My Unexpected Year
2024 was a year unlike any I've ever had before and probably unlike any year I'll ever have again.
As someone who did not previously have a lot of experience with dating (I married and have since divorced my high school sweetheart), the headline of my year would be something like:
The Year I Fell Hard into the Online Dating Rabbit Hole (And Learned How to Date).
I haven't perfected it, but after matching with a few hundred men, meeting 67 guys, and going on 23 dates in about nine months, I've gotten a pretty solid feel for online dating.
I love experiential learning and systematizing things, and my hope is that my dating system is on point enough at the moment to pretty much run on autopilot so that I can actually do other things with my life.
Because oh my gosh was this dating learning curve distracting, destabilizing, and such a doozy!
While I did have many wins this year - I successfully grieved and learned from the loss of a fifteen year relationship, solidified my favorite hobbies, re-built my sense of self, made three new friends + kept in touch with my people, supported my parents through illness, went on my first 5 day meditation retreat, and launched the Clarity Catalyst Coach brand while still serving ongoing clients - I have also been relatively spacey this year because... boys!!!
Which resulted in me creating my second worst year in business in a decade.
Shrug.
I'm not worried about one bad financial year. There's only so much energy we have in life, and most of my energy was going other places than work in 2024.
I picked up a simple, 2 day a week nanny job just before Thanksgiving to add in a bit more financial stability in the short-term. I figured if I'm going to be spacey going on lots of long walks to the park anyway, I may as well be spacey while going to the park with small children.
2024 was like an unintentional sabbatical as I regrouped, learned, and got my feet under me again. After a pretty rocky last couple of years in my personal life I have been so pleased to feel stable enough to actually set my intentions and plan my year for 2025. Ahhhhh.
I love this line from David Brooks' How to Know a Person: "We writers learn in public."
I so relate to this, and while I've shared some of this recent journey as it was occurring, I've also learned that I can have boundaries around my life when I'm right in the middle of things, so I mostly talked to my friends, my therapist, and my coaches about this year as it happened.
But, boy oh boy, now that I'm through with this unusual year do I have some juicy stories, lessons, and thoughts to share with you as we move into the new year!
I've grown tremendously in my understanding of relationships, emotional well-being, and the importance of strong support systems.
And I have more experience and compassion for the wide range of ways life can go. Sometimes we have the stability to go for our dreams and sometimes we're just getting through tough things the best that we can. Neither is right or wrong. There are just different seasons of life that require different approaches. Please know that you are valid and valuable whatever season of life you're in right now.
There are also some things I know about creating a life well lived from years of living and breathing coaching tools that the people around me keep commenting on.
It's something about my intentionality, my persistent self-compassion, how I jump head first into whatever I want to figure out, that I don't have an inner critic (really!), I don't take things personally, my courage muscle is well-developed, I LOVE figuring out efficiencies, I systematize things in my sleep, and I view everything as an opportunity to get data that I can learn from, which all means I move pretty fast and without excess drama.
I know sharing more about how I do this will be useful and inspiring for you too. There really are some methodologies that make life and getting whatever you want easier and so much more fun!
I've been grateful for everyone who has been a part of 2024, along with your patience and continued connection with me as I've been figuring things out. I'm looking forward to doing a better job of leading in 2025. It's a joy to have you in my life, and I hope that my growing pains can serve you, your life, and your dreams in the new year.
Wishing you a fantastic 2025! Virtual hugs and a warmth in my chest for the wonder of getting to life together. What an amazing treat. :)