It’s the beginning of January, so I’m gonna guess this isn’t the first post you’ve seen regarding “setting goals” or “resolutions” for the new year. Am I right? I thought so. Well, if you’re feeling over the whole thing, I hear you. I am not a natural goal-setter and honestly, the thought of making a list of things I want to do sort of makes me want to gag.
I wasn’t always this way. As a Type-A Supermom, I used to love writing down all of my resolutions and then checking them off, one by one. I got a strange satisfaction from looking at this yearly to-do list and feeling the superiority of completing it. On this very blog I hosted a bucket list of 100 things I wanted to do in my lifetime. But there was one problem. I wasn’t the best at failing. And when you’re trying new things, odds are high you’re going to fail once or twice (or a hundred times). For me, failure didn’t feel like an option, so often I’d push myself to complete tasks I’d lost passion for or didn’t make sense anymore, just to prove I could do them.
When my perfectionism came crashing down around me a few years ago, I swung in the other direction. I hated goals. The word “resolution” gave me chills. Any talk of pursuing anything new or scary was just not in the cards for me. This isn’t a healthy way to live either, because if you don’t strive for anything, how will you ever get anywhere?
So about two years ago I came to a balance that has worked well ever since. We decided to make goals and resolutions as a family, and work together to help each other and keep ourselves accountable. (You can read a post on our family goal setting night here) Shockingly, it worked! Does that mean I complete every resolution on my list? Nope, not even close, but that’s part of the process. Sometimes we think we want something (a thinner body, a new job, etc.) and find what we wanted isn’t exactly what we thought! Maybe we start out the year wanting to do more yoga, and realize we hate meditation and would rather run marathons instead. Does that mean we failed? Nope, if anything, we succeeded.
F.A.I.L. = First Attempt In Learning
I love this acronym. LOVE. Because that’s really what it’s all about, right? In the end, it’s not about checking items off a list, but using those items to learn about ourselves and the world around us. Having this mindset changed my whole perspective, and now I get a rush out of setting resolutions again. Not because I want to show how amazing I am, but because I start to imagine all I’m going to learn along the way, and that my friends, is pretty freaking exciting.
My personal goals this year are pretty tame. I want to do a project with my husband. I want to continue simplifying my life and my home (i.e. KonMari everything and get rid of all the “stuff”). I want to get back into the habit of daily journaling, something that fell by the wayside during my busy work season followed by the holidays.
My business goals are a little more lofty.
Is it because I think I can really accomplish all of this in a year? Heck, I have no idea. And honestly, it really doesn’t matter. Because it’s not about getting it all done. It’s about the different paths and routes I will end up taking on the journey. And you know what, if I end up failing at all of them, it’s okay. There’s always next year.
http://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2016-01-07_0001.jpg533800Meganhttp://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.pngMegan2016-01-07 10:41:482016-01-07 10:41:48Goals, Resolutions and the Recovering Perfectionist
Well looky here…it’s the new year! I took a much-needed break from blogging over the holiday, and it turned out to be a pretty good choice. I wish I could say I unplugged completely, but I’m definitely not perfect and still sneaked in some work here and there. This holiday didn’t go exactly as planned, and I’m so grateful I have a flexible job where I can dedicate time to different outlets when needed. Over the holiday we had a bit of a quarantine situation going on…and it wasn’t pretty! We had (in no particular order) pink eye, the flu, a croup-type cough, an ear infection and head lice. Yep, it was a doozy! I was fairly lucky to be free of all of these ailments so that I could spend my time and energy helping my people heal, but of course today I woke up with a massive sinus issue, so I think my body has finally decided it’s my turn!
Due to all the illnesses floating around, we had a pretty low-key holiday. We were legitimately under a doctor-ordered quarantine until Christmas Day, and the kids were pretty bummed we had to cancel Christmas activities with our extended family. Luckily, by the 26th everyone was feeling much better (and we were no longer contagious) so we were able to celebrate a little late. And honestly, as much as it stinks being stuck at home, it was kind of nice snuggling in for a simple, quiet holiday. Though I wouldn’t wish the amount of laundry and cleaning that comes with head lice on ANYONE. Holy wow.
