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​The Next Iteration: What does one do while waiting for next?

Well one does what one would be doing if next was here!  I am waiting on my next career iteration and while doing so I am doing exactly what I would be doing if I had that next position.  Grant it, I am still currently employed and learning a lot and getting a lot of experience, I just don’t have a salary I can live with.  And trust me I have applied to like a million jobs, but for whatever reason, the door to my next career iteration is closed!  Instead of wallowing in the why me saga, I am moving full steam ahead with my main two focuses for this year: financial wellness and physical wellness.  The interesting part is that my mental and emotional wellness is improving too.

I knew this year was going to be a hermit year, but I didn’t know that would be a positive experience.  I am hermiting so to speak, but with a purpose.  And it is interesting how one purpose is bleeding into the other purpose.  It is indeed true that sometimes we just need to stop and be still and interrupt our routines to find what actually serves us.  It wasn’t until I had forced time alone due to snow storms and holidays that I realized I needed to make some changes.  My current life wasn’t serving me at all.  In Tennessee my friends are all about being at the next restaurant, the next bar, the next festival, the next boutique and of course all of that costs $$$$.  I realized that in both California and Florida my friends were more about going over to someone’s house or meeting at a trail and catching up.  Friend time in California and Florida didn’t have to include all the other stuff.  And it’s not like I don’t go out at all, I am just limiting myself to one or two things a month that cost money.  Which brings me to my first focus: financial wellness.

I am so focused on getting rid of this debt that is hanging over my head.  I am literally putting all of my bi-weekly check into paying off debt.  Maybe even a little too much, because I need to be rebuilding my savings account as well.  I just want that debt gone so bad!  Yes, I know there is debt consolidation and debt relief, but that stuff comes with strings attached and lingering issues and I don’t want any of that.  I got myself into this mess and I can get myself out of it.  When a Taurus decides to do something, even if it seems impossible, stand back and watch us move mountains!  That is exactly what I am doing right now.  If the job situation stays the same then I have two years left on this track.  If it changes for the better, maybe one year.  If it changes for the worse? Well , we aren’t talking about that right now.  I am just laser focused.  I started doing curbside pick up for all of my groceries which is helping too because I can watch my total as I add items to the cart.  I have also noticed this is helping me to buy quality and healthy food. I just don’t think about the sugar when I am searching for items on the grocery website.  It doesn’t even pop into my mind.  My grocery bills are lower and I am eating better than I have in a long time which bleeds into my next major focus: physical wellness.

I mentioned in an earlier blog that I came out of a major, major depression season and upon doing so I tried some workouts from Brie Larson’s trainer, Jason Walsh on the Playbook App.  These workouts were what I still call sneaky effective and sneaky hard.  They were exactly what I needed to get me back into working out and gave me just enough strength to do so really.  I can say that I am back into my daily routine of yoga in the morning and a workout in the evening.  I do a lot of pilates, barre, and straight strength as well as ballet and other forms of dance.  I stopped caring about whether the scale was ever going to change or if I was ever going to see any results on my body and just focused on doing what felt good to me and made me happy.  Food wise, I have completely changed my diet.  I kicked dairy and sugar to the curb - I should have never been eating dairy anyhow - and have finally started to see some results.   It’s not anything to write home about, but the scale has moved down about 15 pounds and I didn’t think that was possible. I am also cognitive of my protein intake which is new for me.  I can also thank Jason for that - I started using his protein powder in a shake for breakfast each day as an easy way to 30 grams of protein and a complete amino acid profile, which I probably rarely get with my diet. The protein powder had an interesting side effect for me - calmness, which made me look at stress supplements to keep that calm going all day. I am keeping stress at bay with adaptogen mocktails and a very small daily dose of Ashwagandha. I am staying more hydrated by taking in less caffeine and adding things like coconut water to my regimen and you know what?  I haven’t had a vertigo attack in a while.  Hmmm…. I have also changed  my vitamin and mineral supplements and am noticing a big difference in mental clarity and daily energy. People are even commenting that something is different about me.  I have a glow, I seem really happy, whatever changes I am making are working for me, etc.

The funny thing is I’m just focusing on bettering myself financially and physically and making the necessary changes in my life to do so.  I am no longer striving for the right man, the it job, the full calendar, the right clothes or any of it.  I just want to pay off my debt, fill my savings account back up, and be a healthier version of me.

Actually, it’s occurring to me that I have been praying for mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health and that is exactly what I am getting!  I guess God is answering one of my prayers after all…