Tag: 2020

Having Fun the Second Half of 2020

Has your state opened back up? I live in Michigan and there are different parts of the state that are beginning to open. I have to admit it, there is a part of me that is excited about being able to do things again, but there is also a part that is cautious about taking my children out. I think that there is a natural part of this. We’ve been quarantined for so long that just getting back to some normal things that we used to do is going to take time. 

The second half of the year is going to be interesting. What will you do? Are there events that you want to make up for? Missed birthdays, events, and get-togethers will be prevalent. It could be a rush to try and get everything in that we missed in this second half of 2020. 

  • What I Want 

How will you plan the second half of this year? For me, the biggest couple of things that I want to do with the rest of this year is to take a family vacation and then plan something for my anniversary. 

This is something that my wife and I are currently discussing. It’s a balancing act that we’re working on. There are a lot of things to consider when it comes to planning trips for the second half of the year. 

 

  • How comfortable are you?

This has to do with your comfort on a number of different levels. If you spend any amount of time on social media you will see people all over the place on coronavirus and whether or not they should wear a mask. When it comes to taking your family out and planning a vacation, you have to know what your level of comfort is. 

  • What is open in terms of what you’re trying to do

After you know how comfortable you are, you then have to know what’s open and how they are operating. For example, we were planning on having a day for our kids and taking them to a Legoland that was about an hour or so away. They had discounted tickets because they just opened back up. The problem, it’s basically reservation only now and it was going to be mid-September before we could get in. 

  • Do you have the time?

If you’ve gone back to work it can seem like everyone is going to take their vacations all at the same time. It’s a balancing act that a lot of businesses are having to do. Starting the business back, getting revenue-generating again, needing workers to use some vacation time, but also need people to work. There are a lot of aspects to business and people going back to work. 

Discussion Question:

What are you planning for the second half of the year?

Change The Narrative

Hopefully, the year is off to a good start. Are you still holding on to the changes that you want to see in your life? Have you held on to your why?

What’s Your Why?

If you’ve fallen off the wagon, don’t lose hope. A bad moment, day, week or month does not have to determine the rest of your year. You can always change the narrative.

It may only be the beginning of the year, but as much as we want the new year to be a new start, we really just carry over the previous year. Think about it, how many times has the date changed and you had a completely new start? Probably never.

My Journey

This year I’ve embarked on a new journey that will stretch me. I’m embarking on developing a new writing adventure. This adventure has forced me to confront my insecurities in this area. I had these same insecurities last year but I never had to deal with them. Now, I have to deal with them and decide if I want to overcome them and grow in this area or will I go backward.

Going backward is easier, and frankly, it’s more comfortable to not have to grow as a person. While the date on the calendar changed, this new year didn’t mean that I was a new person. What I can change is the narrative.

What is a narrative? A narrative is basically a story. So if we want to change our story, it’s going to require that we grow. Changing our story requires more than just a change in the date.

1. Fight

Changing your story is going to require that you fight for the story you want. It’s going to be hard and you’re going to have moments where you doubt yourself, but you have to be willing to fight. You need to fight to change the narrative

2. Know Thyself

I mentioned it above, but there will be times where you feel like things aren’t changing, what will you do? How do handle the disappointments that come in life? Knowing yourself is a part of what it will take. You’re going to have to recognize when you hit a wall. Changing your narrative will force you to grow, and how you handle that process determines if the narrative changes.

3. Support is vital

When the tough times come you’re going to need support. You’re going to need people around you that will be able to encourage you through the hard times. Who you choose for that support is going to be key. Set yourself up with people that encourage, it isn’t something that you think about but it’s what you’ll need.

Discussion Question:

What do you want your narrative to say?

Welcome to 2020!!!

Welcome to 2020!! Does today feel different than it did yesterday? Will this year be different than every other year before? I don’t know about you, but I want this year to be different, it’s just about navigating a way to get from my current location to my new destination. Maybe, you’re like me and in your heart you want this upcoming year to be different. There is a way that we can have 2020 be the start of something special.

Towards the end of 2019, I did what I usually do at the end of each year. I have a time of reflecting. I usually just spend the time thinking about my goals for the upcoming year and what I want to see for the upcoming year.

While this is good, this time I really began looking deeper at what didn’t work for the previous year. I went looking for the areas that I have not done my best in. The areas that I needed to attack to move in a better direction.

Off To A Fast Start

One of the main areas that I was able to identify was that I am great at starting new things. New workouts, new habits, skills, I’m great at putting them together and mapping out how I want it to look and the overall beginning. I love the start of reading a new book, but never finish. I love starting projects but may not see them through, you get the idea and can probably tell where this is going.

I’ve been the opposite when it comes to seeing things to their completion. The same excitement that I start something with is not the same when it comes to seeing something all the way through.

I don’t know if there is some magic trick, or life hack on how to attack this. What I do know, is that you have to keep trying.

Different Results = Different Methods

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and thinking that the results will be different. I’ve been in this circle without realizing it. It can be hard to see something when you are in the midst of it.

To get something different we have to do different things. Goals and habits won’t change your life if we continue to fall into the same traps.

Fresh Start

The good news is that it’s a new year! Sometimes that’s all it takes for us to turn the page and start something new. Welcome to 2020! What do you want your life to look like?What do you want the next decade to look like? There’s no time like the present to become the change that you want to see.

Discussion Question:

What do you want your New Year to look like?