It has been a year. This is what I learned from a year of travel and change.
1. Trust your gut.
This year my relationship of two years ended. Though the decision was mutual at first, it became clear that it was the right path for me. There were lots of reasons, logically, why the relationship needed to end, but the real reason I stuck with the decision was that it just felt right. Nine months later, I’m so thankful that I know myself well enough to make decisions like this and stick with them even when it’s painful, and even when my head & heart are second-guessing everything.
2. Learn from everything you are doing.
Failure is a huge learning opportunity. It can be a catalyst for inspiration, creativity and drive. If you let it weigh you down, it will. Let it inspire you to be better instead.
3. You are as effective as you want to be.
Eliminate “I don’t have time” and “I don’t have money” from your vocabulary, and replace those thoughts with learning to manage both time and money better. This year, I learned to say “I don’t want to make time for that today,” and “I don’t want to spend my money on that right now,” instead. More accountable, more honest = more better.
4. Take your life seriously.
View yourself as a business and make your choices deliberately. Your life is a massive opportunity, so quit farting around. Make goals and work towards them. This year offered me all of the feelings. There were days I did not feel good about myself, and days when I felt like Queen of Everything. I realized my enjoyment of life was directly correlated to my choices. So I started choosing for me, and for things that would make me grow and learn, while have the most fun possible doing it.
5. Stop caring what other people think.
I come from suburban Connecticut, aka the Land of Judgment. Feeling like every other human criticizes me constantly is a perception that followed me throughout high school and has crept into my adult life. First of all, hey Erin, that’s irrational. But also: if you believe in what you are doing, does it really matter? Do you really value the opinion of those people? Most of the time, the answer is no.
I’m so stoked to tackle all the things headed my way in 2015.
What did you learn this year?
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Where is the top picture taken at? The mountain lake picture.
Milford Sound, NZ 🙂
Hey Erin!
So yesterday morning I had a bunch of amazing opportunities bombard my inbox and I’m tempted to say YES! to all of them! Just that thought though brought me a bit of anxiety. I’ve always gleaned a lot from your “deep thoughts” and I wanted to let you know that I’m in your archive to read all of them! To get the encouragement I know I need to: knowing what to say no to, understanding what puts fire in my soul, learning/revisiting my past, thinking about my trajectory and the companies I want to work with.
You’re so gifted in photography and I’m stoked you’re forging onward in that! But know that if you ever need to step back your writing on simply life is so, so good. It resonates for years!
– Another Erin (often outdoors) 🙂