I celebrated a birthday last week - I honestly don’t have a problem telling you my age - but I think it wise to just keep everyone guessing 🙂

My oldest son, Aden, surprised me with the most beautiful gift, my very first Lego set! Oh yes, I have purchased many sets of Lego, but this was the first that was my very own, a bouquet of wildflowers.

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Fun facts!

Since I recently celebrated my birthday, I thought I would share a few fun facts that many of you might not know!

* I enjoy watching “morning routine” videos on YouTube…and Korean cooking videos

* I sing.

* I am an amazing whistler (if you don’t believe me comment below and I will share an example with you!)…and I often whistle under stress without any knowledge. For example, during the biochem final exam as a senior in college, I started whistling in a quiet auditorium full of students. I had no idea that I was making noise. When I finally realized that I was whistling, I immediately stopped and prayed that no one had heard me!

* My favorite movies are Mary Poppins (the original) and Love Actually, although the Lego Movies are not far behind!

* I ran a half-marathon in 2019.

* I do not enjoy doing the dishes.

* My favorite candle is from a little candle shop in Sugar Loaf, NY where my father grew up.

* I am an Apple fan and almost worked for the famous company.

* My favorite meal is pounded yam and peanut sauce with chicken.

* I am on level 1446 of the Two Dots app.

Reflection ☁️

This birthday has brought about a lot of contemplation and reflection. I suppose this happens every year, but for some reason, it has a deeper pull this year, perhaps it is my age??!!

The below questions have been percolating over the last couple of weeks…

“Am I where I thought I would be?” “Am I on a path currently that I want to be on?” “Am I making the right decisions for my children, my family?” “Am I doing things because others want me to or because I want to?”

I have a bucket list of goals I would like to accomplish. What I have realized is that it is FEAR holding me back from really pursuing those goals that seem downright audacious (to most people anyway).

I am constantly reminded by a few of my colleagues in the doctoral program that in the first “get to know who I am video” assignment, I am now famous for saying that my, “pie in the sky goal is to completely overhaul the education system in Benin.”

Oftentimes I wonder where that person is or if it was me who made that statement two years ago, and did I actually believe it? It was me, and I have a video to prove it.

But, the FEAR of judgment, failure, and success, have had a serious hold on my mindset these last couple of years.

A rather serious conclusion to arrive at - but I know in my bones that I am the one holding myself back.

One of my favorite motivational speakers is Robin Arzon. She is a VP at Peloton and I have been listening to her for years as an instructor through the Peloton app. During her last appearance on the Rich Roll podcast, she cited three questions that she uses in journaling:

* “Why not me?”

* “What is my why?”

* “What would I do if I was twice as confident and twice as strong?”

Here is the YouTube video clip if you want her explain these questions a bit further.

Although my journaling habit is somewhat rusty, these are powerful questions that I have asked myself to help get the ball rolling again.

Final thoughts 💭

I realize this is not the most upbeat post that I have written - but ladies and gentlemen, this newsletter is all about real life. And as I am learning, there is power in telling your story, even when it is not “social media” perfect.

This next year is going to be one of many adventures and I am looking forward to sharing them with you.

Feel free to send me your stories as well. There is so much growth and learning that can happen when you are willing to listen to the stories of others.

For now…have a wonderful weekend. Enjoy a cup of coffee. Pick out a pumpkin. Read a good book. Play. Hang out with your families.

As my friend Steve says, stay well and smile often.

Debra

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