I hit a milestone this week. 45 years old. The proverbial mid-life.
I love celebrating my birthday. This year I spent it skiing at Vail with my daughter and cousins, including a few rounds of Gondola Karaoke. It was the end of a fantastic spring break in the mountains, completely disconnected from our hectic reality.
The weeks approaching my birthday were not fun. Plenty of negative thoughts ran through my head, similar to my experience approaching 40: I’m old. I’m not as strong as I used to be. I’m tired. You name it, I thought it. I was not looking forward to hitting this point.
A wise friend shared that yes, I’m getting older every day.
I know. I am not the first to turn 45.
And on one glorious Colorado Blue Bird day, I realized I work with my clients to reframe and shift their perspectives, and I needed to do the same.
What was good about where I was today?
- I have fun, really fun, with my family
- I live in a beautiful place – Colorado – with world class skiing, hiking, mountain biking right out my back door
- I hang out with funny, smart, and caring women
- I am meeting new people that fuel me
- I eliminated energy vampires
- I get to watch brilliant people take control of their careers
- My puppy makes me laugh every day and gives me a reason to walk even when I don’t want to
- I am still learning
There is plenty more…the thoughts were coming so fast I couldn’t capture or remember all of them.
Strangely enough, an idea came to mind during this brainstorm.
Our family star, Dixie
I am reticent about social media. Mostly, I think people post too much. I don’t care as much about their doings as they think the world might. I don’t want others to know where I am or what I am doing. In an effort to move out of my comfort zone, and into discomfort, I decided to post one thing each day for the next 365 days that brought me happiness. #happy365
My teenage kids are unsure about this. Probably because they think I’ll embarrass them. (Isn’t that a given?) They predicted that our dog Dixie will be the star of the posts. I agree.
So why be uncomfortable for 365 days?
To keep the focus on what is good. To ruminate less about the negative. And at the end of the year, to print (yes, I still have photo albums) a year in the life of the good. And when we are uncomfortable (not panicking, but uncomfortable) we learn.
Join me by posting what makes you happy. The small. The big. The funny. The tasty. The beautiful. The unexpected. #happy365.