You can change your life by this time next year.

After spending almost all of my adult life just letting life happen to me, I have made a conscious choice to change that. I am in charge of my life and I will be intentional about the changes I make and the end results that I want to achieve.  

I started 2024 with a mission to find my purpose. I read and then I read some more. I started taking classes again (turns out I am a better student as a 52-year-old). I discovered my “why”. When people used to say that, I never understood what that really meant.  

I spent a huge amount of time just sitting with my failures and accepting the things that I could not change. I took a look at my life and all the things I have to be grateful for. The blessings that I have, to start with, my children. There are no words to describe the love for a child. I am I am so incredibly lucky to have 4 of them.  This is my “why”.  I feel like since the first moment I held my oldest son, I was overcome with my new responsibility and I embraced it with my whole heart. About a decade ago, I got won the lottery and got to add a bonus son and my best friend to my life. It is hard to argue with the blessings I have been given. 

Fast forward 30 years and I am finding myself staring at an almost empty nest. It scares me beyond words to not have the boys relying on me, asking me questions and being my company every single night.  I know that my job as a parent is to raise them with strong enough wings to fly away. It’s just a very hard thing to do, letting go. 

I knew I had to try and rediscover the person I was meant to be, beyond a parent. This is what brings me to this post. In my search I stumbled on a few things that have become invaluable.  One-word– Podcasts. I had never before listened to a single one.  I, for some reason I had the misconception that they were all news related or purely educational. Boy, was I wrong.  

It has been amazing learning from and following these incredible women and I would not be doing my part if I  didn’t share them with all of you. I was going through a very very difficult situation in my life and this first woman came into my life exactly when I needed her. My good friend Kelly, suggested I read this book right here. Just click on the photo below to begin your journey to a healthy love for yourself.

There are a couple of books in this series and both are fabulous. She is a very relatable, real writer that I connected with right away. She also has a website and podcast that are worth following. These can be found for free on YouTube.

Near the end of 2023, I was introduced to this next strong woman. By, no surprise here–my friend Kelly. She told me “You need to get some Mel Robbins in your life” Well darling, you were 100% correct. This was my very first podcast I had ever listened to and it changed my view on life like I can not describe. I then found her books that she published like these below. Just click here to find all of her content. You will not regret “getting a little Mel Robbins in your life” too.

If you are instead a fan of audible books–here is a treat for you. I would put on my headphones, turn this on and walk every morning. I came home with new drive, excitement for my life for the first time in years.

We are coming to the end of another year and during this very busy hectic month, take some time to treat yourself to some self-love. If you combine this with the Hygge lifestyle I talked about in this post. You can start 2025 off right with a new sense of peace and intention.