My 2020 reflections & THANK YOU!

2020 stopped me in my tracks. In fact, it stopped all of us in our tracks - literally overnight.

Determined to make 2020-2030 the best decade of my life, I started the year with a bang. I'd just published by book ROAR! How to Tame the Bully Inside & Out, it even reached #1 best seller status on Amazon. I was on a roll... 

Ironically, I promised myself at the end of 2019, to slow down and be kinder to myself in 2020. 2019 was a year full of sacrifice. Working full time as a contractor and writing a book, while being a mom, wife and friend - and finding 'me time' - was no small feat. The juggle was real! By February I was failing miserably. Addicted to being busy, addicted to doing, I was running on empty again. I felt like such a fraud. I mean, "kindness to self first and foremost" is the whole premise of my book - how I had to recognise and tame my inner bully. How I had to learn to prioritise me on my list of priorities. How I had to learn to love myself (and I don't mean in a narcissistic way, you can think of it as self-esteem or dignity for self).

After my successful book launch, I remember literally "stopping in my tracks" one day. I felt exposed and wanted to 'undo' my book. I desperately wanted to hit CTRL-ALT-DELETE. All my plans to promote ROAR! and show up on social media went out of the window. All I wanted to do was hide. I. Was. Exhausted. 

Then the whole world stopped. COVID-19 hit and I was faced with transitioning to home working in the middle of a business restructure, suddenly having to home school the kids, overhauling my exercise routine completely (+creating a home gym) and learning about a killer virus. It. All. Felt. Too. Much. 

Fortunately I realised before lockdown that I had to slow down and that I still had a long way to go to 'win my inner game', so I started doing the inner work already. What lockdown did, was to illuminate the work required, so 'kindness to self' got a whole new meaning during the first half of 2020.  Little did I know at the time how this inner work was going to be even more important in the second half of 2020. In August, I took another big leap - from working as a contractor full time, to building my business full time. Talk about the importance of self-love (or self-esteem). I now have even greater appreciation for what it takes to be a business owner and having that respect (or dignity) for yourself and a belief in your ability to make it happen. It. Tests. Me. Daily. 

Which brings me to some of the key lessons I learned in 2020:

• DO less & BE more
• Wake up and smell the coffee
• The little things in life are EVERYTHING
• I am enough. In fact, I am MORE than enough. YOU ARE TOO!

I couldn't survive this year without the amazing communities I am a part of and the incredible people I have in my life, so I want to say a massive THANK YOU. There are too many to mention you individually; but I trust that you'll know who you are. I see you. I appreciate you. I love you. 

Please take a moment today to stop and celebrate YOU. 

Bring. On. A. New. Year.

2021...

...when corona is a beer again 🍺

...when Donald is only a duck 🦆

...when tiers sit on cake 🍰

...and when bubbles only exist in champagne... Cheers! 🥂