Cheri Dixon: A Girl and Her Dog

Hey there y’all! Can you believe we are just days away from ending another year???? 2023 is soon upon us, and as I mentioned last week, I am working on my own end of year reflections so that I can start making my 2023 BIG goals. Last week, I reviewed some of my wins in 2022. This week, I need to reflect on things that didn’t go so well, as they are just as much a part of our successes as celebrating those wins! And, just like any other human on the planet, I am not special and have half of my life as wins, and half as areas to continue to work on!

One area that I had to work on this year was learning patience. I am a high achiever…and most things in life have come pretty easy for me. Grades in school and college, getting promotions in my career, and learning most life lessons. If I have something to overcome, I typically can find a way to do it rather quickly. So, as I started my coaching journey, I thought, well, I am smart…and this should be simple. Listening to a podcast episode today from The Life Coach School, it sounds like many people starting businesses tend to think this. Now, I have not given up, nor do I plan to, but it has not been easy. I am seeing progress every day, learning and feeling more confident. However, if I measured my success on clients, I would have to give myself a D. I think mainly, I have been scared. I have a fear that when selling my product, either people will not think it is worth the value or that I am not someone who can get them the value. Thinking about this, I have to work on my own mindset and realize that if people don’t know what I do and how I can help them, I can’t help anyone. And, I can’t tell them without selling myself.

This year, I also feel that I have been so busy with my own stuff, I have lost touch with many of my friends from my teaching days. Still being an educator, we continue to have many things in common. However, our children are growing and going in different directions, some of us are retiring and spending more time traveling or have actually moved away, and with my focus being on making this side business happen providing less time for personal enjoyment…our friendships have changed. Now, when I see my friends, it is always like we haven’t missed a day together, but relationships change over the years and I know that I have not done my best to keep the ones nearest and dearest to my heart as the priority that I have in the past years. Definitely another area I need to reflect and work on in 2023.

I began the year believing that I was getting engaged and had found the love of my life. My love life has been a challenge since my divorce, mainly as I work through learning to trust and build a life with someone again…but at the start of 2022 I chose my one word to be LOVE this year…truly believing that this would be the year to open my heart and start believing I could build this part of my world. I reconnected with someone who had a very special place in my heart, only to learn about 2 months ago, that all that we had planned, all that we had been working toward, was not going to end in the way we had thought. It was heartbreaking, to say the least. I felt sad, angry, and just plain overwhelmed with the thought of being on my own once again. And, I really believed that he had become my best friend, so now I am learning how to get over that loss, and trust that, I can still make all of my goals and dreams happen as a single woman, and know he just is not “the one” and that person is still out there and will come when the time is right. Dealing with this was hard, and it set me back some, but having these last couple of weeks where I finally felt less hurt and anger and could get a little perspective on the whole situation has helped. Knowing that losing a relationship doesn’t define me, doesn’t make me a failure, has put me in a place to know I am still worthy and valued…and will go on to live whatever fabulous life God has in store for me!

And, finally, I want to just take a moment to mention my finances. No, I am not in a place to worry, but starting a new career, a new business, and having to participate in new certification programs and trainings has caused me to spend more than I typically do. I have really been reflecting on this, maybe because I am once again single and responsible for my own self financially, but maybe because I am working on another mindset shift in the area of finances and really wanting to be sure that no matter where the business takes me or getting closer to retirement and wanting to enjoy life, I am focusing on an abundance mindset rather than a lack mindset. This will take me completely out of my comfort zone, but thinking about this the other day while driving home from work and stuck in traffic, I really have to know that I am a smart, capable woman who will find a way to take care of myself financially, focused on not just living a comfortable life, but remembering that my worth really is connected to the value I will provide to my clients. I started my coaching journey with the vision that I will give every client a million dollar experience (as best I can), no matter what price they pay for my programs. I will continue to keep this as my main focus as I plan for my financial future in 2023.

Having this time to reflect on areas to work on has definitely put me in a place where I can now start to work on setting my goals for 2023. Have you taken time to look at both your wins and your areas that didn’t go quite as planned in 2022? One easy way to do this is to just make a little t-chart in a notebook and list them out, one column for wins, one for areas of concern…look at the teacher coming out in me here! 😊 Seriously though, I highly suggest taking time to do this as you gear up for the new year and set your goals. As always, I am here to help you in anyway possible way with this task, and of course, actually setting those goals. If you need assistance, please be sure to schedule us time on my calendar on my home page at the this website (www.findagirlandherdog.com). Good luck and I will see you next week, as I begin to determine my goals for my future in 2023! Until then! Cheri ❤️