Tis The Season For Personal Pivots

Every once in awhile I find myself back at where I started…albeit I’m usually in a better position, but still, nonetheless, back at where I started.

As some of you may know, when I began my running back in February, I was running my own design and marketing business. Since then I’ve had a few clients and took on a full-time job and thus giving up grad school and my businesses. Unfortunately with startup life comes a lot of risk-taking, and I had confidence that things would work out. Unfortunately they aren’t and now I find myself a teensy bit more vulnerable than I’d like. This has resulted in a few choice words and snide remarks at people who are trying to help — here’s looking at you, Shant — but also just generally being a bit more humble and conservative than usual.

Every so often we get on our high horse — whether it’s in our heads or publicly — but it’s important to know that what goes up must come down. While I have a pretty clear definitive plan on my next steps, they are still scary nonetheless.

My plans include:

1. Wrapping up my graduate degree at Golden Gate University. I have about a year left of full-time study before getting my masters.
2. Taking my ACE Fitness studying more seriously. If health and wellness is something I am serious about switching into, I really need to know the material and get my act together.
3. Hunting down part-time/contractor opportunities. I want to be as focused as possible on studying so that when it comes time to flip the switch again — go from student to worker — I can do so with a clear mind and a sharpened toolset.
4. Looking at new places to live. I really love my little apartment and neighborhood but I wonder if there isn’t a better spot that’s better suited for me. There are a few places close by that are cheaper but larger, but I’ll have to do a cost/benefit analysis to figure out if it’s worth considering.
5. Get my money ducks in line. A little easier said than done since I hate thinking about money but apparently it’s a necessary evil at this stage in my life.
6. Seriously train for my 70.3. I’m going to put together a training calendar, based on the aggregate of what’s available online, and use my personal training studying to my advantage. If I begin this month that’ll give me 11 months — nearly 40+ weeks — to get half-Ironman ready.
7. Continue fundraising for Dress for Success. I’ve let that go to the wayside a bit since I’ve been busy with the full-time job but now’s a great time to pick that pack up!
8. Build great content for my ‘Ironwoman in Training’ blog. I’d love to continue writing posts, but I’d like to invite guest bloggers, host live video chats, and just get more involved in the running community online.

Related articles

• Dreams of a full-time job steadily lose their appeal (smh.com.au)
• The Plan! (heyworlditsme.wordpress.com)
• Guest Post: Tri Training and Working Full Time with Theresa (carlybananas.com)
• Important quotes for young leaders from the book, Quitter (christopherscottblog.typepad.com)
• Should I continue with personal training? (ask.metafilter.com)