I made about a zillion baked treats over the break, planning to take them to Christmas celebrations with the family. Since we were unable to attend most of them, the kids and I ended up delivering bags of sugar cookies and tins of cinnamon rolls to our local fire stations and police stations, to thank them for working over the holiday. It wasn’t our original plan, but it turned out to be a great way to give back and make the best out of a crappy situation. Lucy even chased our trash collector down the street to deliver him a bag of cookies, which is absolutely one of my top 10 holiday memories!
The kids head back to school tomorrow and Wednesday, and I can’t wait to get back in to a regular routine. As per our silly family tradition, we keep our Christmas decorations up until Three Kings Day (just like when I was growing up) so we still have a few more days of twinkle lights ahead of us. And while I should probably be excited to put away Christmas until next year, I think a few more days of twinkle lights is probably the best medicine for a quarantined Christmas.
http://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2016-01-04_0001.jpg1200800Meganhttp://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.pngMegan2016-01-04 11:21:552016-01-04 11:29:232015 Holiday Recap : The Quarantine Christmas
I had big plans for a beautiful, heartwarming blog post all about gratitude and love and the holiday season…but then, late last night, we discovered our family is being hit with pink eye, head lice and an ear infection simultaneously! Merry merry! Anyway, I am grateful for all the wonderful people I’ve met and worked with this year, and for the flexibility that this job gives me to tend to hours of sheet washing, nit picking, eye drop distributing and urgent care waiting rooms.
In all seriousness, before this self-employed life, situations like this were entirely more stressful. And without all of my amazing clients, friends and colleagues, I wouldn’t still be self-employed. The first year in business is a pretty big deal, and to have done well enough to simply keep going is a gift! So thank you! And I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!
Goals, Resolutions and the Recovering Perfectionist
/0 Comments/in Family, Finding My Path, Recovery /by MeganIt’s the beginning of January, so I’m gonna guess this isn’t the first post you’ve seen regarding “setting goals” or “resolutions” for the new year. Am I right? I thought so. Well, if you’re feeling over the whole thing, I hear you. I am not a natural goal-setter and honestly, the thought of making a list of things I want to do sort of makes me want to gag.
I wasn’t always this way. As a Type-A Supermom, I used to love writing down all of my resolutions and then checking them off, one by one. I got a strange satisfaction from looking at this yearly to-do list and feeling the superiority of completing it. On this very blog I hosted a bucket list of 100 things I wanted to do in my lifetime. But there was one problem. I wasn’t the best at failing. And when you’re trying new things, odds are high you’re going to fail once or twice (or a hundred times). For me, failure didn’t feel like an option, so often I’d push myself to complete tasks I’d lost passion for or didn’t make sense anymore, just to prove I could do them.
When my perfectionism came crashing down around me a few years ago, I swung in the other direction. I hated goals. The word “resolution” gave me chills. Any talk of pursuing anything new or scary was just not in the cards for me. This isn’t a healthy way to live either, because if you don’t strive for anything, how will you ever get anywhere?
So about two years ago I came to a balance that has worked well ever since. We decided to make goals and resolutions as a family, and work together to help each other and keep ourselves accountable. (You can read a post on our family goal setting night here) Shockingly, it worked! Does that mean I complete every resolution on my list? Nope, not even close, but that’s part of the process. Sometimes we think we want something (a thinner body, a new job, etc.) and find what we wanted isn’t exactly what we thought! Maybe we start out the year wanting to do more yoga, and realize we hate meditation and would rather run marathons instead. Does that mean we failed? Nope, if anything, we succeeded.
