Dear kindred friend,

Wherever you are, I want you to pause with me.Take a step back from whatever you’re working on, maybe you’re in a fun swivel chair and so it means rolling back from your desk. 

Move back. Take a breath. Inhale… and… exhale. 

You’re halfway through 2021. 

Let the realization of that reality sink in and notice what’s happening to you. Are you feeling relieved? Anxious? Disbelief? Overwhelmed? Excited? Grateful? Empowered? Sadness? Maybe a whole mix of them? All valid.

I’m feeling a mix of all of them too. Because we’re not just a one note kind of beings. It’s totally possible, reasonable, and natural to experience seemingly competing emotions at the same time. You can be both joyful and sad. Remember the movie Inside Out? Joy realized that Riley didn’t just need to feel joy all the time, she needed sadness too and sadness helped Riley be more connected with who she truly was. So hear me when I say, you can have both. 

However, in this moment of being halfway through 2021, I want to help you slide that joy a little more into focus. I want you to celebrate what has happened this year so far.

So take a sip from your favorite beverage, whether it’s boba or champagne, and take a moment to reflect and celebrate:

Celebrate what the year has held so far, the big things and the small-er things. 

But maybe celebration is hard for you. You don’t feel like you can celebrate until you’ve gotten through the current hurdle or obstacle in your life. Maybe you don’t believe you have anything worth celebrating. Maybe you’re experiencing a deep fog of sadness that’s too thick to see past.

I don’t want to diminish those feelings if that’s you. I’ve been in those spaces, and have experienced them these last few months with a newborn. They are valid feelings and deserve time and space to unpack them further in understanding what is going on under the surface of them. However, just as Joy realizes Riley needs Sadness from Inside Out, Sadness also sees that she needs Joy. 

So take a moment to acknowledge Sadness, and then challenge yourself to write three things of celebration down. They can be as simple as getting up this morning, opening an email you didn’t want to, eating something more than toast, etc. Three things. 

In this moment, my three things are: making it through the newborn phase, taking a day off this week, learning to solo adventure (in small increments) with baby (obligatory baby photo to the right). 

Celebrating with you today friend!

With joy & gratitude,
Val