2017, you were quite the year.

I’ve never grown so much, accomplished so much, failed so much, loved and been hurt so much or been more excited and terrified as I have this year.

Writing this blog has been one of my greatest sources of joy and every time I sit down to write, I’m forced to confront my own truth.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading, for following along, for trusting me and allowing me to do what I love. Without you, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

The more we stand in our own truth, the more we give other’s permission to do the same. Here is my attempt to step outside the comforts of a highlight reel and share a transparent look into the highs and lows of the past year and what I’ve learned along the way.

This year…

I launched my website

Contributed and been feature in dozens of press articles (a few of my favorites here, here and here)

Worked with some amazing brands 

Officially left my career as a full-time publicist to pursue my health coaching practice and recipe development.

Along the way I’ve learned some incredible and difficult lessons:

  •  I am extremely determined— This is both my greatest source of strength and my biggest weakness. My determination this year has pushed me to create more opportunities for myself than I ever thought possible. It has also pushed me to take on way too much and too many times, I put my own health and mental well being last. This is a hard truth to swallow.
  • I will inevitably disappoint someone—This year I learned I care way too much what people think of me and I hate to disappoint people. I spent way too much time trying to be the perfect employee, business owner, friend and family member for fear of disappointing someone. In the process I drove myself crazy. I came to realize that I cannot do it all and by choosing me, I will inevitably disappoint someone. I’m still working on fully accepting this.
  • Being an entrepreneur is one of the hardest and most rewarding jobs I’ve ever had— I’ve had a lot of high-pressure jobs in my career. You can read a bit about my background here but being an entrepreneur is hands down the most difficult job I’ve ever had and the most rewarding. There are days when I question everything, realize I have no clue what I’m doing but for every day I feel the cast of fear and self-doubt come over me, there are equally days when I’m literally blown away by what I am to accomplish. I’ve realized more than ever the importance of community to lift me up when I can’t lift myself up.
  • I will make mistakes— I have no formal training as an entrepreneur or business owner. There were times this year when I didn’t trust my gut and worked with brands or partnered with people I knew were not the right fit for or didn’t align with my values. I looked at the short-term benefits over my values. Through these experiences I’ve realized the importance of finding support for aspects of my business I’m not good at. Working with and finding a business coach has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. We don’t have to be good at everything.

As I move into 2018, I’m working on moving at a slower pace and envisioning the long-term over the short-term. There’s a lot I want to accomplish, from delving more into the practice of Ayurveda and herbalism to continuing to grow my brand to help as many women as possible suffering from anxiety, depression and stress disorders but right now, I’m working on doing something a little different this year.

Instead of creating a plan and a vision board as a daily reminder to manifest my goals, I’m working on creating more space in my life. I’m working on not pushing so hard, rather allowing and trusting that all the energy that I’ve put out in 2017 will manifest and my path will continue to unfold in due time.

Instead of a vision board this year, I’ll leave you with two simple quotes that currently sit over my desk.

“Embrace the open space.”

“Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.”

So here’s to creating more space in 2018, trusting and allowing, Thank you 2017 for all the lessons. I’m ready for what’s ahead.