What A Feeling: Reflecting, looking ahead, and living your gratitude.

We spent the first week of December in Mexico on a much-needed vacation – the pics I posted on my socials say it all.  It was amazing.  Sunset Marina Resort & Yacht Club did not disappoint.  The pool, the beach, suites, service and my gosh the food!  The family members who came along made it all the more enjoyable.  Lots of laughs – ok, loads of laughing lol.  It was great!  I think THE most memorable evening for us – well at least for me – was the restaurant we dined at on our anniversary and also celebrated my stepdad’s birthday – Porfirio’s Cancun – check it out if you’re there.  All the right things were amazing!  I give the food 11/10.

That’s my short review of an amazing trip but a vacation review is not the story here.  I really had no idea how much I actually needed that break until I was on a break.

This was my first trip since the pandemic.  I’ll take you back for a minute.  We returned from a trip to South Africa mid-January of 2019, I walked away from THE most toxic corporate environment I’ve ever been in on February 14^th, 2019, and by mid-March 2019 we were in lockdown.  I’ve been hustling ever since and I wouldn’t change a thing about how my life has been more fruitful, satisfying and gratifying.

I chose me and I chose my family when I walked away from that job but looking back on my life, I think I always ultimately chose me or knew how to choose me.  I believe we all do – depending on the timing and circumstance but, I’ll leave that debate or story for another time.

If you follow me whether here or on the social platforms, you’ll know I have my hands in a few different pots and they are pretty full.  One of my top strengths is that I’ve always been good at prioritizing, planning and then executing.  Over the last few years I had to learn to say no so as not to stretch myself too thin and learn to walk away from things that were taking me away from my own passions.  That said, doesn’t matter how organized and efficient we are, we all need a break because as entrepreneurs or solopreneurs we don’t stop.  We love what we do, that’s facts but, we don’t stop do we?

The beauty of what I’ve built is that I can do it from anywhere – with few exceptions yes but with Wi-Fi and my phone as the basics, I can keep going.  My side hustle businesses are the reason I have them.  I can do them from anywhere and maintain the streams of income.  Also, I brought my products along to Mexico because I believe in them and use them daily and of course, I talk about them because they work.  For me both MONAT & Q Sciences are now a part of my daily life.

I’m also the person who trains while on vacation.  I don’t mean a workout or moving daily.  I’m talking full blown training.  This time though, I made a conscious effort to get a few workouts in but more importantly, also to ensure I rested my body.  That my friends, I did.  I had two full workout sessions (run, boxing, conditioning, strength) and the remainder resulted in a lot of walking, swimming, and resting by the pool or pool bar and fueling my body was the best part.  Yes, there were treats but, you can make the right choices even on vacation.  Period.

I read a bit, wrote a bit, processed many thoughts and events from the past year trying to decide what I can live with and without in both my business and personal lives.  On my morning walks and sitting by the lagoon I found myself looking back but also looking ahead.  My 2022 was all about brand awareness for Strong Is My Beautiful™ and 2023 the goal is to grow her.  She’s a vibe and a feeling yes but once you start living, breathing, and believing, the world is your oyster!  Her purpose is to help people become THE best version of themselves both inside and out so for me, working on developing and growing the right areas are the things I had the time to give the headspace to.  I haven’t landed on a finite decision, but I do have an idea, so the time was fruitful.

“One thing I believe I did right is that all the choices I’ve made (or pots I have my hands in) ultimately feed into the brand purpose.”

Remember, business owners are everything.  We wear all the hats, and we make all the decisions – who is going to do it for us?

All of that sharing and you’re probably wondering if I had any vacation time at all.  I did, but I also needed the time to put the phone down and spend time on the thing (second to my family) that drives me and makes me get out of bed every day.  As much as I reflected and tried to look ahead, I also really took those moments to appreciate the life I have and will continue to build.

We all need a break to rest, reset and recover and just like strength and beauty, it can look and feel different to us all.  For me it was slowing down my constant planning and executing, really feeling the gratitude, and resting my body.  I came back ready to finish off the year strong.

Enjoy the rest of the holiday season friends!