May: How to Make 2023 Your Best Year Yet!

Happy May Update! If you’re new here, over 2023, I have implemented a goal-setting challenge to hold myself accountable to my big dreams. Each month, I’m serving updates via the Blog and Podcast to keep you updated on my progress. We’re covering topics of success, where I’m facing blocks, falling short, and where I plan to improve over the next month. Each update is becoming a small piece of the 365-day puzzle where I’m actively tracking my progress over one year. My update for April was particularly optimistic with the seasons changing and the beginning of Quarter two. Today, I’m here to remind you that life throws us curve balls that often require adjustments, but that doesn’t always mean losing momentum—it simply means shifting. So, without further ado, this is the Make 2023 Your Best Year Yet, May Edition!

If we’re talking about making shifts and adjustments according to circumstances, you can probably guess that last month didn’t go according to plan— things rarely do. I definitely had a spring in my step at the beginning of April. I was excited to tackle some exciting goals and take new business measures. But one week into April, I got sick with Bronchitis and was out of commission for over two weeks. Curve balls don’t always come in the form of what you want, but rather what you need (listen to podcast episode 90). I spent days in bed contemplating why I got sick and what it meant. This month’s updates are based on those realizations and how I see them positively affecting me moving forward.

April Reflection & May Progress

Mindset

Being sick for two weeks took a significant toll on my mindset. If I’m not busy, I feel like I’m being lazy. And while this is definitely something I’m working on, being forced to be in bed and get the rest my body is demanding was a wake-up call to where I’m pushing just a little too hard. Overall, I’m very, very happy in my life. I’m surrounded by wonderful and amazing friends, boyfriend, and family. I run an incredible business, and I’m doing so well growing externally and internally. But, that doesn’t mean I’m immune to facing struggles. Being so sick brought me mentally and emotionally back to a time in my life when I didn’t know how to face my emotions. Over these two weeks, I felt feelings of loneliness and isolation that I hadn’t felt in years.

These feelings—now unusual to me— made me feel embarrassed and even more isolated. I didn’t know how to be honest about how I was feeling because these emotions felt so foreign to me and my life as it is now. Once I could be honest with myself and the people who support me, I realized maybe it’s not so bad that I’m feeling these feelings. I always advocate that no emotion is a “bad” emotion. Certain feelings tend to make us uncomfortable, but they’re natural, human emotions. We should never be angry or embarrassed about experiencing the full spectrum of emotions. It’s healthy and teaches us the difference between each emotion.

Resistance

Aside from the resistance I was feeling towards these uncomfortable emotions, the primary resistance I was feeling was returning to my “normal” life. After two weeks of rest, I had felt so lazy, unmotivated, and out of touch that I didn’t know where to find the inspiration to return to my habits, routines, and daily schedule. My advice in these times, as I did, is to take some time to deeply reflect. I asked the hard and uncomfortable questions that made me fully address my emotions and resistance. My issue with times like these is facing the mindset of: “Well, I haven’t made progress in the last two weeks, so how I do get back into it.”

That statement right there lets me know I need to shift my mindset. Just because I wasn’t progressing towards my goals, habits, or business doesn’t mean progress halted altogether. Progress is subjective and nonlinear. We are always making progress in our lives. The only thing we need to do to make progress daily is to be honest with ourselves about how we’re feeling and where we may be feeling resistance. My resistance over the last month hasn’t been to making progress; it has been to letting go of control and following the signs the Universe is handing me. By getting so sick, the Universe was letting me know of an imbalance that was occurring. I need to stop pushing so hard and rebalance my life, which, coincidentally, is my word of the year.

How I’m Growing in May

The beginning of a new month always brings a little excitement for me. It’s the spell of a new opportunity and new energy coming into our lives. I have a lot of amazing things lined up for the month. I have some travel, exciting opportunities, and exciting announcements this month. I’m hiring my first team member as an executive assistant (see my IG post for details if interested). But most importantly, I heard the Universe loud and clear that I need to make the changes I keep talking about. I need to let go of the constraint I feel around time and be more go with the flow—good luck, Virgo! I need to find more balance between my business and personal life and prioritize my self-care, my health, and my intentional living journey.

I’m ready to step into a new chapter. I’m prepared to begin taking better care of myself and holding myself even more accountable to my goals, habits, and lifestyle. I can be the woman I want to be; it’s possible. I need to adjust, pivot, and shift certain aspects of my life. And most importantly, I need to do so with kindness and compassion toward myself. I need to do so, remembering that I am making progress every day.

Updates

Want to follow along even more on the journey to make 2023 your best year yet: May edition? I’m also updating you and going into far greater detail once a month on the podcast! You can follow along there and subscribe to the La.Rue Thrive Hive Newsletter as well to follow along for updates on my 2023 progress. I’ll update you on the podcast on how I plan to improve next month. I’ll continue talking about what resistance I’m facing and what solutions I plan to find! I encourage you to comment below on your progress so far in 2023 and how you plan to improve. Feel free to drop any questions in the comments, and I’ll see you next month!