Half-Time Huddle

As part of the 31-day blogging challenge I am participating in during July, we are asked to comment on other participants' blogs.  Which means, I am reading the blogs of people I might never have found.  Today I chose to read Lisa Friedt's A Pocket Full of Rocks.  I loved what she said in her post today about not taking yourself too seriously and being able to laugh at yourself (read the post if you need a good laugh!).  But what struck panic in me was when she said that we are now in the second half of the year.  Yes, I know, it is simple math.  I just hadn't done the math yet.

So here we are on July 2, 2013.  How did that happen?  Seriously, how????

As years go, this has been a positive one.  I love my chosen career even if my current job doesn't have the security I would prefer.  I work with caring and amazing people who are weathering the uncertainty better than I am (and more than I give them credit for).  We focus daily on learning.  I have the most beautiful gift in my son who teaches me new things every day and makes me laugh (and laughs even though I am really not that funny).  I have rewarding volunteer positions with people who want to make the world better for others.  I have friends I can talk to when I am happy or sad and not be judged.  And I still have the two most important people in the world to me who teach me daily what it means to be an honest person who never stops growing and learning.

So why the panic at a date on a calendar?

Truth be told, I have realized for a while that this year would be a turning point in my life (as it has proven to be).  I feel an intense pressure to get "my ducks in order" and be able to support my family solely through my own business by the end of the year.  And that scares me to death.  Not because I don't think I am smart enough or talented enough.  Because there is a secret little part of me who loves the security of a regular paycheck.  However, as you may have read, even that security has been challenged this year.

So, though unplanned, this blogging challenge along with a full teaching schedule in July has become my half-time huddle.  I will assess what I have learned in the first half of the year, make some adjustments going forward, and give myself a pep talk that Rudy would be proud to recite.

What have you learned the first half of the year?  What adjustments will you make?  What is the pep talk you really need to hear right now?  Why are you waiting for someone else to say it to you?  Who's ready for the second half?