10 years ago I was working towards completing my masters degree in occupational therapy. I was living with a dear friend and crazy enough to do distance running. Yes, I once ran a marathon. And then another.
Some people find distance running to be a great escape. They hit “walls” which carry them effortless through miles and miles. All running distance running did for me was turn my toenails black.
These days, I live with my husband, a best friend I didn’t know 10 years ago and now I run after our toddler. Which while not the same distance-wise as a marathon, is equally exhausting. Although I’ve yet to have a black toenail, so I’m calling this a win.
But heres the thing. A 10 year challenge shouldn’t end in reflection on the past.
Reflection is important. It humbles us when we see how horrible our bangs really looked. The bangs we took upon ourself to trim. It reminds us of Gods great provision as he guided us through hard times and gave us friends that we still hold close today. It allows us to tell God, “thank you” for the journey he has taken us on. You can read one of my favorite reflections, Ray’s birth story, HERE.
But the real 10 year challenge should end with reflection on the future.
Where do you want to be in your 2030 ten-year-challenge pic?
Of course, there are ALWAYS unknowns. We are subject to wonders and tragedies that are out of our control everyday. We may meet amazing people who become amazing new friends. We may grow tiny humans and bring new life into this world. We may lose amazing people that depart this world physically. Likewise, we may lose those who are physically here, but simply depart from us without reasoning we can understand.
Life’s answers aren’t held in a magic 8 ball. But as we make our daily decisions, know this:
we are slowly building our next ten years.
And this, my friends, should command as much, and I would argue, even more thought and intention than the reflection on our past.
I don’t know what the answer is for you. I don’t know what you should do or invest in or be more intentional about. But I will share mine.
I have made a decision to invest in becoming a better writer.
Thats right. I’m going back to school. Well, its not technically “school” but I have dubbed it “writer school.” It’s actually a year-long, small group mentorship program with Hope*Writers. They’re calling it their Mastermind group. This means I will be receiving one-on-one weekly coaching from three authors, Emily Freeman (one of my favorites of all time) being one of them.
The investment of time and money of this decision was not small nor an easy decision. In fact, I haven’t slept most of the week. But it kept coming down to this. Writing is something I want to learn. It’s something I want to carve out time and space for, so that 10 years from now, I will be better at it.
In conclusion I think it would be fun to end with some words from someone I hope to learn a lot more from in the upcoming year:
“There is a real pull between exploring those things that make us come alive while, at the same time, being present to our responsibilities and our life stages. But why do we so often assume that pursing those things we want to pursue can only be done at the expense of our responsibilities?…What if you desire to do a particular thing because God created you a particular way, not to tease you or to make you miserable, but to actually mold you into becoming more like him, for his glory and the benefit of others? Could it be possible that the thing you most long for, the thing you notice and think about and wish you could do, is the thing you were actually made for and are being equipped to do?”
Emily Freeman, The Next Right Thing Podcast, Episode 5, “Offer Your Work with Hope”
Photos from this post are done by Erin Rachel Photography. I cannot recommend her enough, you can find her here.