I went into 2021 with great hope and confidence – THIS was going to be THE YEAR. And for the first six months, it really was all I’d hoped it would be. By early July, things were rolling, all in the right direction. I’d been on multiple vacations, I was vaccinated, I was feeling good in my skin, I was fit, we were on our way to a major house remodel, my husband hit a great spot in his career, and we were feeling goooooooood.
July, August, and September changed that. The death of our ten year old puppy, who we all loved with all of our heart, stopped us in our tracks. Followed by a car accident, some very stressful months at work and home, and by November it felt like early 2021 was a thousand years ago.
We rallied – we had a great Thanksgiving, followed by a fun and festive holiday season, and finally a really phenomenal Christmas and New Years. Nearly a full six months after Sully died, it’s feeling like we’re back to our normal selves. Weathered and scarred, yes, but we feel like ourselves again.
I’ve been thinking over the past several weeks about my hopes for 2022. Over the span of a couple of days, I was in a class at the gym and the instructor said “leave it all on the floor,” I was at home with my husband watching ESPN in the background and the commentators were talking about a player leaving it all on the field, and I did a boxing class in my basement and the instructor told me to “leave it all on the bag.”
It planted a seed that has been percolating in my brain ever since. I want 2022 to be a year in which we leave it all on the floor/mat/field/page. A year in which we work hard to make our dreams come true, work hard to be the best employees, partners, parents, and humans. I want to end this year feeling like I gave all of the things I care and dream about my very best.
That doesn’t mean I intend to go, go, go constantly, every second of every day. Giving my all requires me to work smart, take care of myself, and do what it takes to be my best. But being my best and giving my all is what I want 2022 to be about. I want to look back on the year, on December 31, 2022, and be able look at my husband and say “we left it all on the field.” We didn’t give up, we didn’t let fear decide what we could and couldn’t do, we didn’t settle for things that we didn’t want. We did what we had to in order for 2022 to be the year that catapulted us to the places we want to be (or at least put us on the path there).
This isn’t a response to how 2021 turned out. Man…this year was a doozy (for us and the world). We made our way through it and I’m grateful for where we are now.
But now, now it’s time to soar.
I don’t mean it’s time to be successful – sure that would be lovely – but I’m ready and motivated to put in the work. Nose to the grindstone, head down, work. And see where it takes us in the next 52 weeks. Before we know it, we’ll be decorating for Christmas again, and I want to be thinking ‘nice f-cking work Monroe. Nice f-cking work.”
I want to focus on five areas. A mere five!
- Improved Health
- Increased Financial Security
- Writing
- Living Actively (skiing, and running, and biking, and boxing – all the while keeping my tennis elbow and wonky knee at bay)
- High School Attitude (less fear, more unwavering confidence that I am awesome)
I will work my ass off and make these five areas my priorities. No matter what I accomplish, or don’t, simply by working hard at all of them for the year I’ll be in such a good place. I want to look back at every week and know I did something in each of these areas. Even if it’s baby steps.
I’m leaving it all on the (insert place here) in 2022. And it’s going to be epic.
MAMACADABRA 