Was 2018 a crazy roller coaster ride for you? Smooth sailing? Milestone events?
My writerly pals and I are remembering the happy moments as well as lessons we learned from challenges this past year in our blog hop: The Ups, Downs and In Betweens on the 2018 Creative Road.” Check out our personal reveals, then visit the other #Gr8Blogs linked at the end of the post for more shared recollections and lessons learned along the way. We hope you'll be inspired to dive into your own special memories of 2018!
=============================================================
So what important life lessons did I learn this past year? Here are four of them...
Never stop believing
So in October 2017 I had a panic moment career wise and was in that fun position of job hunting. Now what I should have done was to have faith and know that things would have worked out, but instead I went into panic mode and I landed up starting up another venture in the form of a singles social club, random I know! It landed up taking up so much of my time and energy away from my creativity and in the process left me feeling incredibly lost and confused for most of the year. I also took on a part time job in a school which I adored but again began to hinder me in the end. The funny thing was, that as soon as I had committed myself to this other venture and accepted the position at the school my art then decided to take off and SplatterInk Art was born. If only I had trusted my inner voice more and held off I could have avoided alot of headaches, drama and confusion. I have finally managed to rectify the situation and feel a tonne of weight lifted which has resulted in me being more focused and I have gained some much needed clarity on where I am heading now.
I continue to do alot of inner work and I am constantly developing my mind to work for me rather than against me. The biggest change I have seen this year was releasing my negative relationship with money. Now I know I am still a baby when it comes to being a full time artist and I knew this road wouldn't be easy to begin with, but I felt like I was just going round and round in circles when it comes to finances. Dead broke one minute, ok the next. It was beginning to get tiresome going through the same thing time and time again so I thought enough is enough this needs to stop.
So I started attending online courses about how to attract money, keep it, grow it etc. For the first time ever I started to record all of my finances down and get full control of my income and expenditure. I used to avoid this because it scared the hell out of me but I knew it was time to face it. I started researching success stories, signed up to loads of life coaching channels and listened to them daily. I began to change how I viewed money and then I finally released the hold it had over me by doing something that would have seemed highly foolish at the time. I had no jobs in the pipeline and barely any money in my account and I signed myself up to an expensive marketing course that felt so right for me and which could be paid in 3 installments. I took out a credit card, yes I know I know lol and paid my first payment. Guess what? Within that week I had a book offer and that month I had agreed to work on 4 other books. Since that day more and more work has been steadily coming in, and 2018 has turned into the most creative year I have had to date. Funnily enough so much work has come in that I didn't have time to do the course so I just chip away at it as and when I can and it will get completed eventually. I have a completely different relationship with money now and respect it rather than fear it.
I tend to do a lot of extra things in the background to do my bit in the world and hopefully raise a few vibrations out there. As a result I take on too much, work myself into the ground and scatter my energy all over the place. The last year I had to make some very tough decisions in cutting some of these things out of my life. I stopped some volunteer work that I loved doing, I recently stopped running the singles social club and I had to cut back my hours at the school. All of these choices were decisions I found incredibly difficult to make as they bought me so much joy, but it was something that needed to be done. I feel I need to put all my focus and energy into my creative work now so that I can do the things that I am being guided to do. Once I have done that and have the backing I need to start giving back fully, then I can return to giving more, but the main thing I have learned that it is NOT good to give from an empty cup. Looking after yourself is top priority, as hard as that is to do when you are a bit of a people pleaser.
And last but not least, I always knew seeing others happy makes me happy but the last year has reinforced that even more. I have had an amazing time meeting new people and watching new friendships being formed around me. I have witnessed a couple fall in love and so much happiness being shared. Being with other people really lifts your spirits, we are social beings and are meant to be around others. I strongly recommend that everyone should try and go out and meet new people at least once a month and if that's not possible then pick up the phone and connect with your inner circle. All this online stuff is no good for connecting people, to find true happiness you need to go back to the old school way and do it in person.
So there we have it, the top four life lessons 2018 has shown me. I say it every year but.... it's been one hell of a ride ha ha. As much as it has been a challenging one it has taught me so much. It didn't feel like I was learning anything through it at the time but now when I look back it all makes sense. Life truly is a magical puzzle and I am super excited about the opportunities I have presented to me for 2019.
==============================================================
Thanks for stopping by! How was your year? What was your biggest accomplishment/event? Most powerful thing you learned the past 12 months? Please share in the comment section.
For more inspirational recollections and lessons learned, visit more #Gr8blogs below.
And if you blog and want to join us on this hop, just add the family-friendly link to your blog post in the comment section. We’ll visit and give you some blog love-:D
