Living Life In NYC With Intention
Have you ever played that game, “Where’s Waldo”? Well, as of late, I feel like I’m Waldo! Completely MIA and off all social media. I’ve been knee deep in this concrete jungle for a little of a year now! I am literally Waldo – in my bright colors and in a sea of people….It’s the first Thursday of the new month, so I am popping in with a monthly post and I’m thrilled to share it with you.
If you read my post back in January, you know my New Year’s resolution was to live by one word per month.
- January: Presence
- February: Gratitude
- March: Balance
- April: Intention
This month my word is intention. Living each day with intention can sometimes be a challenge. For me, I walk 15 minutes to work every day and during that 15-minute walk, I tell myself two things, “today is going to be a great day” and “I want to achieve these 3 items today….” That’s it! One thing is work related, one is personal and one is educational or fun. Usually my educational or fun item includes a podcast or a glass of wine, but that’s for another post.
It’s been really easy for me to get lost in the shuffle living in New York and lose sight of why I moved here in the first place. We’ve all done it. We start living out of comfort and habit instead of living with passion and intention.
I moved to the city for the same reason that most girls do… the idea that if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere! (Thanks Frank Sinatra). I have dreamed of walking down Park Avenue in my Christian Louboutin with my Prada bag and being the ultimate girl power. Now, I don’t own the shoes or the bag yet, but I do work off Park Ave…. baby steps, I guess!
Moving here was incredibly scary and full of uncontrollable variables. I was super concerned that I would fall flat on my face. I moved from Orlando to a mega city with very few friends and no family around. While I was making this decision to take the plunge of a lifetime, I was reading a book called “Lean In” by Sheryl Sandberg. It speaks to women specifically and encourages us to lean into every opportunity, every moment and every dream or desire we might have. Setting your intention and inviting yourself to simply… jump in.
After finishing the book, I realized that if my intention was to see my dreams come true by living in a big city and earn X amount before I was 30, I needed to lean in and jump.
Today, I’m 30 years old, loving my life in New York, making new girlfriends and enjoying what I do for work. I cannot say I’ve figured it all out, believe me. I pay an insane amount of rent for a shoe box of an apartment, right when I think the weather is finally warming up, it snows and when I finally think I’ve figure out the difference between local and express trains, I’m quickly reminded that I know nothing and should probably stick to Uber.
No matter what industry you are in, no matter your gender, no matter if you’re a new mom or C-level executive at a fortune 500 company, we all struggle with the fear of failure. Sometimes, we underestimate ourselves, our self-worth and our ability to seriously kick ass. Set your intention (daily, monthly and yearly), lean in, don’t fear failure and just jump.
Life changes are scary, but you know what’s scarier?
Regret.
Until next month ladies,
Chelsey