Another Year Around the Sun
As I turn 44, we are in the final three weeks of our year traveling around the world. There is so much to reflect on from this past year. So many lessons learned, mostly about traveling with three kids (and multiple iterations of friends and family) during a global pandemic, but also insights to what brings me joy, peace, inspiration, and energy, when and how I feel my best self and what I want to focus my time and brain power on in the future.
What brings me:
Joy - experiences with family and friends, especially my husband and kids
Peace - being physical outdoors in the woods or on the water
Inspiration - the goodness, courage, and selflessness of others.
Energy - working towards/accomplishing goals I’ve set and working on complex challenges that make a positive difference in the lives of others.
When and how do I feel my best self:
After a good night sleep, when I’ve worked out and fueled my body with healthy, nourishing food, and have something that matters before me to do or accomplish.
What do I want to spend my time and brain power on:
Work that leaves a positive, lasting impact on the world.
Being with my kids and family, helping them become the best versions of themselves
Unapologetically preserving the time and space I need to be the best version of myself.
This clarity was hard to gain when I was the President & CEO of Metro United Way, simultaneously serving on 6 boards, leading Sophia’s Girl Scout troop, trying to stay fit, and be a great mom, wife, daughter, and friend. I know I’m not unique in this crazy juggling act, but I call out each of the “balls” I had in the air because it is endemic of the American work ethic and culture, and it is leading us to be one of the most stressed, least happy groups of people in the world. This I have seen first hand.
When I left MUW, I had over 30 vacation days that I had not used - in a conversation with two thirty somethings from the Netherlands we met in Cartagena (who were traveling for 7 weeks), they couldn’t fathom not taking everyday of vacation they were provided. I know so many people who leave vacation days unused, saving them, if they can, for a future time that never comes or to get a big payout for those days when they finally leave their company, valuing the money more than the time that could be spent each year with family or friends, in nature (or not), away from work.
My goal for this 44th year is to take all that I’ve learned and bring it into my life back in Louisville. As I look for my next career move, as I decide what opportunities to say yes or no to, as I respond to requests from my kids and requests from others - I want to pick up fewer balls and juggle those I hold with greater presence and joy.
Here’s to 44!
