2021 has been the year for the Great Resignation as millions have left good paying positions to find more fulfillment in life, to pursue long-lost dreams, to make a stand for freedom, or just simply, due to BURNOUT. I was one of those people! I chose to take my family back, my life back, and to schedule my days and weeks moving forward that would allow me to get rid of the guilt of not being present. I chose to answer the call to do more and turn my burnout into a different fire.
Today, I want to celebrate the launch of Own Your 5 to 9 with much thanksgiving for what God has gifted me…freedom to give Him Glory in whatever I do, freedom to create, freedom of choice, and freedom to put my priorities in the right place. Those freedoms and priorities are grounded in my Faith, my Family, my Friends, and the Flexibility to live out a balanced life. These values are not new and not complicated. It’s been installed into our family mission over the last decade. So as we count down the days until the end of 2021, I encourage you to use one or all of these keys as your “grateful list” for this Holiday season and part of your resolution for 2022.
Don’t take anything for granted! Health, friends, family, faith, and balance are all priorities in life and should be nurtured daily. Guard your life like a security guard, like any of these can be stolen from you in the blink of an eye. Knowing how fragile life can be and that trials will come (as the pandemic has reminded us), live in a way that you won’t have regrets and with a mentality that there is always a rainbow on the other side of a storm.
Plan ahead! This probably isn’t fair, but I have built a career around planning, so telling someone to plan when it may not be natural is not considerate. But let me make this simple…start with thinking about where you want to be and put a list together to achieve that. Pray over your lists and for wisdom in your decision-making. Organize your thoughts! As they come to you, write them down in one place and come back and visit them. Don’t let a day go by without reanalyzing your to-dos, your priorities, what fulfills you, and your professional or personal goals. Lastly, don’t be afraid to try something new. I sure am!
Love and Respect everyone! We learned a lot about this last year, so here is a simple lesson that we will share with you. Treat all people like they are royalty regardless of their title, their position in life, or their race or gender. If you have quit your job because of a bad culture, don’t burn bridges. This pandemic has neutralized every position and profession on a global scale, driving us all home to rethink, relearn, and renew our versions of work and life. What do true love and respect look like? It starts with putting down the screen and listening, and engaging in respectful conversations with friends, strangers, and family. Lose the anger and respect someone’s views that may not be the same as yours, but lovingly tell your truth if you disagree. This my friends will put you in harmony with humanity. This creates needed commonality and community in a canceled culture that promotes divisiveness and social separation.
Don’t lose touch with what’s important! Our family was reminded several times over the last 2 years that we need to get back to our roots of what drives us. When we did that, it was very enlightening and motivating. So whether it’s a value, personal or financial goals, family growth, resetting the fundamentals, or how you do something brand new…constantly find time to reach back and remind yourself of what’s truly important. Work is important and should be somewhere in your top 5 priority list, but you should be very cautious if it’s #1 on your list. One mantra to live by is to be “known for who you are, not what you do.”
Enjoy a balanced life! It’s easy for most of us to put work before anything else and pending your profession, this may be necessary on a lot of days. It’s also easy to get stressed over family, health, jobs, or finances. Overcome that stress by finding your happy place daily. Take time to count your blessings, enjoy your coffee by watching the sunrise, go for a walk, run or do yoga, listen to your favorite music, write in your journal, spend time with your children without your phone, read a scripture and pray, or find something that makes you laugh daily. If your daily personal balance practices aren’t working, look into a monthly or quarterly retreat by going to the salon, going on an affordable weekend getaway, a golf outing with friends, or just sitting on the couch watching movies all weekend. If you still can’t find that balance, that liberating feeling, that freedom; then read #4 again.
Lastly, let me leave you with one of my favorite scriptures on Freedom. It’s from Galatian 5: 13-14 and says… For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Take back your freedom and make life work for you!
#TheGreatResignation #TheGreatReset
