The topic “vision” is on the forefront of many podcasts, books, team calls, team meetings, etc. lately. Likely because we are about to close out 2019 and enter 2020. Entering a whole new decade makes us think not just about the year ahead, but the next phase of our life.
I was asked to speak on a panel this week: Succeeding the Smart Way, Becoming a Success When Your Approach, Values, and Work-style Goes in a Different Direction; Doesn’t Follow the Majority; OR Fills a Need Overlooked. Man that is a mouthful, but I have to admit that I love every word of it!
Specifically, I was asked to speak on the question: “How did your choose your career path and what were the reasons that led you to your chosen industry.” In answering, I assumed the question was related to my dual career as lawyer and coach/motivator/blogger. Preparing for this talk, the first words I penned in answer to this question were “It chose me.” About fifteen minutes later, after I really hashed out the rest of my answer, I realized that my first “gut” answer was complete hogwash. 100% complete crap. Lawfullylean did NOT find me . . . the life we dream of of is never simply handed to us.
This life of a dual career, of getting the privilege to be both a lawyer and creator of lawfullylean, it did not just find me, it did not just fall in my lap, it did not come without a serious amount of growth, work, and reflection on my VISION.
Vision. That is where all of this relates back to. I clearly remember being on a team call where the host asked us to close our eyes and visualize with minute particularly what our ideal day in our ideal life looked like. Mine was relatively simple: I woke up with no alarm, I worked out, I made my kids breakfast and my husband and I sat at the kitchen table with them drinking coffee and talking with them, when it was time for school, we walked them to the bus stop, no rushing, no yelling, and then we came back inside, talked some more over coffee, and then finally got ready for our day. I vividly recall how I felt during this exercise: no rush, no stress, no needing to get somewhere to clock in, and no yelling. It was then, in that moment, that I knew I needed a change.
Once I could visualize what I wanted from life, I began to take active steps so I could get there IRL (that is shorthand for “in real life” peeps).
Going back to the question presented, what were the reasons that led me to this industry? Instead of reasons, per se, there were 3 themes that led me here. 1) Self-Care; 2) Getting out of my box; and 3) My passion to help professional women take better care of themselves. What does this mean?
Self Care
For me, self-care means 3 things: fitness, eating healthy, and personal development. Fitness makes me feel good in my skin, strong, starts my day off right, and clears my mind. Eating healthy fuels my days, decreases my anxiety, energizes me, and makes me feel good on the inside. Personal development is like exercise for my mind and soul. It stretches me and forces me to approach the world in new and more confident ways. I would not be who I am without these 3 pieces to the puzzle. They are the foundational blocks of the concept lawfullylean.
Get Out of Your (damn) Box
This was the hardest part of my vision. In order to actually realize and chase my vision, I had to get out of my (damn) box. The one I created for myself and the one others wanted to create for me. I found myself repeating, over and over, under my breath, I am not JUST a family law lawyer. There is MORE to me than being a lawyer. Don’t get me wrong, I am damn proud of being a lawyer and of my practice. However, being a lawyer does NOT define 100% who I am. I knew that finding a different path (dual paths) would solicit questions, eye-rolls, talking behind my back, etc. However. I knew I had to persevere to be true to myself. I listened to Rachel Hollis tell me something along the lines of “Girl, no one is EVER going to care about your dreams as much as you. No one else will chase your dream for you. Your DREAM is not going to fall in your lap.” That was a wakeup call. I realized then and there that is was time to stop allowing the self-limiting beliefs — mine and others — define me and to start really thinking about my VISION and my dream and to go for it because NO ONE ELSE WILL. In other words, poop or get off the darn pot. I put on my darn blinders and started to go for it. Little by little, step by step, I kept taking actionable steps to create lawfullylean.
My Passion to Help Other Professional Women
In the beginning of my journey as a health and wellness coach, I noticed I attracted a lot of other female lawyers and professional women to the monthly accountability groups I run. That is my why. That is what fuels me. Every time I think of what lawfullylean is, or how I want to present myself to the health and fitness world, I ask myself, is this something I think my fellow busy professional needs to know? Will this post/recipe/piece of advice help that woman?
Full Circle
Talking on that panel this week was a dream. It is something I never would have believed possible just a few years ago. However, I had some seed of faith that told me to keep going with my vision. That it mattered.
Isn’t it interesting? I put out to the world, to the universe, to God, that I wanted more from life. I did not want to be known as “just” a lawyer, just a mom, just a wife. I wanted to be seen as a motivator, a supporter, a champion of professional women’s health. And, several years later, with hard work, vision, focus, and continuing to work on my core values (fitness, nutrition, personal development), I am seeing my vision begin to come full-circle.
This week, I got to speak on all of these very points, how I got here, to a group of professional women. No eye-rolls. No side glances.
You know what I saw instead in my audience? Smiles, nods, applause. Accepted for who I am because I got out of the darn box and started to take the steps for my vision.
Now, it is your turn. Set a timer for 5 minutes. Close your eyes and visualize a perfect morning. What does that look like to you? Do not let doubt creep in. Dream big.
Open your eyes. Write down what you saw. What of that morning is achievable right the heck now? What is achievable with tweaks? What big things do you need to shift to get to the morning you want?
Think on this. Come back to this. Just remember that you cannot start to chase a vision, big or small, unless you first sit down and visualize what you want.
WOW! Best BLOG yet!! I am SO proud of you! Love, Dad