Tag Archives: dreams

Making it Happen Monday: Sometimes you have to walk away

Last week, I wrote about going where your dreams and goals take you. This week, I’m also focusing on movement, but for a different reason.

 160: Long road ahead

Just yesterday, my parents and I had dinner at Whataburger. The manager came by the check on us, make sure we were happy with our meal, etc., and she noticed Dad’s baseball cap — Dallas Cowboys.

So a conversation about football began, and she mentioned being an Oregon Ducks fan. I perked up and mentioned that, “Oh my husband went to U of O!” She responded that she did, too, and immediately the conversation turned to Oregon.

Through the course of the conversation, she revealed that she was in Texas because she had to separate herself and her daughter from a negative situation in Oregon. She said she’s much happier in Texas, and she’s glad she made the move. I told her she had to do what she had to do, and I wished her the best of luck.

We all have to deal with toxic people at one time or another. Sometimes its a friendship gone wrong. Sometimes its family. Sometimes its a co-worker or a boss. Sometimes its just a guy you meet every day on the street to-and-from your favorite coffee shop. No matter who it is (or perhaps its just a situation or a place), you eventually HAVE to cut that toxic person out of your life. Or at the very least, you have to set boundaries. Especially when they are holding you back from being all you can be. They are keeping you from your dreams.

So sometimes, making it happen can mean leaving a negative just as much as it is going towards a positive.

Have you ever had a toxic relationship? Perhaps you have one now. How did you take control of it? Or what are you doing TO control it now? I’d love some feedback.

mihm

Proactive vs Reactive

Lighting experimentThere’s something I’ve been very guilty of over the last few years. I’ve become very reactive to things in life. Something happens. I deal with it. We move on. Keep on keepin’ on. Not necessarily backsliding in any way, but not taking big strides forward either.

I’ve mentioned in various posts lately that I’ve been in a cleaning mood, and cleaning moods usually equates life changes. Positive life changes.

So here I am also realizing that those changes can’t happen without effort from me. Just cleaning out my closet and hauling clothes to Goodwill isn’t going to be enough! It’s like the joke about people in a flood declining help from helicopters and boats while sitting on their roof, because “God will save me!” Then when they die and get to heaven, they ask God why he didn’t help and he said, “I sent you a boat and a helicopter!” You can’t just expect God to make things happen without doing a little work yourself.

Here’s what’s interesting. As soon as I decided I wanted to again be proactive chasing my dreams, and doing what I want to do career-wise, things started rolling without my trying too hard. It’s almost like it was all sitting there just waiting for me to make my mind up to go for it 100%.

First, I had an absolutely awesome photoshoot with Joseph Reed. He and his wife are amazing people that I already consider friends. I haven’t laughed that much during a shoot… ever. It just made me go, “This! This is what I want to do MORE of… gotta make that happen.”

Second, a new invigoration has come to RoadWidows. And you know what’s the coolest thing about this new push? Discovering how much of a drive both Chris and Lindsy have for it and their work ethics in general. Their focus is contagious, and they make me want to work harder. Work with more focus. They’re driven, focused and successful women. Just the type  I want to be associated with more and more.

Third, an old friend that I’d lost touch with over the last couple of years reached out to me, and we got together for dinner and drinks earlier this week. The refreshing things about her are that she has no association with the music business, she’s a successful business woman, and she’s a big fan of what I dream of doing and AM doing. Her encouragement has been yet another a kick in the butt.

Finally, I only need one word: FAMILY. My parents are patient with me. And Thank God for that!!! They know I’ll come into my own in my own time, and they’re supportive and encouraging. My husband and I had a long conversation this week about being proactive in BOTH our careers, and its invigorated us. We’re each other’s biggest fans and cheerleaders. So with my family behind me, how can I not throw myself into it all with a renewed vigor?

I’m excited. I’m terrified. I’m ready. SO ready.

C’mon future. Let’s do this.