I can hardly believe that 2016 will be here in just a few hours. I'm bubbling with excitement and a little anxiety over all the things I want to accomplish next year both in my personal and professional life. 2015 was a year of both great highs and major lows for me ( and my family). There's so much that was happening behind the scenes. It was beyond frustrating not being able to find the words to share what I was going through without going into too much detail.
Alas, if I had to sum up 2015 in three words, I would say this year was challenging, eye opening and motivational. The high point of my year was winning the Food Lion Frugal Cook-off. Not only did my team win, I got to meet some incredible people and landed my first featured appearance on live television! I'm forever grateful to the folks at Food Lion, Theory House and the Southern Women's Show for helping to make this dream of mine come true.
There were many low points to this year like battling my depression, my mom's breast cancer scare, almost throwing in the towel on my marriage and losing my blogging mojo. We're not even going to talk about how I managed to break two cameras, had my laptop break down on me or the hit and run accident the kids and I were in. When it rained, it poured and it felt like it rained a lot over the course of 2015- figuratively and literally.
My ability to put a positive spin/twist on my negative situations as well as my faith really helped to keep me afloat. This year taught me that perspective is everything. Seriously, if I didn't force myself to find the good in all of the bad things or stay focused on the light at the end of the tunnel, I'd be in a mental hospital right now. There were more than a few times when I felt like I was going to jump off the edge of the cliff, but God wouldn't let me. He has a greater purpose for my life and I can't accomplish that purpose if I give in to the storms.
With that said, I do feel like I spent 2015 shifting from being super stressed to being overwhelming excited. There were very few in-between moments. The most stressful parts of this year were seeing all of the progress JJ has made, but hearing from his OT that he still has a long way to go developmentally and I struggled with not being as financially independent as I wanted to be. Since JJ's diagnosis, I've cut back a lot in terms of properly monetizing my blog and taking advantage of paid opps. Being available to my kids will always be my first priority, but there will be serious changes coming in 2016.
Through it all the people I could rely on the most were my family and Tara from The Young Mommy Life. Tara is a great listener and partner for bouncing around ideas. As a fellow mom and business woman, she understood the struggle of balancing home and work life better anyone. She's become a trusted friend and someone that I look up to over these few years. I'm grateful for having stumbled across her blog.
I'm not proud to say that I was the person who most hindered my own success and efforts this year. I have this annoying habit of being able to be a cheerleader and motivator for everyone else, but not for myself. While I took some risks this year, I spent way too much time still second guessing my abilities and talents. I will definitely be leaving this bad habit behind.
By far the biggest lesson 2015 has taught me is to say yes to things that will make me better, things that will help me grow and things that will put me in the position to leave my mark on those around me. 2016 is going to be much better and more improved. I'm naming it, claiming it, praying on it and most importantly taking action. Faith without work is dead! So get ready to watch me work y'all!
How was your 2015? What is one thing you want to do differently in 2016?
