The List Everyone Should Have

So this is 31… 

Today is my birthday!! And for those of you who know me, you know how much I love my birthday! I’m talking tiara’s and midnight countdowns kind of feeling! Poor Brad! He has learned to just embrace the tradition at this point in our marriage.

This has always been the day I look forward to the most of every year. Thankfully I don’t have to wait long cause it’s literally 5 days into the year. Lol.

This year felt a little different for me! I remember thinking a few months ago, “I can’t believe I’m going to be 31!” That just seemed so crazy to me. It feels like time has actually sped up since I was 25, and I kind of just woke up one day and 5 years had gone by!

I’m sure I can’t be the only one whose felt like this!? 

Lately I have been diving into some marketing courses for business and focusing a lot on building a “personal brand”. In one of my courses, my teacher shared that in order to have a personal brand, you need to share about your life and who you are other than a photographer.

This stood out to me because I had a moment of thinking “Who am I!! What makes my personality unique or interesting. Why would anyone want to hear about my normal, boring, personal life!” Ha ha. I truly felt like I had nothing to share that the world would be interested in. Not in a sad way, just in a “I’m not very interesting” kind of way! Ha ha.

My teacher told me that in order to create this personal content I first needed to create a list of things that excite me. My “fire me up” list, if you will.

I thought this exercise was so silly! There was no way that writing out a list of random things that get me excited would help me find my voice…

Oh boy was I ever wrong!

Not only did this list help me find so many things I could potentially talk about that would be relatable to people, but it also helped me find MYSELF again!

So often we get caught up in the hustle of life and fall into our titles of mom, wife, business owner, ect… That we forget that it’s the little things about our personality that bring us joy and excitement in life.

This “fire me up” list was the most encouraging list I could have ever made for myself. It helped me refocus on the things that are important to me in my life and get rid of the negative junk I’d been holding onto.

It was so helpful that I actually convinced a friend of mine to make one as well. She was also inspired with a reignited fire inside her and was able to find her passion again and make a game plan of how she is going to achieve some BIG goals!

I want to encourage you to make your own list of things that fire you up! It can be big or small things(I literally have sour soothers on my list… ) Just start with a few items and let your mind be free to create the rest! I am certain you will find a fire lit inside you again. And a full list of things that bring you joy instead of negativity.

This year on my birthday I am LOVING who I am! I am a child of the most high God! I am a funny, sarcastic, messy wife and mom who has so many quirky and unique personality traits that bring me joy every single day! This year I embraced every ounce of weirdness and imperfection in my life and made those things a BIG part of WHO I AM and accepted it!

31 Things That Fire Me Up:

1. Singing & Song Writing
2. Funny Coffee Mugs
3. Graphic Design
4. Making Lists
5. Sour Soothers
6. Severe Thunder Storms
7. Buying new clothes
8. Board games
9. The smell of paper(like a brand new book)
10. My kids laughing and playing together
11. A freshly cleaned house
12. Crocheting
13. Office supplies
14. Frosted trees
15. FRIENDS the Sitcom
16. Playing Piano & Guitar
17. Leading Worship
18. Going out for lunch or dinner
19. Bath and Body Works 3-wick candles
20. Bubble baths
21. Putting on clean clothes straight out of the dryer
22. Morning Coffee
23. Video games
24. Looking at home decor(even creating pinterest dream board of home decor)
25. Walmart dates
26. Christmas light and decorations
27. Nothing but candle light in a quiet house
28. The smell of campfire on clothes
29. Getting dressed up for special occasions
30. Shopping and buying something new
31. My birthday!

I could really go on and on and on but I will keep this list at 31 because that is how old I am officially today! I hope you will find this list encouraging and know that if you have lost your identity a little bit that you are not alone! This may not bring you all the way back but it is a great motivator to help you get started finding your joy again.

Life is way to short to not love the little things that bring you joy! So fill up your year with your “Fire Me Up” list and let me know a few of the things on the top of your list below! 🙂