Am I overthinking things?

A guide to being breezy.

I’m about to be an empty nester.

A few weeks ago, I took my man-sized baby to Mexico. It was our first time there. Bougie hotel. Beach chairs. Driver. I had a benefactor who urged me to take the time and go - who made it possible for me to realize this dream with my kid. A million times in my life, I have passed up opportunities to explore because it felt frivolous or irresponsible or something I told myself I should not do.

But this time I allowed myself to be present with the opportunity and the time and my child.

Baby Man was accepted to his first-choice university. Who knows if that will be the path he takes. He’s a non-traditional thinker. But we are about to start a new chapter in our relationship and it has me feeling all the feels.

His brother continues to thrive in college, independent of me. Again, so proud of him for launching but simultaneously working on how to show up for him in new ways.

And I’m about to be an empty nester.

Amid endings, imagining what to do next can be [fill in the blank]. For me, it is equally exhilarating and overwhelming. My emotions are complex - vacillating from one place to the next. 

Often I ask myself…who do you think you are to dream again? I’ve been working through this process in my mind for a while. In fact, I know many people wondering: What do things look like in the next chapter? What am I interested in? Where will I find a new purpose and meaning?

I wrote it out on paper if you want to borrow the Should/ Would/ Could Thinking Framework.

CONFESSION: I dream from a place of deficit. That’s how Baby Meg learned to operate in the world. 

What I want to do is shame and blame myself for not having my shit together, telling myself I am not enough to accomplish big dreams. Then that tiny little voice kicks in - the one that uses the word “should” in the back of my mind. Please see paragraph #1, where I talk about things I should not do.

I start to tell myself:

• You should have a 9-5 job.

• You should have more money in your retirement account.

• You should buy a smaller house.

• You should save, not invest in a business.

• You should not buy another plant.

• You should not travel.

But I know better now. This time I’m going to dream differently.

Take the next step with me.

I’m sharing one piece of advice that changed my mindset, a new mantra to help you with decision-making, and of course, a few journal prompts because, hi, it’s me.