If you’ve read my last few posts, then you can probably guess why writing this one is a bit harder. I started my journey to, “Live Simply and Live Bold” last week and didn’t get very far. Well at least not on this blog. On Thursday I went to NYC to visit family which increased happiness a TON. However, in order to, “Live Simply,” I left my laptop behind. On the way up I remembered I had to post and figured there was an app I could use or that there would be a computer around. What I failed to consider was that spending moments away from the precious time I have with my family is not something I’m generally willing to do. My family is a blast and every time we’re together there’s nothing in the world that could be more important (see above). I spend those days with my phone away, Facebook closed (unless we’re posting a fam pic), and living in the present. So.. I naturally dropped the ball.

I realized today that I’m definitely disappointed in myself for not sticking to my daily blogging commitment, but I’m less upset than I expected to be when this day inevitably came. In the past when I’ve flaked on something or missed a deadline, I’ve been really hard on myself. It generally leads to avoiding the task or situation completely. But there’s something extremely empowering about knowing yourself and what makes you tick.

Last summer I took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI) which is a personality test that uses the psychological types described by C. G. Jung and makes them relevant and useful in people’s lives. You answer some quick questions about yourself and it spits out a terrifyingly accurate personality profile. Reading that profile was incredible, enlightening and liberating! It was a near perfect description of my strengths and weaknesses, how I tick and why I do the things that I do in the way that I do them. It explained how ENFP’s (my personality type) perceive social interactions, our motivations, why we’re better at certain things than others… and also why we’re worse at things. I didn’t expect this, but what the MBTI really helped me do was accept and embrace who I am… to OWN things that I suck at and the things that come naturally to me.

There are two weaknesses MBTI pointed out that seemed overwhelming when I thought of starting this blog. One being that following through on tasks or projects can be a nightmare for ENFP’s. Another being that every tasks and maintenance generally lead to unhappiness. I thought long and hard about if I could actually do handle writing this blog and sticking to it long term or if the additional daily task would be draining. Additionally, though I’m bad at following through and completing daily tasks, I’m not oblivious to the fact that it’s super annoying and embarrassing at times. And I’d generally like to avoid that. However, I decided that taking a risk and missing the target was worth more than never attempting at all. An imperfect blog that helps me work toward building daily habits is worth more than my ego being hurt (more on ego’s later).

I took time to reflect and learn from this first blogging blunder so that I can improve in the future. First lesson… plan ahead. Duh right?! Not like I didn’t know this one, it’s been the key to successfully building habits in the past. I intensely plan ahead for my fitness and nutrition, and my budget has a plan for each dollar I earn, but somehow I missed that I would need to do the same for this blog project. If I am serious about building this habit (blogging) then I need to plan ahead for times when blogging is less convenient. And I will. Lesson #1… LEARNED.

Love and gratitude,
jahneva ❤