Summer Solstice: New Beginnings, New Blog!

wooden surface diy table top view with office articles, laptop, tea cup

As a life-long high-achieving, recovering perfectionist, a large part of my experience has been identifying a goal, committing to the effort required, and achieving it. I rarely saw a goal or dream that good, old fashioned hard work couldn’t fix… until the pandemic. 

As it did for many in 2020, the global pandemic caused quite a period of introspection for me; Add turning 40 to that, and you could say it created quite the internal reckoning! As I have explored all this at a deeper level the last few years, I have decided to put “fingers to keyboard,” both to cause myself to slow down, reflect and learn, and also in the spirit of sharing in case my experiences and insights can add value to someone else.

While I have delayed and delayed publishing this blog for quite some time, until I felt “ready,” (I said I’m a recovering perfectionist, remember? I’m not fully there yet!) I decided to be like Nike and “Just Do It!” The summer solstice is a perfectly fitting day to put this blog out into the universe, (as it holds deeply personal significance to me), a story for another day.

So ready or not, here I am and here it (this blog) is!

As I evaluate my God-given gifts and strengths, I’ve also thought about how I can use my experience to help others. There are plenty of things I’m not great at… Singing. Reading maps. Running long distances. Visualizing what furniture or accessories will look like in my house. The list goes on!

But, I’ve learned to embrace and honor those things I am good at. Strategic Thinking. Seeing the play before it happens. Connecting the dots for myself and others. Finding meaning and purpose. Showing empathy and compassion. Building Winning Teams. Developing Leaders. Raising the bar. Push and pull leadership. 

Over time, what I’ve learned is, with the accomplishment of every goal comes the birth of a new one. I am driven, I don’t sit still, and candidly, I have a short attention span. Sometimes, I think the challenges of my life have built my resilience so much, that it’s easier to just put my head down and keep going, than to slow down and take it all in. But I have realized that by living this way, I am running a race with no finish line (Simon Sinek calls it “The Infinite Game.”) 

So, what happens in, while in pursuit of the “next,” I am missing the “now.” After 40+ years on this spinning sphere, I am finally learning to accept my imperfections, get comfortable with being slow and still, and to embrace the notion that life’s purpose is not a destination, but a continual work-in-progress, so I might as well slow down and enjoy the journey! 

I haven’t figured it all out, and that’s why I’m here… both here, literally on this site, documenting my thoughts and hoping to share my lessons to help others. But also here, on this planet, at this moment in time. So, I invite you to join me for the ride, as I continue to unpack my greater purpose and continue to work on becoming my best self, in hopes that it may help you too because as you’ll hear me say more than once, “the rising tide lifts all boats.” 

In the meantime, I wish you a joyful summer solstice, and the bright days ahead that it symbolizes.

xox,

Stacey