Happy New Year, ROOT Tribe! It’s 12 days in and I don’t know about you, but I’m already processing all of the feels around my 2018 goals and vision. I’ll admit that in most years, I don’t have much to show for reaching this two-week mark of the new year. My yearly routine usually goes a little like this:

• Late December over a protein smoothie I start realizing that it’s the end of the year and I’ll need to start planning how I want the next one to pan out. I set my intention and start jotting down notes in one of my many journals to map out where I want to be one year from then. These items range from things I can control – connect with my fiancé more, get trims, be better about my personal meditation practice – to things that I might need the universe to help with a little – build a mega Yoga Therapy empire while remaining calm, focused and fully enlightened.
• Late late December, somehow that smoothie has become pumpkin pie: I begin getting clearer about what it might actually take to meet some of those goals. I write out specific tasks and milestone around how this mega empire might come to fruition or, at the very least, I can find some snazzy pics that I can add to my vision board.
• New Year’s Eve, while raising my glass for a festive “Cheers!”: “Woohoo, I’ll be unstoppable next year!”
• Skip to second week of January, back to the smoothie but this time with an immune boosting essential oil added: I scrap all of the crazy moonshot goals (sorry, universe) and decide to cut my list of 15 things down to the top 3 most attainable – hair trims, more meditation and attend continuing yoga therapy education workshops and trainings.

Like most people, I have a fun pattern that starts with the good intentions of mental and written goals along with the occasional vision board to help me manifest what I want to accomplish by year’s end. Despite the usual methods of motivation and visualization, it seems like weeks blow by, or even the whole year in some cases, before we act on these hopes and dreams. Or maybe motivation isn’t the issue at all but rather fear of not knowing where to start or what to do once the wheels start turning – something I’m challenged with in my above-mentioned smoothie-pie-smoothie dance.

But this year was going to be different for me as I finally broke out of my pattern and did the unthinkable: set a big mega goal that I must follow through with by the first week of the year! Here’s how it happened …

As some of you know, I recently participated in the LA Yoga Expo. The Expo has been something I’ve always wanted to participate in, but timing and juggling my weekend school schedule made it pretty impossible. However, this year the Expo found its way to me! When I was invited to have an exhibit and teach at the event, I committed immediately. It was like the universe was calling my bluff and daring me to take it on in the height of the holidays (the Expo took place on January 6, 2018, so the timing was part of the challenge). I wasn’t going to let the universe mock me this way, so I said yes.

Take note that I had never done anything like this before. Other than needing a banner to display “ROOT Yoga Therapy” across the 6ft table that would be provided, I was clueless about where to begin. I began my research and brain-dumped my ideas with the ROOT team. I was officially in the expo flow and probably way in over my head. That’s the moment I learned:

Lesson #1: Commit before you think you’re ready. This will light the fire and create the energy to stimulate the process to reach for your hopes and dreams.

As the date of the event came closer, so did the holiday season. I had things in place and timed well, but one should always be prepared for the unexpected. It was New Year’s weekend and with holiday travels and personal life pop-ups, my web and design team were still working on a few key deliverables. My banner was unfinished (the main focal point of my booth!) and there was no way I could order it, print it, and have it shipped to me in time for a Saturday expo. Same thing went for the shirts and all the other “merch” I had in planned for. Most t-shirt printing places order shirts from third-party wholesalers so with NYE right around the corner, the work week was cut short and places were simply “closed for business”.

I felt everything was falling apart, including myself. I mean, how could I go to the expo without a banner to identify my exhibit? This got me nervous and by nervous, I mean anxious, frustrated, sad, defeated, alone, and hopeless. Oh yeah, pity party for one, stressed and having no fun. I nearly gave up and pulled out of the Expo. At that point I stuck my head up and learned:

Lesson #2: Have someone to keep you accountable. They will keep you honest, grounded and help you cut through your mental BS.

Thankfully, I have a close tribe to turn to when the going gets tough. They were willing to help in any way and despite my reluctance to ask for help, I started to delegate. We ran around the city rush ordering print jobs, used Amazon Prime more than ever in a 48-hour period and when I heard about heat transfers from an extremely helpful gentleman at the local FedEx, the possibility that shirts could be made in time was back in the mix! Yes, part of my tribe was Maurice from FedEx – bless his heart wherever he is. Thanks to my crew, including MVP Maurice, I was able to push through my to-do list and reclaim my calm after the panic and heart-palpitations from blowing my budget due to those pesky rush fees.

The day of the expo finally came and it was an absolute thrill. The response to our booth and work was overwhelmingly positive. We were able to introduce the ROOT brand and mission to such a broad audience and offer people a much-needed space to recharge at a very busy event – success! To think that I almost didn’t do it and that I almost gave up this goal due to fear and doubt. It made me think about all the other goals I’d given up on over the years and what would have happened if I stuck with them. And here we are at:

Lesson #3: Look Back. Reflecting on the experience serves in a big way. Not only do you create space to observe what you learn and where you can improve, you also open up the door to acknowledge and experience your accomplishment.

As I write this and reminisce on the challenges I faced and the amount of overwhelm I felt, I can’t help but feel proud of what I overcame to accomplish my goal. I clearly learned some hard lessons. I also was awakened to the fact that I am not alone, should not feel bad about asking for help, and that it’s important to allow yourself to let go of your plan. Sometimes that is the only answer to achieve these 2018 goals.

Stick with it, tribe! You got this.