My Big 3 for 33

I could already be saying that today would be one of the worst days of my life. Then again, it’s up to me to make it one of the best days, ever. This pattern is at the core of my 33rd year on this earth.

Life will suck only up to where you will let it. Life will be beautiful only up to where you will make it.

What then, for 33?

1. Gratitude

I’ve been blessed this year. This is the year where my personal life and career has transformed greatly.

I’m coaching more. I’m coaching better, having grown more confidence in my style and in my ability to support people’s transformations. At the same time, I’ve taken further studies and training, and am getting ready to work for and receive my coaching credential from the International Coach Federation. It wasn’t easy, but it was well worth it.

Family has been good, kind, and loving this year. They have been patient with me and my mean outbursts, and I am grateful for the blessings and the gift to connect and grow family. Our opportunity to travel together several times for the past year, has been a great opportunity for closeness, and self-reflection.

Thanks to my friends, coaches, clients, partners, and mentors, I’ve had so many opportunities not only to serve, but to receive and experience life-changing moments as well. I feel I’ve been pushed and supported so much this past year, internally. It hasn’t been easy, and yet, I feel I’ve become a better person for it.

And with all this gratitude, one day – I can’t even remember the exact moment – I just felt so happy, despite whatever it was that I was facing.

Life is so much better being grateful, which brought me to my next big lesson:

2. Enjoy Life

“If I’m not enjoying my life, then I must be doing something wrong.”

And yes, this is about finding what I love, and sticking to it. This is also about finding the ways, and state of mind, to enjoy all the other things that I needed to do to support and allow me to serve, grow, and live.

As I write this, I’m dealing with the loss of a loved one, and lower back pain with sciatica (birthday surprise!), and yet, I’m still choosing to enjoy and see the positive, and to smile all through it.

Doesn’t mean I’m not going to do anything about these challenges and problems of mine, but I’m so tired of being all mean and sour. Surely I can face all these challenge with a smile on my face and lightness in my heart.

I would never have caught myself writing that last sentence of mine a year ago.

3. Differentiated and Integrated

My third big lesson is in the way I lived my life – that is I am differentiated, and also, integrated, and that there should be a balance of the both.

Prior to this year, I’ve exposed myself to many different passions, and worlds, and I’ve never found the need to connect all of them.

I’ve found, this year, when my worlds were getting bigger, and each other connecting, that there is so much power in integrating the “me” from all these different worlds together.

There’s only one “me” – so just be me, then. It was taking a toll on me that I was unknowingly different to different groups.

It’s not having split personalities, don’t get me wrong. It’s striking a balance of having all the different variety of experiences, and still being able to integrate all of them into one sense of being, living, and purpose.

I also found that when I was more differentiated, I would have all these different things that I wanted to do, and yet, I couldn’t leverage the learnings and strengths that I was having and developing in other aspects of my life. It’s about bringing it all in, and developing the best version of one person – that there is only one me.

And in coaching people, I also found the other case to be possible, that people are integrated, and yet they are not differentiated enough. That they stick to the same things, over and over again, without branching out and exploring. They become stagnant.

There must be a balance between exposing one’s self to different experiences, and also in integrating all of said experiences into one coherent, connected whole.

Onward to 34

Thank you 33, and I am ever hopeful for the next year that lies ahead.

One thing is for sure – that whatever happens, it is my choice with what lens to see it, to feel it, and to experience.

Choose joy.

Choose happiness.

Choose love.

I’m reminding myself also.

If we haven’t spoken for a while, drop me a message or email me at coachlippy@coachlippy.com! I’d love to hear from you.