Carrie Willard

putting the "her" back in motherhood

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December 30, 2018 by Carrie

2018: Year in Review

Hello there. My name is Carrie Willard, and I used to write a blog here. 😉

I only wrote 5 posts in all of 2018 (not including this one). Wow! My spot for sharing thoughts has mostly switched to Facebook live, so if you aren’t following me there, I’d love if you did! I do plan on posting more often here in 2019, so if you’re not already subscribed to my email newsletter, please drop your name and email in the box on the right.

2018: a Year in Review

It was a practice of mine for several years to write an annual review. Then I got out of the habit. Recently, two people  reminded of the wisdom of this practice. (They’re John Maxwell and James Clear if you’re curious! I’ll mention these two again later.)

The point of an annual review is not to simply take note of what you did in the previous year. It’s to assess what worked, what didn’t, and to use that information to make the next year even better. (Ever known someone who seemed to live the same year over and over? Yeah… I have no interest in that! Wisdom doesn’t always come with age. One must be intentional about it! )

So, here’s my brief wrap-up of 2018.

LipSense Business

Here I am at one of the five conferences/trainings I traveled to for work in 2018. Having a blast and learning all the things. 🙂

I traveled a lot for work.

This is interesting, because I traveled more in 2018 than I did in the 20 years previous. One of the goals I had with my business was to travel more, and I certainly accomplished that. What matters most about traveling is this: though I always wanted to do it, it scared me a ton.

Eat. Sleep. Read. Basically, my favorite things. A bookstore in Tulsa.

Everything about travel: from booking flights and lodging to navigating a new town, to hiring an Uber, brought me anxiety at first.

Now, it doesn’t. (More on this in the “something I learned” section!)

In May, my 41 year old, healthy husband had a stroke. 

It affected the visual center of his brain. He lost 25% of the field of vision in each eye. This has improved somewhat, but he still has some visual disturbances. He was very fortunate that the stroke didn’t cause him the typical symptoms and he was back to work quickly. However, now we’re dealing with the medical bills that weren’t covered by our health share (which paid the bulk of it! No complaints at all about Liberty HealthShare). It’s frustrating to be back in debt after getting out of it, but that’s the way it is sometimes!

The good thing about a medical event is that it can give you new motivation to develop better habits and to pay more attention to your health. My husband has been dogged in his daily exercise habit, among other positive changes.

How I Did on My Word for 2018

FOCUS was my word of the year, only it was an acronym (cheating, I know!). It stood for Focus, Observe, Consistency, Unafraid, Schedule/Systems

I would say I did so/so on the Focus part. I tried hard to stay present. I definitely cut out non-essential activities. Working my business, my spiritual routine and homeschooling were just about all I did, and that’s ok with me.

But I didn’t stick with my “Observe” routine. I planned on creating a block of time to think, to reflect each week – and didn’t do it consistently. I have a plan for doing this in 2019 though.

Consistency was improved, I think. Late in the year, I chose 5 Things I wanted to do every single day no matter what. I got an accountability partner I message each day (and her, me). More on this in a minute!

I NAILED Unafraid. Well, it’s more accurate to say I “did it scared”.

And I did create systems for myself and my business to save me time and make sure that those who GOT my time were deserving of it.

They’re facing the sun, but it’s still a favorite (and rare!) pic of my 7. They’re the best thing I’ve ever done.

Something(s) I Learned in 2018

As an introvert who also leads a direct sales team, I spend much of my time “peopling”. After travel or similar happening (such as a vendor event), I often underestimated the time it takes me to physically and emotionally recover.

I need to remember to incorporate recovery time in my schedule. 

Scheduling a meeting with another human the day after a big event or travel is a no-no. And, I need extra sleep and rest for several days afterwards.

That I’m good at moving towards what scares me.

And that makes me proud! Too often, when people feel fear, they run away. We do this because we make the mistake of listening to our reptilian brain that tries to protect us. The problem with that is, the fear is rarely based in anything real (in other words, you’re NOT being chased by a tiger, your fear is something dumb like the judgement of others, or fear of failure, or some other thing that is best ignored!).

I basically LIVED 2018 outside my comfort zone. Unafraid was part of my word for 2018 and I think I did best in this area.

Impactful Books I Read in 2018

This list is short because one of my goals for 2018 was to read fewer books. I found I was spending too much time reading, and not enough time implementing. Or, filling my head with too many ideas instead of listening to the wisdom I already had, and the feedback life was giving me about what was working.

These books were the most impactful to me, in order of importance.

Atomic Habits by James Clear – I’ve read many books on habits (and written one!). This one is the best.

Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday – Ryan is just awesome, and I love all his books, but this one knocks it out of the court.

