilized well, but not this year! Plus, summer doesn’t really leave here in the south until December. For October, I’m most excited about finding the groove with routines I’ve set for myself and sticking to them! I’m not perfect, but I’m ever evolving which is fun. There’s always something I can be improving at. I’m also oddly excited about cool mornings with dewy grass. It reminds me of childhood mornings before riding off to school. My dogs will also appreciate the cooler weather. My poor Yorkie can’t stand the heat. Oh, and my tan? It was pretty solid! I turned into a chocolate Easter bunny at one point. I look forward to getting more hot beach rays in February. 😎
And just like that, summer is gone, but fall is looking promising filled with lingering opportunities - for all of us! If you have a regular reflective practice, how did the summer months 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.