Finding my work/dogs/life balance: Life Editing for Beginners Blog Party

This post is going to be a whole lot more about me than you guys are used to reading in a single post (although there is a SUPER cute dog coming up…), but thanks for sticking with me!

As most of you know, the past couple years have been tricky. If you’re new (Hi! Welcome!), here’s Dec 2011 to today in three sentences: I was diagnosed with cancer and had a bunch of surgeries, followed by 12 months of chemo, during which my husband (the health insurance provider!) transferred to a job in Louisiana. I stayed in Indy to go through treatment while he commuted back and forth. As soon as I finished chemo, I went to Louisiana to spend the last year of his project with him before moving back at Indiana this past July, right after the hero of our story, Emmett, received his cancer diagnosis.

As I said: tricky.

Throughout all that, my freelance business suffered. I basically did just enough and not an ounce more, and with all the upheavals, changes, and medical bills (mine and Em’s) we racked up some debt, too. Which is fine. All of that is just part of life – all those curve-balls that keep us on our toes. And we’re positive people, so we just keep trucking.

But back in Indiana, I realized that I was struggling to get back into the swing. I actually had no clue what the “swing” even was anymore. My definition of “normal” needed to be rewritten, and I was procrastinating on everything – and totally beating myself up about it. Then I stumbled across this group coaching class, Life Editing for Beginners with Sage Grayson, that was in beta test mode. I have a few friends who worked with coaches and raved, so I dove in.

OH! And that cute dog? I mean, how could I choose to work with anyone other than Sage when she has this crazy cute pit mix?

Right?!

Anyway, the group class is focused on taking an editor’s approach to life: identifying what’s working and deleting what isn’t. I’m such a process-driven person that this worked really well for me. You start with the foundation and work through each of the steps. Here’s the official deal:

In this 5-week group coaching program, you’ll learn the Life Editing Process and how to delete bad influences, add good habits and routines, and rearrange the parts of your life into a perfect flow. You get daily emails, 10 videos, 10 worksheets, 5 weekly interactive webinars, a private Facebook group, weekly challenges, plus other fun surprises! Doors are open now, so click here to sign up today!

Obviously, my strategy of just-keep-putting-one-foot-in-front-of-the-other is not sustainable, so I spent the first couple weeks filling out the worksheets and participating in the closed Facebook group trying to figure out what I could ditch. At the end of the five weeks I have a better idea of what I need to do to move forward and a great group of people to bounce ideas off of. The reality is that while I thought I was “busy” and felt so stressed, I was wasting tons of time and energy. The editing process helped me figure out that I need much clearer goals. There IS time to be a conscientious worker, run my business, keep up with this blog (which, I think, suffered the most these last two years…), walk the dogs every day, and still have time to train and hang out with John. I don’t even want to think about how long it would’ve taken to get me to that realization without Sage’s help.

It’s definitely a “process” and I don’t have it down yet. But I’m trying. And just yesterday I answered an interview question about how Emmett inspires me… It was a lightbulb moment because it totally ties into this. He faces life with such openness and joy. He embodies an in-the-moment spirit, and he’s a champion forgiver. I can only strive to do better and be kinder because of him, and this course placed me back on that path.

If you’re interested in learning more, check out the Life Editing Process.