Home Sweet Maison by Danielle Postel-Vinay – as you likely know I’m a huge fan of all things French girl. I consumed this one veeeeery slowly to drag out the pleasure, and I can’t get the ideas out of my mind. I made some immediate changes to my home and continue to do so after reading this book.

Beach Money by Jordan Adler – a classic for network marketers. I keep this one close by to remind me of the long-term goals for my business.

And although it wasn’t a book I read, I was deeply impacted by a talk I heard by John Maxwell (I’ve since become interested in his books and will likely binge read several of them in the next few months!) about the Rule of 5. More of that in my next post.

Smart Stuff I Bought

A Nespresso machine. This thing kept me out of coffee shops and paid for itself in a month.

Yes, sometimes I charge my teenagers for their espresso pods! We found them cheaper at Target and Brandless.com

Homeopathic HGH gel. After trying many things and spending a ton of money, it’s what made a big difference in my peri-menopausal symptoms. I don’t sell it, but I’m happy to refer my gal to you.

Stitch Fix. I get a “fix” 3-4 times a year. Each time the sylist gets better at “getting” my style.

My next post will be about my word for 2019 and new habits I’ll be working on. I hope you stick around and share yours too! Sign up in the box to the right. Comment below!

 

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Filed Under: Your Time

About Carrie

Carrie is a homeschooling mom of 7 and the author of this blog. More about her here.

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Comments

  1. Barbi K. says

    December 30, 2018 at 7:38 pm

    I will be sticking around, old friend, as not in your age, I’m older than you, but we knew each other back int he day. I’ll keep reading. It’s good to always be working on making yourself better. I try also. It’s certainly not something that can be done in a day, but fun to have like minded people around. I also love things French inspired, so along with being home school moms we have some things in common.Best wishes in the new year! Happy, Joyous Greetings for 2019!!!

  2. Sherrylin Cook says

    December 31, 2018 at 1:11 pm

    Hi Carrie,
    I’ve REALLY enjoyed your posts. I’ve gleaned and implemented some of your great ideas and I plan on checking out the books in your reading list. Thank you so very much for sharing.
    Sherrylin

  3. Ellen Hubler says

    December 31, 2018 at 7:38 pm

    Hi Carrie – enjoyed your blog! Time really flies?You look wonderful; sorry to hear about your husband. What a scary time for you & your family. Hard to believe we both have 21 year old “kids”?????Take good care! Love, Ellen

  4. Ellen Hubler says

    December 31, 2018 at 7:39 pm

    Hi Carrie – enjoyed your blog! Time really flies?You look wonderful; sorry to hear about your husband. What a scary time for you & your family. Hard to believe we both have 21 year old “kids”?????Take good care! Love, Ellen

  5. Beverly Coomer says

    January 8, 2019 at 2:09 am

    “I found I was spending too much time reading, and not enough time implementing. Or, filling my head with too many ideas instead of listening to the wisdom I already had, and the feedback life was giving me about what was working.”
    Wow, Carrie — I think you are the first person I have ever “heard” speak this out loud. We all joke about how “One can never have too many books”, or “So many books; so little time”…but your observation is the flip side we often don’t consider. Frankly, I’m surprised that many time management “gurus” and life coaches don’t address this. We can get ourselves into a little tizzy, just spinning our wheels, by “always [reading/studying] and never coming to a knowledge of the truth.” We already do have “everything we need for life”, but we have been convinced that someone “out there” knows more, understands more, has more ideas, than we do, so we stop listening to that still small voice inside which knows better. Thank you, thank you, for reminding me that I don’t need another strategy, another system, another idea — I very likely simply need to IMPLEMENT. That may just become MY word for 2019.
    I pray your 2019 will be more joyous, more lovely, more of all the beauty you bring to others. Blessing upon Blessing be yours!

  6. Carrie says

    January 8, 2019 at 6:16 am

    I’m glad you enjoyed that!

  7. Carrie says

    January 8, 2019 at 6:16 am

    I know!! So good to see your name on here ??

  8. Cathy says

    January 8, 2019 at 3:42 pm

    I really like what you wrote here. It’s nice to see someone list “read less” as a goal, but I totally understand what you mean by taking in too much and not implementing enough. I hope your next year is within your comfort zone but still exciting and productive. Thank you for sending me a link to your writing and sharing yourself so thoughtfully. Bonne Annee.

  9. Carrie says

    January 11, 2019 at 1:07 pm

    glad you enjoyed this Cathy!

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Hi, I’m Carrie! Bienvenue!

I like to write about being a mom of 7, frugality, homemaking and books. Thanks for stopping by!

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