Changes

I must have started a post on the following points 3 different times tonight. There is A LOT I want to say about the decision making process that has gone into each of these things. After many discussions with the worlds most supportive husband, desperate prayer, and cold feet nearly every five minutes (I swear I change my mind on these things almost daily)...I have finally accepted that deep down in my gut and in my heart these decisions are worth committing too. What is it they say...to get big rewards you have to take big risks? While I'm not sure any of these things qualify as "big risks" they are definitely outside of my comfort zone.

Anyway, because I have flip-flopped more than a bad politician on committing to some of these goals and decisions, I'm officially putting them out there to remain accountable to myself and my goals for family and personal fulfillment. I have a great cheering squad led by my fantastic husband and all my chips are in. Pray for me in 2015...I'm already excited, scared, challenged, unsure, energized, fearful, and triumphant. I'm using the impending birth of our slightly unexpected new addition to begin to turn over a new leaf completely. I live by the band-aide rule...generally. I'm a big proponent of just ripping it off. Put your big girl panties on and take some risks. Time to put my money where my mouth is. 

Here's what I'm up to:

I'm (OFFICIALLY THIS TIME) no longer working as a full time Speech Pathologist. I will be working essentially part-time hours most weeks as a per diem therapist. Money and titles are not all they are cracked up to be and I've never been overly passionate about my career choice. I often just have to tell myself I am to survive another day. I'm done with management and healthcare in general. The only thing that keeps me energized are amazing co-workers (I've generally lucked out here) and the occasional patient who worships the ground you walk on...most of the rest don't seem to care about what I can do for them. I've said a million and one times that the most fulfilling hours of my week are when I get feedback from my group fitness participants. You are all so generous in telling me that I've made a positive impact in your lives. Truly brings me to my knees in gratitude. It's amazing how leading a simple group fitness class can change someones life for the better. I have RARELY received that fulfillment or felt like I've been able to make that impact with patients I've worked with. Go figure.

I will be spending more time as a hands on mom with my boys. I'm excited to try new activities with them and be able to participate in activities that other moms and kiddos are doing during the day that I haven't been able to participate in such as music classes, play groups, and creative endeavors. 

I will be pursuing my personal training certification as well as some additional group exercise certifications. In doing so, I hope to add more classes to my roster and hopefully take on some personal training clients by years end. I plan to continue to slowly transition to a career in health and wellness. I would love to begin working more closely with special populations with a special focus on pre and post natal fitness which has become a true passion of mine. My long term goal is to own my own fitness studio or training center...we're talking 10 year plan here...so 2015 marks the moment when I will begin to take some serious steps towards educating myself in all aspects of the field. I hope to find opportunities where I can continue to learn about business and marketing as well. I have discovered I have an entrepreneurial spirit and it's really a long game to find success...so time to fuel the fire.

Finally, I would love to continue to grow my blog and health coaching business to support these goals. I'm looking forward to building a community here and participating more in the online health and fitness blogging community at large. I would love to parlay the work I do on my personal blog into potential local or national opportunities for writing or contributing health and wellness material to various publications, initiatives, events, etc. 

I'm so excited and so fortunate to be able to have the flexibility to try this on for size. The most important aspect is that, while many of these goals will keep me busy, this approach affords me the opportunity to have more flexibility to be present and involved with my kids which is paramount to me. I didn't realize how important that would be to me until I had Connor. I still want to feel fulfilled and make a contribution but family comes first right now.

So, pray for me! While I'm terrified, I have a feeling 2015 is going to be an amazing and eye opening year. I'll share more about what led me to these decisions over the next several weeks...not that I'm so delusional as to think you're actually interested...mostly because the posts I have started about it are sort of cathartic for me and have helped me officially process and accept these challenges and decisions. And, they may help you too. I know for me, it's nice to hear about what makes someone else tick or to hear about how they reached certain decisions. Many times there is camaraderie in knowing someone is going through a similar decision making process as you and we can receive energy, ideas, and reassurance from their story. So maybe mind will help you. 

Now, tell me. What BIG scary decisions are you making this year? Have you ever taken a big risk? Especially when it comes to career or family or both? I'd love to hear your story! More to come about mine soon.