Forget Setting Goals, Set Boundaries First
(6 min read | unless you're distracted)
After taking a hiatus in 2020 while witnessing the beginning of a global pandemic, the murder of George Floyd create heightened awareness of systemic racism in America, one of the most unbelievable US Presidential elections I will probably ever witness, putting my dog AND my cat to sleep … I had a bottle of wine and passed out sleeping my way into the New Year grunting f*ck 2020, or something like that. I certainly did not count sheep that night.
Anyway...
Happy February to you all, and Happy Black History Month!
This brings me to why I decided to relaunch this professional development blog focused on confidence, happiness, and intention. I realized in 2020 that I need to reignite my passion and share it with the women who go beyond my reach in the corporate space. While I love it, this really fills my cup in ways that just never will. In the past, I catered heavily to women and while I still intend to, I do appreciate (some of) the male audience that supports me and shares my passion with the women in their lives.
QUICK SHAMELESS PLUG: my free Connecting With Confidence webinar is open now to all, so be sure to check that out when you have about 45-minutes to spend some time on your own professional development. Please SHARE, SHARE, SHARE with your friends!
I'm forever grateful for all of the connections that have come from my beautiful network of friends. You guys will never know how much joy it brings me when we can share our passions with the world and support one another.
If you have a business that you'd like me to shout out, support, share, or feature … PLEASE send me a message and I gotchu. :)
If you didn't notice, 2020 rocked many of our work/life balances, so blending our work with personal time is a bit more normal these days. We're now living in a masked-up, heavily-digital world. As you read more of my content this year, you can expect a similar flow of information with current events, relevant hot topics, suggested steps you can take around the topic at hand, and helpful information to share with your network. See how this supporting one another thing works? ;)
Let's Start with Why
If Simon Sinek taught me anything that I continue using daily, it's to share 'why' this matters before wasting your time reading further. Throughout the year, many of us experienced tremendous loss and suffered from more grief than imaginable, while others seemed to experience moments of reflection and express gratitude for what they have. This observation reminded me that no matter what is happening in the external world around us, we have the ability to control how it affects us internally, and how we respond to it.
We are not perfect humans, so regardless of any intrinsic or societal pressures placed on us, we shouldn't ever pretend to be.
I've personally seen that leaders who have demonstrated abilities to lead by example, engage in authentic (sometimes uncomfortable) conversations are those who make the greatest impact on their teams, and their circle of influence. The leaders in your friend circle, family circle, etc. can probably pop top of mind for you... think about it. What qualities do you admire in the leaders you see around you? I'd like to help you grow and expand as you continue your professional journey, so it's important that you do this with a plan.
So... Forget Setting Goals (before you set boundaries, anyway)
Early in the year, many of us set goals both personally and professionally. Whether you're looking to lose 10 lbs. or 10x your sales volume, what I've realized is that before takin