Twenty years ago today I rang in the New Year in the control room at KBJR-TV. I had just started my first real job as a journalist and in case you hadn’t heard, there was a fear that the world was going to end on Y2K. Or, at the minimum, ATMs and all other computer devices weren’t going to work. Midnight came and went and other than a minor snafu with our live shot in which a reporter attempted to do a withdrawal from an ATM to show the world hadn’t ended only to discover he had insufficient funds and the withdrawal didn’t work, life went on. The world didn’t end. We signed off and went to the local watering hold to celebrate a new decade. I drank too much and started 2001 with a hangover only the 21-year version of me could endure.
Fast forward to today. I’m currently drinking my last latte of the decade and feeling the pressure to figure things out. Does anyone else ever feel that insurmountable pressure on New Year’s to make some declaration of being a better version of one’s self? Let me give you a tip I wish I could follow, don’t fall for it. You and I are actually good enough. That’s right, good enough. Yes – today marks the end of a decade and tomorrow opens a blank book to a new decade in which we get to write our own story. Own our own narrative. Do all the things. But, can we just for one minute acknowledge that it is also just another day in which we may overindulge tonight and tomorrow, roll out of bed and put our pants one leg at a time just like any other day. We will be no different. We will be no better or worse. We will know no more than what we know right now. But, we will have the opportunity to learn more and be more and grow into the person who we want to be and that is what it means to work on one’s self. And the amazing thing is this happens every single day. Not just when there is a new year or a new decade.
Next week, I’m doing something I’ve never done before. The skeptic in me is boarding a plane and flying to Florida to attend Rise. This introvert is going to join 4,000 other women to spend 3 days in a full blown time out to spend some time figuring things out. It is a substantial investment in time and money. But, the way I see it, I dropped $15,000 and two years of my life on an MA only to do it again 10-years later at $20,000 for an MBA, just because I feel education is a good investment. Don’t I at least owe it to myself to invest a fraction of that time and money to understand what’s holding me back from being the best version of myself? And, what does that even mean? Maybe the best version is the gal that shows up some days and gives 25% and binge watches You on Netflix… but is a good friend, daughter, wife, co-worker and mother. Would that really be so bad? When did showing up become such a negative? And, if a $1,000 investment and a few days of my time and attention makes me ok with that, well that’ll save me a lot of therapist bills. The alternative, I leave with a clearer version of myself and what matters. Or, I discover that the billion dollar self-help/personal growth category isn’t really at all helpful for me and spend 3-days on a beach in Florida reading good books, sipping latte’s and working on a tan. Last I checked, R&R is good for the heart and soul.
The one thing I do know for 2020 is I want to be more honest with myself about what motivates me versus what I want people to think motivates me. Maybe it will be self-help conferences, long hikes in the woods and half-marathons. Or, maybe it’ll be trashy tv, bon bons and bonding sessions with my gal pals. I honestly don’t know. But, I want to be a bit more authentic about what I share with people and why. Because I do believe that in a world of perfectly polished posts and photos, a lot of us are feeling that same pressure to outshine ourselves. And, as fun as that ride has been the past 20-years, I’m ready to turn the page to a more authentic, albeit messy, version of myself.
So my wish for you and me as we close out this decade and frankly every day is to find peace with the world we’re in—that when we go to the ATM of life, we find that we’re not overdrawn by trying to be more and do more for others but instead investing in a life that’s good enough… for ourselves.