Achieving what I set out to do
It has been a while since I last posted a blog and it’s easy to sit here and try to make excuses, which all hold validity in my head, but in the end, it comes down to me not making the time or scheduling the time to write my blogs. However, realising this and the time of year, I thought, what better way to end this year than with my last blog for 2022 – I know it’s only my fourth, but it is the last for the year.
This year for me, and I think for many of you, has gone by in a flash and before I knew what I wanted to share in this blog with you, I read an interesting post on social media that my friend and team member Katie Hopkins has shared that was written by Naomi Holdt – Psychologist and Speaker. The parts of her post that stood out to me the most were:
“No one I know began this year on a full tank” is such a short sentence yet it hit home hard. It made me think about the ones I hold near and dear. How many of us kept trying to fill our tanks but the last couple of years eroded a hole in our tanks and no matter how many times we thought we had managed to fill it, something from the last few years made the tank empty itself? This resonated so deeply with me in the next paragraph reading “We crawled into 2022 still carrying shock, trauma, grief, heaviness, disbelief….The memories of a surreal existence…”.
Having read this, I thought I would reflect on the past year myself and share some highs and lows. Things I wanted to achieve and did, and what I tried and failed at.
High: I finally studied something (and finished it)! The pride I felt when I passed my Bookkeeping and Payroll courses. I see this as a huge accomplishment as it is something I always wanted to do but fear held me back from studying. The only downside to it is that I enjoyed it so much that I am already thinking about what I can do next year to support me further in these two areas.
High: Growing my team this year. During my second year in business, I achieved a goal that I wanted to accomplish by the end of my third year in business. I have now slightly amended this goal, as I have already started to use my team. The goal is to grow and support my team members with more work, so they can, in return, have more flexibility in their life.
Low: The hard days while studying. I loved my studying, don’t get me wrong, however, the time it took to achieve it, affected family time. Some mornings I got up super early to ensure I got my study in for the day or sometimes I studied at night. My family were amazing in their support of me, however, as a mum and wife first, I did feel I let them down from time to time. The ever-present mum guilts!
Low: Not sticking to a couple of my goals. The idea was to do more Reels/Lives on Facebook, to create a presence so people could get to know me, or even via my blog. It is something I need to prioritise in the new year. It’s reminding me that I did not fail in this regard, I tried, and will factor in the time for those things again next year.
What have I learnt from 2022? We all have plans and goals, but life happens that can disrupt them; however, it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t happen. Priorities change, and things simply happen later. Throughout this year, I have learnt that you can only really fail if you don’t try at all. If you try, you still tried; it just didn’t go to plan.
To close off, I would love for you to share your highs and lows with us. Is your high the fact that you made it through this year? Then well done! You could have given up at any stage, but you didn’t, you kept pushing yourself. You, my friend, did not fail, you are a true fighter and survivor, well done, and if no one has said this to you, I am proud of you, so be proud of yourself.
Do you have a goal for 2023? And if your goal for 2023 is to just be able to wake every morning and get out of bed, YOU’VE GOT THIS.
Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude to all of you who have joined me on this journey – from my family to my clients, to my team members, to all other business owners who have supported me along the way. I am looking forward to seeing what you accomplish in 2023. You are all awesome!
May you have a happy and safe holiday season with your loved ones.
Till next year (that sounds further away than what it is),
Elizna
