Brag to Me

“Please brag to me about something you did in 2020 that you’re proud of.”

I’m not on facebook very much but this caught my eye. Though I didn’t respond, it served as a trigger for my mind to trot off in a new direction.

A theme of 2020 (besides the obvious ones) and something I’m proud of…

I listened A LOT to my intuition. There’s that little voice of wisdom that speaks in all kinds of ways, heard and unheard, seen and unseen, felt. It’s the force and source to which we are all connected. Listening and then acting were leaps of faith that paid off for me and my family.

With the benefit of hindsight, I see a stream of wisdom inspired insights leading to wisdom inspired action. Big and small, each led me down brand new paths.

I share a story in a previous post Kaboom…The Magic of an Insight. This insight led me and my husband to take a chance and go on a road trip from Phoenix, where we live, to Denver WITH Kyle (our son with autism.) Goal: see our grandson and his parents. Without a caregiver to watch Kyle at home, this was our only option. Hey, we had an option! Since we had not done this before and basically didn't think it was possible, it was a big deal. Until this insight, it didn’t occur to me that this trip could be on the radar for us.

A year ago, if anyone would have told me I would be considering traveling with Kyle, “no way” would have been a fast response. “We don’t travel with Kyle” was the only story I knew.

We took a chance. The trip was a success for all of us. Yes, tiring and extra work caring for him in new environments and helping him adapt, but very much worth all the effort. After it was over, I said I would do it again.

So we went back! For Thanksgiving, we drove back to Denver to be with our family again. Yes, we traveled during Thanksgiving. Armed with the lessons learned the first time around, I added a new twist to the trip. I found myself a caregiver ahead of time (thank you care.com) and we had some part time help with Kyle.

This was another wisdom inspired decision because of one of my mantras:

“I don’t take temporary help. There is too much training involved and it takes too much time to develop a relationship with Kyle.” I took a right turn from that way of thinking and found someone wonderful for Kyle who managed to develop a relationship with him rather quickly. Phone conversations and facetimes prior to meeting in person helped.

Once again, the trip was a lot of work but the wonderfulness of being with our family (both daughters this time) out shined all of it. I would do it again.

I’m also proud that I took a leap and co-taught my first webinar series with a coach friend/colleague. Born in a conversation in which we both said “let’s do it”, this decision took me off in a brand new direction. We had a great group of people with whom we shared a powerful understanding of peace of mind. It was more fun than I ever dreamed it might be.

Looking in the direction of what I am proud of, my thoughts automatically shift, even if just for a little while. It doesn’t take away the difficulties of the past 9 months. However, it does point me to a great and powerful reminder.

Wisdom is always available and worth listening to. Inspired action can be powerful. One small step off in a new direction can yield big payoffs.

How about you? What did you do in 2020 that you are proud of?