Back in January I dedicated myself to a year of doing, trying, and being what I aspired. I challenged myself to pick a word or two as a theme for the year and let it be my guide instead of making a new year's resolution. When I found yourself out of balance, I always knew where to go to find your center. The word was my center. And it was simple. It helped me grow in a way that never felt like I was going backward by getting off track.

For me, I wanted this year to be about ‘now’ and ‘doing’. I wanted my center, my point to find balance, to be a place where I was present and could enable myself for what’s next (the doing). And it worked! I made time for myself, which allowed me to be in the moment and see the world that was right in front of me. It helped me say yes to adventure. It forced me out of my comfort zone and guided me to amazing people and experiences that I would have never met otherwise.

When you are in your center, you are the absolute best versions of yourself. You’re fabulous, unstoppable, and radiant the kind of energy that attracts goodness right back. Where is your center? Is it when you are present? Is it when you feel loved? Is it when you feel secure? Is it when you give in to adventure? Your center is powerful and it can be made of so many attributes, it can be a combination of emotions and good fortunes. But ultimately, your center is where the real you thrives. No two people have the exact same center but everyone can look back and acknowledge a time they were in their center. It’s the time we crawled into bed and couldn’t contain a smile from taking over. We’ve all been there and crave to stay there longer.

But why can’t we stay there longer? If we know where it is and how wonderful we are when we’re there, why do we find ourselves so detached at times? Sometimes it feels like we have to put our needs, wants, and urge to create away to take care of what’s important. We know what this includes: school work, applying for jobs, projects at work, family, buying a new car, meetings. Add anything to this list that has to get done, is (semi) important, but stops us from doing the things that bring us to our center. These are moments where we feel like we’ve lost control. We are constantly on the go, checking off task after task, and sure we feel productive, but do we feel happy?

When you lose your center and start to lose control you need a way to get back — you need a way to get back to you. Getting back to you means discovering what need you’re not having met and making time to fulfill it. When I find myself farthest from my center I stop everything I’m doing to write in a journal. If I hear my inner critic or my own voice asking ‘what the heck is wrong with today’, I grab the journal and let out whatever wants to come out. It doesn’t have to be a journal if that’s not something you love. A lot of people go to the gym. Some people take a walk. Pick up a favorite book. Plan a date night with someone they love. Get a Starbucks! You know where your center is because, like gravity, it pulls at you. It begs you to spend a little more time there. And when we finally give in to our center, we become our fullest selves.

Peace, love, and get back to you.

Xox

Andrea