That Blank Space

I’m sure you’ve been hearing this alot….we are in that limbo week, at least many of us seem to be. Christmas, the most wonderful time of year is behind us, and while we sit in wonder of how in the world it came and went so fast, in just a few days, we will enter into a brand new year.

Interesting time….we are finished up with a season we can potentially wait all year for, to enter into a brand new trip around the sun. We don’t know how many we get, so it’s no wonder that this Blank Space we are in evokes reflection, introspection and a little analyzing of how we can do things different or better than we had in the past.

Maybe it’s about fitness. Everyone in this industry loves the new year! If only we would keep that resolve we have to eat cleaner, drink more water, get more sleep and be totally focused on our workout plan for more than a few weeks / months! It’s natural….there are way too many amazing things to eat in this world that contain butter and sugar, birthdays/milestones/anniversaries/random moments that need to be celebrated, and a ton of gorgeous wine you have never tried, so if one glass is not enough, it’s hard to convince yourself not to go for another. In my experience, it is way more about balance, and slow steady progress, than banging out your best body ever in 90 days, only to find out it’s not long term and sustainable, so you have to deprive yourself somehow, again, before bikini season when the parties really start!

How about the way you are with people? Do you need to spend more time actually talking to people, like, to their faces, asking about their family, seeing the emotion come over them, good bad or otherwise, and responding to it in real time, instead of relying on texting or social media to keep you connected? At least not with the local friends and family! Every year, as technology gets smarter and smarter, and allows us to leave our space less and less (online shopping, online dating, Facebook to constantly give us anyone we know well or even vaguely, a constant stream of their highlight reel…maybe that’s why we want to stay in more?!) but what that is doing is robbing us of the ability to make real connections, real friends, and be real people, as we were intended to be. (Photography by Mandi Roach – Photographer and Blogger at www.allmyhappyendings.com and a down right superhero in my books)

Are you sometimes a bit of a pessimist?? Come on, you can admit it….I know I sure can be; but the new year is always a great time to convince your negative self talk that it’s not welcome here. In fact, any day of the week is. So kick that to the curb if you can. It’s hard. And if you’ve ever dealt with depression, some type of disorder, or any mental illness, it really is the BIGGEST insult for someone to say, “Just DECIDE to be happy” or “Just snap out of it, you’ve got so much to be grateful for”….in these cases you don’t “just” anything, so if you are finding yourself in a hole you can’t climb out of, set the pride aside and consider having a visit with your doctor. You may be nervous about it; but my friend, what if something can be done, and on the other side is joy, happiness, excitement and passion for something? YOU are worth it, make 2017 your year.

Do you have a business? Well, this is definatley a time to make professional goals! Taking more courses to be an expert in your field. Learning more about personalities so you can coach and lead your team in a way that is inspiring to them and has them feeling more appreciated than ever, and in turn, their productivity will skyrocket. Or maybe you just want to really figure yourself out. Is that what you are reflecting on as we approach a new year? I love a good self help book on improving myself…lately I’ve read Essentialism….HERE IS THE LINK TO IT IN AMAZON….I hope you like it as much as I did.

I bet alot of people are saying, I’m going to be more organized!! OH MAN, this is a big one for me and I’m so grateful my husband was home today to help me rip my office apart and start from scratch. He is soooooo good at this, his desk at work is pristine and he never forgets or misplaces a THING! So who better to help me out. I run a business as a Stylist and Coach with Stella & Dot….it will be 7 years at that soon; but honestly, in the last year and a half I’ve turned into a scatterbrain it seems, and it’s affected how well I do my job. Not in 2017! I have some new plans. But then I also have this Blog! I love it so much, could not be prouder of myself for staring it, yet in spite of that, have not yet found the routine where I can post as often as I want, with pics that look awesome, and be CONSISTENT. I think of about 3 different posts I “could be” writing almost every day. So…that is my goal for 2017 with Method39, getting into a rhythm…..and instead of being overwhelmed, I find myself so grateful that I actually have TWO amazing things in my professional life I feel really, really passionate about. Accessories / Fashion, and styling others, both in person and through this blog!

On the other side of organized there is keeping the home. How is it even possible we allow ourselves to be suffocating under a mountain of laundry, WEEKLY!? I loathe this job which makes me feel terribly spoiled. I live a life where me, my husband and kids have more than enough to wear, fill our linen closets, cover our beds and endless towels for every purpose we can think of, yet here I am complaining I have to clean them. WHAT? But I still do. Every time. In fact, there is a mountain waiting for me when I finish up here……and that is just one part of keeping the home organized. Cooking, cleaning, sorting, creating systems to be efficient with your time, budgeting, vacation planning (if we are lucky!), creating healthy meals and snacks on a budget, remembering garbage day, reminding the children nine times, of the chores they are required to do, not to earn an allowance; but because they are contributing members of this household and are darn well old enough to load and unload the dishwasher, and everything in between. If you’ve got it all together, then to you, I say, WELL DONE! You should be so proud! For me, this is just something I need to work on, and will continue to into this brand new year.

So in this Blank Space for me, it usually comes down to a few things….I will be my best self, I will be a better friend, I will be a loving wife and mother, I will spend more time on my Faith, I will be more organized and consistent with my business, I will get back into shape – the one I’m most happy at, I will learn more about clean eating since these huge organizations are shoving chemicals down our throats to compensate for the fact that they want to make it faster and cheaper (like we aren’t worth the effort to do it right…), I will continue to teach my children manners, and how to grow up to be kind, hard working, well rounded and grateful humans that will one day be someone’s boyfriend / girlfriend, husband / wife, employee / boss, and are not so focused on who they are or who likes them in the digital world; but who they are in real life.

Here’s to you and YOUR Blank Space….and remember, January 1 is not the only time of year for you to decide to make a change. If you are the spontaneous type, you might see you get 365 fresh starts per year, if you like to go by the start of a week, well, you get 52 chances, or 12 if you are going by month. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you’ve got to wait for ANY DATE at all to get started on something….your potential is untapped, we never know how much time we have (which should be SO MOTIVATING! The sooner you find what you want in life, the longer you get to live it!) and once you put your mind to it, there’s no better time than the present to kick it into high gear! Here’s to all things NEW!!

xoxo Taryn