Over Thanksgiving weekend, I found myself in an Upstate New York bank opening a business checking account for my startup, a socially conscious line of yoga and play clothing for our littlest babes under five. The young woman who helped me was lovely, funny and made the monotony of endless amounts of paperwork that come with opening a business, (gasp!) almost fun.
Midway through our meeting, she said something that made my heart skip a beat, something along the lines of, “I accomplished nothing this year, the year was a total blur.”
I couldn’t help but feel really sorry for her, but also quickly realized that this is how millions of people feel each year as the holidays rush in like no one’s business and the calendar year quickly comes to an end, with vows that next year will treat us better.
I could very much relate to her comment, as just a few short years ago, that was me; another year closing out, more missed opportunities to travel abroad, apply to business school, find a job that truly ignited that inner fire within.
I slowly started to wake up to life in 2012, the year that I started business school while also working full time. Working eight hour days and surviving rigorous classes left very little free time (I was definitely that person who scheduled first dates for 10pm on Tuesday evenings near my school. So little time! So many first dates to go on!) An incredibly hectic schedule taught me something really important; it taught me the value of time and that time is so fleeting if you don’t take it by the reigns and maximize the heck out of it.
Fast forward to 2015: business school completed, along with a year that included embracing new experiences: half marathon training, scuba diver certification and a four week getaway in Cape Town, South Africa (using up all that vacation time along the way) to get my Kundalini yoga teacher certification.
I went into the training with absolutely zero intention to teach yoga, but by day two, fell in love with the idea of sharing this divine practice with others; it was changing my world so quickly and knew it could change others’ lives too. Subconscious thoughts that I didn’t even realize were pulling me down, were cleared. In one meditation, my subconscious was screaming at me to go after my dream to launch a fashion company and be my own boss. I was finally able to envision what leaving my full time job would look like to live out my wildest dream of living life on my own schedule, to my own drum; it no longer felt nearly as scary.
2016 has been a year of truly taking a leap of faith and letting the universe guide each move. Quitting a job of almost nine years this past February, albeit scary to face the unknown, was hands down the best decision I’ve made so far in life. When you clear space and let the universe do its job of being a divine guide, opportunities naturally present themselves, time seems to expand, the path looks clearer. And to those wondering financially how I did it, check out this post.
As 2016 comes to a close in just about four weeks, take time to reflect on this past year: Are you fulfilled and happy? What did you accomplish that you were proud of? What steps can you take now to make 2017 a truly incredible, life altering 365 days that doesn’t end up being a complete blur by next December? The world is waiting for you to live out your destiny and share your gift. So go for it; the only regret you’ll certainly have is not taking that leap in the first place. See where you land and please share, we are cheering you on!
Originally published at medium.com