I’ll never forget this moment 9 years ago…

If you’ve been following my journey, you know we made a huge life transition to TN over the holidays! I’ve taken this first month to integrate in to this new environment and our new home, as well as getting my family settled.

As you can imagine, it’s been a HUGE change.

Our scenery on the way to school is profoundly different. I drive 15 minutes down country roads, with sprawling farms on either side of us. We see horses, ponds, old tractors, country stores and wide open spaces. Today on the way to school, a man raced across the road chasing his runaway goat! It provided lots of laughs for sure!

The kiddos had a full week of flu (first time ever), a full week of snow days (first time ever) and enjoyed lots of sledding.

My oldest is still not sure about his new school, although it’s growing on him. My younger two are LOVING their new school (big sigh of relief).

I have to share with you that all of it has been good and hard mixed into one big beautiful messy experience. I’ve been tested, profoundly grateful, sweetly surprised and presented with re-learnings that I am still marinating on and will, I’m sure, share with you in the future.

Through all of this, I’ve been thinking of you and how many transitions and changes you are going through as well. How we all are never in this life alone and how beautiful that is.

I’ve also been thinking about failure, what it means, how it defines us and how the fear of it holds us hostage from doing and being the women we truly are at our core.

Nine years ago, shortly after giving birth to our twin boys, I remember sitting at our kitchen table and crying. Through tears, I said to my husband, Chris, “I’ve failed at everything I’ve ever done”. Thinking back on this moment makes me sad. I look back at the woman I was then – a woman who, in spite of everything she had pushed and persevered through, had no idea that everything she had done and lived through thus far, was simply training ground, life experience for who she was becoming.

I had worked in TV, I had gone back to design school to pursue and nourish the creative side of myself, and I had worked briefly as a Zone diet consultant teaching people how to eat. I had become a mother of a sweet and precocious baby boy, and then again had welcomed twin sons three years later!

All of these things took work and focus and a lot of learning, and each one of these experiences taught me and brought me closer to what I do today, which is support and empower women to become more of who they are, with joy and confidence. To express themselves creatively, connect to their body, and live spirit-led, intentional lives. This was where I was headed all along, but I couldn’t see it yet.

So often we look at where we are or where we have been as a failure, but what if we completely threw out our old definitions of failure? We’ve all probably seen or heard quotes talking about how failure is how we learn. But come on, how many times did you hear that and really take it in? Maybe on some level you know it to be true, but in life, in real life, fear of failure is still what keeps you stuck and unable to move forward.

What is so scary about failure? “What will people think”, is usually at the end of that fear.

What will others think of me?

I recently attended a retreat where my teacher asked the questions, “Where are the power leaks in your life”? After all the inner work I’ve done, fear of failure was still right up there.

What about you?

As I enter this new year, I am filled with excitement for this new home that I’m slowly falling in love with. I’m filled with excitement for the new programs I’m creating for you, especially my Soul Sessions women’s circle, which will have a virtual space this year. And, yes, with that excitement comes fear.

Fear of “failure” can only stop us if we allow it to. If we can feel it and acknowledge it and make peace with the fact that it will be there, we can then make the conscious decision to take the next step anyway. When we walk with fear, and refuse to let it block our path or get in front of us, eventually we will get to where we are going.

We are always learning, growing and BECOMING. That will never stop.

The only way to “fail” at anything is to let fear make the decisions for us. Everything else is a success.

Success to me is moving forward towards what you know to be true. Falling down. Getting back up. Taking action towards your goals.  Using your voice to speak the truth in love. None of these things include failure, no matter the outcome.

So, dear sister, in this end of January as we have already set our intentions for the year and had a few weeks to take action, I invite you to go inward and try this exercise.

I invite you to go back through your timeline and write down milestones that have defined your path in life up until today. Notice how many of these you defined as failures and think about shifting that to “What did that teach me, and how did this move me forward? How did this experience shape me? How is it still teaching me today as I look ahead to new goals?”

Everything is happening for you. If you were to believe this, how would it shape the way you look back at your experiences, even the ones you thought were failures?

In this new year, it’s a chance to redefine everything…

Are you willing to toss out the fear of failure and grab hold of the freedom to flourish?

What will that look like in your life?

Please hit reply and let me know. I read each and every response and love connecting with you!

Sending you so much love and light in this new year.