Fighting the Overwhelm

One of my goals is to establish my blog FrugalBeautiful.com and I'm trying not to feel both overwhelmed and discouraged simutaneously.  I've heard the sage advice, "You can't chase two rabbits and expect to catch either one," and I'm worried that I'm spreading myself too thin by not focusing on one goal and mastering it.  I have a job, graduate school courses (full load baby!) and the blog.  The blog brings me a tremendous amount of joy, but I worry I'm not going about it correctly.  I have very little knowledge on how to make it "successful."  Sure, I've read about what it takes to make a good blog- but executing that in reality is a whole different animal.


This morning, I was listening to MorningCoach's podcast.  And J.B. in his podcast, "Manifest Your Dreams," talks about the power of identifying a dream and the power of believing in it without getting caught up in the "how," and just working on the "do."  Everyday, he says, you must just focus on small changes, "1%" of making your dreams and goals a reality.  Looking in retrospect, I've made a lot of progress since moving to Chicago.  I've had several goals, which I've met- so perhaps I should just enjoy the process of my new goals and dreams instead of getting caught up in the "how?"


Credit Where Credit is Due:
-I wanted a dog.  I found Ralph and he's a perfect fit.  I love what he's brought into my life.

-I wanted to be sure that grad school was the right choice.  I went out and found my answer and have decided to finish the program.  I had to face down my own choices and confront my anxiety.  I know my graduate degree is no longer the center of my life- now I must find a new dream/goal.

-I wanted to finally take yoga classes.  I go at least once a week now, twice if I can make it.  I have never been able to make exercise consistent before, but now I'm making it happen!

-I wanted to get creative and to talk about my experiences.  To be honest, sometimes I think I'm weird.  I'm the only one I know doing what I'm doing, or at least having the problems that I'm having.  Blogging gives me an outlet to examine that.

Future Goals:

-Establish \More Income:  I'm doing some freelance work, but it's sporadic.  I want to write more and get paid for it.  I need to get off my but and register at some of the sites I know pay for freelance writing.  I am not a terrible writer.  I cannot delay my introduction into the work because I feel I'm "not ready."  I need to just *do.*

-Find a Big Dream:  A lot of my previous dreams don't really seem to fit anymore (i.e. marriage, at least for now), and I need to find something that excites me beyond belief.  I am working on my dream of living a financially free and secure life in broad strokes right now:  challenging myself to build my skill sets and strengthen my résumé, saving for my future in a Roth IRA and life insurance policy.  I am making a lot of sacrifices to live debt free and still put aside something for my future.  But to what end?  I feel the sacrifices would be much easier if I had a long term vision.  That is something I need to work on.

-Relax and Have Fun:   I am doing the best I can with what I have.   I need to learn to schedule work time 

with fun time and allow myself to invest in that time and be in the moment. 

I suppose some days I need to allow myself to know it's not all going to come together quickly.  Every day I work on having a life that is marked by financial and emotional freedom. I will learn to be patient and appreciate my life for what it is now, and know it will eventually measure up.  This is a process and I need to forgive myself for that.