So this is how it all begins, just a few words online and BAM, I’ve got a blog. I think it took me longer to come up with my blog name than it did to write out this first post. Let me introduce myself. My name is Jess and I turned 45 years old this month. My husband and I will be celebrating our 25th anniversary later this year and we are officially empty nesters! This is a HUGE milestone since this has freed up time in my schedule from our child’s school actives to explore my personal interest. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed going to band recitals and chaperoning some fieldtrips but, working in the concession stand every Friday night during football season was not my first choice of how to spend my time.
I believe what challenges you makes you a stronger, better person. Blogging is an opportunity to get outside of my comfort zone and learn something about myself and others. So be gentle with me because I am still human and have feeling. That was one of my fears about writing a blog. There is a huge potential for failure and hurtful words from strangers from the safety of their keyboards. However, I refuse to let my fear keep me from doing the things I want to do!
That same fear kept me from attending a beginner wheel throwing/ceramics class. I couldn’t get any of my friends to attend with me and I was so afraid to attend, not know a single soul in the class. So I waited another six months of hemming and hawing before I signed up for my first ceramics class and face my fears and my social awkwardness. I am so grateful that I did not let my fears keep me from doing something that I wanted to do and I now LOVE. I have been throwing pottery for the last two and half years and have meet some of the most wonderful people that I would not have met otherwise.
I have set a personal goal this year tied directly to my pottery. This will force me to get better at my craft. I plan on participate in at least one local craft fair/pop-up shop to sell my pottery this year. I’ve got eight months left to meet this goal and make it happen. By me putting it out here to the public, it will help me be accountable for my goals.
Making that first step is the hardest. Putting one foot in front of the other and making steps toward the things you want in life can feel difficult. It starts with you deciding what you want to do. Then make a game plan for how you want to achieve the goal. Writing down that task you need to do to get the ball rolling and taking action on that first task can really help.
What is something you have wanted to do but, haven’t yet? Let’s just start with a simple list of five things you want to do personally. Not what your family and friends want but, what you want. Then select one thing you can make a task for and take action on this week to start the ball rolling. It could be anything. Sign up for a class or 5K or something as simple as watching YouTube videos on how to care for succulents and split/propagate them. That one was on my task list for a couple of months and I finally did it yesterday. Now I feel more knowledgeable and confident that I won’t kill a succulent. My end goal with that one is to pot succulents in ceramic dishes that I have made and possibly sell them at a craft pop-up shop in the future. I may have over shared but, just so you all know, my lists have lists and my mind is like The Matrix.
Thank you for listening to me ramble. I’ll get better with this as I continue to learn and put one foot in front of the other. I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below and tell me about a fear you faced recently and how you overcame it. Was it like my pottery class experience and now you’re high on life singing “Unchained Melody” while picturing Patrick Swayze sitting behind you at a pottery wheel?