WOW, this month marks two years since I finally had the courage to venture out into the world of self-employment on a full time basis. Nothing like quitting your cushy-state job in the middle of a Polar Vortex to pursue your dream of becoming a full-time running coach and personal trainer for women in Wisconsin. Brrrrr, man was it ever freaking cold that winter!! After several months of trying to get up the courage say good-bye to something that wasn't lighting me up, I finally submitted my resignation in January 2019 and left that position after six weeks of transitioning away from my desk. I realized after twenty years, that I was not built to sit at a desk all day.
And, two years later ....
Is my life what I thought it would be? Nope.
Are my days filled with blessings, opportunity and variety? Yup.
Are my weeks filled with stressors, early mornings, constant connection to my work and schedule changes? Yup.
None of my worries have been what I thought they'd be? I never worry about keeping busy. I never worry about being able to support my family. I never worry about whether I made the right choice.
Instead, like many of you, I just continue to try to seek balance. This year - more than ever before. Trying to find balance ... Being there for my clients, being there for my family, being there for my myself. I am really working on challenging my clients as they work towards their personal goals for themselves, devoting designated, undistracted time with my family at home and finding "movement time" for myself.
This next year of my self-employment adventure will be focused on working smarter and not harder. I improved on this last year. But, with the pandemic things shifted a bit out of need. You'll see a lot of changes coming through this year.
I will be eliminating class options that are more of the pop-up style. And instead focusing my energy on my successful class options and zoning-in on my personal training sessions even further. Instead of offering more, I will be offering less - but with more quality. Instead of pop-ups I hope to host one or two retreats that are focused on a unique format, great resources and quality programming.
I would like to ultimately secure a larger studio space to hold larger classes indoors again. This has been put on hold with the pandemic. If not this year, then next year. Right before the pandemic hit, I was bursting at the seems and growing out of my adorable, little studio space.
I will be spending more time sharing my thoughts and creating online this year. I was able to initiate some of this during the pandemic and it is something that I enjoy and enhances my client experience, I would like to build on it more. I enjoyed going to the roots of how my business all started - my blog. I look forward to sharing my experiences, family adventures, doing select reviews and writing more tutorials. I also look forward to continuing to create and grow on my YouTube channel. This is a great way to assist my clients and reach a wider audience. I also look forward to sharing content on my second blog, about our family adventures. There are so many beautiful places that we have explored. I just can't simply keep it all to myself. It just wouldn't be fair!
I also look forward to growing my online boutique of comfortable apparel and gifts for women, mothers and runners. I have had fun growing my online collection and look forward to offering more relatable and functional pieces.
And, personally ...
I look forward to continuing to race less and run more. Over the past several years, I have enjoyed working towards personal goals - big goals. And not committing to racing every weekend. Instead, focusing on two to three larger events each year. This has helped me find the joy of running again. As races start to pop-up again, I will be choosing races and distances with my heart, not on impulse. Long training runs - both indoors and outdoors - have really brought me joy over recent years. Running "just because I get to" really has made this runner quite happy.
I have been really thoughtful about my time spent with my family. And we have had a lot of that "together time" this year - like many of your families. I am investing even more thought into this area. We always have fun together. Adventures. Dance parties. Theme nights. But I want to connect even more. More date nights, just because. Yes, I'll read another book to you. Instead of "just a minute", responding with "yes, I want to hear about it.". Sipping coffee slowly together. Intentional actions like this will enrich my life. And they will enrich the lives of those around me.
Running Diva Mom is a lifestyle. My clients will feel successful and fully supported. My family will feel that I am present and invested in their interests and needs -- they will get all of me. And I will feel strong and confident, as I embrace the same suggestions and resources that I offer to my clients.
