CLICK HERE to get updates via email, and download my FREE Take Action Worksheet today! Hoodies, changing leaves and chilly weather. Football, warm cider and a gentle slowing down. I love this time of year. Seasons change. We change. Life changes. I have been through many changes this year. My husband, Michael, and I bought a new house, I left my job in May then launched my business in June…and that’s just the short version. While it’s been exciting it has also been a bit intimidating. At times my mind has been alive with new ideas where I felt like I could take on the world, and at other times I’ve thought, “What in the world am I doing?” Can you relate? The thing I love so much about change is that it pushes me to grow, and growth is good! It doesn’t mean we won’t experience growing pains. But, growing pains are necessary. Growth teaches us that we can go on. Growth is necessary. Change is vital!
So, as I embrace this new season of my life I am challenged to look at what I’m doing well, what I could improve upon and how I can appreciate my biggest supporters. If you are going through a time of change here are some ways to help ease the growing pains. Take care of you! Have you ever been on an airplane hearing the flight attendant tell you to put on your oxygen mask first? There’s a reason for this. It’s because you are more effective when you take care of yourself first. Many times I meet women who are exhausted and burned out. When I say, “Name three things you do for yourself” they often look at me with a blank stare. Not taking care of yourself is a recipe for disaster. Look at what’s going well. There’s enough information out there to bring you down. Your boss, the news or images on TV can all be voices that make you doubt yourself. Stop for a minute to think about what’s going well. For me, I enjoy helping people navigate and fix broken processes. Sometimes it’s a business challenge, and other times it’s helping someone get unstuck in their personal life. I prefer to focus on strengths, talents and what others do well more than people’s weaknesses. What are you doing well? What can be improved? There are so many ways we can be better. That’s a fact of life. I was recently challenged to humble myself, set up a meeting and apologize for being too hard on someone I had worked with on a business project. It wasn’t easy, but I grew. Is there something you can do to be a better person? I hope to always continue growing and improving. Appreciate your biggest supporters! In life we have acquaintances, business associates, and people who come in and out of our lives. There are also those rare people who come alongside us to believe in, encourage and strengthen us and our dreams. They are people you can call in the middle of the night, who send cards for no reason, or believe in you even when you forget to believe in yourself. When you find those people take time to appreciate, nurture and thank them! Embrace change! It's going to happen one way or another. "It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a giant leap forward only to stumble backward." ~ Louis Sach You can do it, Tammy K. Johnson |