Once we get to a point in our lives, at midlife, and beyond, sometimes it’s a challenge to live forward. It can be downright scary living forward, because we get caught up in looking back. It’s easier to look back with almost ‘Norman Rockwell’ nostalgia, picturing what was. I talk with women all the time at this point of life and they’re afraid that time is passing them by, and they haven’t accomplished the things they thought they would. They thought they would have made time to get back in shape, or trained for a marathon. They thought they might finish that college degree that got sidelined when they started their family. They thought they might accomplish their dream job, until life took an unexpected turn. They thought they’d be able to take that mother / daughter vacation that was planned, but then their mom passed away before you got to the plans.

Don’t get trapped looking back and filling yourself with self-doubt, or thinking you can’t lose that weight, or you can’t get back into the work force, or it’s too late to rekindle the relationship with your spouse or partner. Take this new year, this new decade to live forward. Own it. Stay accountable, and do one thing everyday. Something you can check off your list as you live forward striving for your full potential.

Is it hard to think this way when it’s easier to sit on the couch and scroll through social media feeds? It’s challenging to call a friend and ask them to take a walk with you? It’s hard to push send on that job application after being out of the work force for 10, or 20 years? Heck yea…it is super hard. But doing hard things….looking forward…it is the momentum we need to begin again. I’ve been there. Struggling to recreate and reinvent myself time and time again with every move. Trying to keep the balls in the air and transitioning back to the US, starting over. I’ve been there with that trip I so wanted to take with my mom, and then she passed unexpectedly. But you know what…I did it…and so can you! You can shift your mindset from what could have been, to what will be….We’re all in this together. How are you going to live forward this year?