New Year, New Me…ntal State

New Year, New Me.

*Cue the internal groans*

That phrase is so popular around this time of year, almost as popular as the last treadmill at any gym right about now. I know it’s not January 1st but I wanted to talk about a topic that has been on my heart and mind lately, as well as tell you about some AWESOME advice I received the other day. However, before I start, let me give you some quick background details.

I moved to Dallas at the beginning of the summer for a new job (still teaching/coaching); the transition has been full of ups and downs. I love the people I work with and enjoy the benefits of new challenges that have been thrown my way, yet something has been missing as of late. Passion, motivation, a spark- call it what you want. Nevertheless, I have recently been considering leaving the teaching field. I’d hate to become another statistic of  “5 years and done”, but I also want to find something that makes me glow when talking about what I do for a living. Unfortunately, I can’t follow my dream and stop working so I can be a full time writer…I have no monies. Funny when I put it like that, but also very true. I don’t have the luxury (yet!) of writing novels without a steady income.

SO, lately I’ve been thinking and praying about what I could be doing in the meantime to restore passion (and possibly revenue) while I continue teaching. Over the break I read Rachel Hollis’ book Girl, Wash Your Face and it CHANGED. MY. LIFE. Seriously, I’m not even exaggerating…okay, maybe a little…but for real! Rachel spoke words of wisdom that were funny, authentic, encouraging, convicting, and powerful. She was like a great girl friend, telling you the hard truth but with love. She held your hand while  you cried and then kicked you in the butt when it was time to get up and move on. And it was just what I needed.

On top of that, I started listening to her podcast Rise and the first episode that I listened to featured Brendon Burchard (author of High Performance Habits), and what he had to say about New Years Resolutions and setting goals in general was so practical yet powerful. Below are some of my favorite takeaway quotes from him.

“Don’t set New Years resolutions to fix problems. If you do that, your goals are reactive and not motivational, and are almost nothing related to your long term dreams. No one sticks to anything that is just a fix…Never limit your vision for your future based on certain circumstances or even current competencies…You need to set ‘skill goals’ so that you can have success with your 3yr/5yr goal.”

That entire podcast was amazing and had so many good tips, but those were a few of the eye openers for me. I have been focusing on goals to fix problems. I have been setting goals only for this year. I have been setting goals based on my current circumstances and also my current capabilities. I have not set skill goals to help me reach my overall dream.

But what is my dream? What are my big goals?

I had to ask myself these questions in order to move on and set smaller goals and habits. Obviously, my big dream is to one, finish my novel, and two, get my novel published. It is my dream to touch the lives of millions through the written word. I also have another dream that has been on my heart for a couple of years now, but I have only shared it with a few people because I didn’t realize that it even was a desire until they helped me recognize that.

I want to create a space where people from all over the world can come together as a community that celebrates and practices authenticity. A space where love is the loudest voice in the room and everyone leaves that space feeling encouraged, uplifted, and connected. People who don’t have it all together yet, and who may be having a hard time “adulting” just like I am, but they are striving to live fearlessly in who God made them to be, and to faithfully follow His calling on their life. I believe that with vulnerability comes strength. The best piece of advice I have ever gotten from someone was a question. The question was, “At the end of the day, whether they believe the same thing you do or not, were they loved well? Did they leave your presence feeling better than when they arrived? Did you love them well?”

That’s why I started Fearlessly Authentic. I wanted to share my passion for transparency and authenticity with the world through glimpses into my life in words, pictures, tears, laughter, triumphs, and failures. And that is still such a big dream of mine.

I don’t want it to simply be people reading my blog, watching from the sidelines. I want to add people to my tribe, do life with them, study the Word with them, get to know them, encourage and love them. I want to share YOUR story on here of what fearlessly authentic living means to you, and even one day (hopefully!) have conferences and get togethers of hundreds of people who share this same desire.

So, this year, it isn’t going to be a new me. I’m going to have a new mental state, one that is intentional in pursuing my dreams and not limiting myself. I’m setting skill goals, some which I’ve already started; I finally made this little blog an official website (which means I just paid money to create and own the domain name haha), I designed a logo for my “business” (image up top), and am being intentional about expanding my Fearlessly Authentic community. I’ve also signed up for a writing seminar specifically for writers who want to finish their novel this year. That’s me! Regardless, at the end of the day, I write for me. I write as a release, I write to give thanks to God for the gift and opportunity that He has given me to do so, and I write because it makes me happy. And maybe, just maybe, it’ll make you happy too. Happy 2019.

Go live fearlessly authentic,

-J

**If you’d like to be a part of the FA tribe, subscribe via email at the bottom of my homepage! 🙂