F.A.I.L. = First Attempt In Learning
I love this acronym. LOVE. Because that’s really what it’s all about, right? In the end, it’s not about checking items off a list, but using those items to learn about ourselves and the world around us. Having this mindset changed my whole perspective, and now I get a rush out of setting resolutions again. Not because I want to show how amazing I am, but because I start to imagine all I’m going to learn along the way, and that my friends, is pretty freaking exciting.
My personal goals this year are pretty tame. I want to do a project with my husband. I want to continue simplifying my life and my home (i.e. KonMari everything and get rid of all the “stuff”). I want to get back into the habit of daily journaling, something that fell by the wayside during my busy work season followed by the holidays.
My business goals are a little more lofty.
Is it because I think I can really accomplish all of this in a year? Heck, I have no idea. And honestly, it really doesn’t matter. Because it’s not about getting it all done. It’s about the different paths and routes I will end up taking on the journey. And you know what, if I end up failing at all of them, it’s okay. There’s always next year.
2015 Holiday Recap : The Quarantine Christmas
/0 Comments/in Crazybananas Photography - Personal, Lucy, Parenting, Tate, Trent /by MeganWell looky here…it’s the new year! I took a much-needed break from blogging over the holiday, and it turned out to be a pretty good choice. I wish I could say I unplugged completely, but I’m definitely not perfect and still sneaked in some work here and there. This holiday didn’t go exactly as planned, and I’m so grateful I have a flexible job where I can dedicate time to different outlets when needed. Over the holiday we had a bit of a quarantine situation going on…and it wasn’t pretty! We had (in no particular order) pink eye, the flu, a croup-type cough, an ear infection and head lice. Yep, it was a doozy! I was fairly lucky to be free of all of these ailments so that I could spend my time and energy helping my people heal, but of course today I woke up with a massive sinus issue, so I think my body has finally decided it’s my turn!
Due to all the illnesses floating around, we had a pretty low-key holiday. We were legitimately under a doctor-ordered quarantine until Christmas Day, and the kids were pretty bummed we had to cancel Christmas activities with our extended family. Luckily, by the 26th everyone was feeling much better (and we were no longer contagious) so we were able to celebrate a little late. And honestly, as much as it stinks being stuck at home, it was kind of nice snuggling in for a simple, quiet holiday. Though I wouldn’t wish the amount of laundry and cleaning that comes with head lice on ANYONE. Holy wow.
I made about a zillion baked treats over the break, planning to take them to Christmas celebrations with the family. Since we were unable to attend most of them, the kids and I ended up delivering bags of sugar cookies and tins of cinnamon rolls to our local fire stations and police stations, to thank them for working over the holiday. It wasn’t our original plan, but it turned out to be a great way to give back and make the best out of a crappy situation. Lucy even chased our trash collector down the street to deliver him a bag of cookies, which is absolutely one of my top 10 holiday memories!
The kids head back to school tomorrow and Wednesday, and I can’t wait to get back in to a regular routine. As per our silly family tradition, we keep our Christmas decorations up until Three Kings Day (just like when I was growing up) so we still have a few more days of twinkle lights ahead of us. And while I should probably be excited to put away Christmas until next year, I think a few more days of twinkle lights is probably the best medicine for a quarantined Christmas.
Happy Holidays!
/0 Comments/in Crazybananas Photography - Personal, Parenting, Work /by MeganI had big plans for a beautiful, heartwarming blog post all about gratitude and love and the holiday season…but then, late last night, we discovered our family is being hit with pink eye, head lice and an ear infection simultaneously! Merry merry! Anyway, I am grateful for all the wonderful people I’ve met and worked with this year, and for the flexibility that this job gives me to tend to hours of sheet washing, nit picking, eye drop distributing and urgent care waiting rooms.
In all seriousness, before this self-employed life, situations like this were entirely more stressful. And without all of my amazing clients, friends and colleagues, I wouldn’t still be self-employed. The first year in business is a pretty big deal, and to have done well enough to simply keep going is a gift! So thank you! And I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!