Count Your Blessings
Preparing for a new dance season always carries a bit of magic. After the recital dust (I mean, glitter!) settles, you find yourself jumping at all the possibilities that await a new school year. It doesn’t take long for things to get busy all over again: you start gearing up for fall enrollment, summer camps, continuing education, onboarding new hires, and everything else that seems to fill up your calendar overnight.
The busyness of business never stops, so consider this post a call for a pause! Take a few deep breaths. Sit still for a few extra minutes. Use this time for some important reflection before jumping back into the hustle and bustle. Let me share with you how it worked for me …
Although I’ve been SO excited to ramp up the preparations for our 25th anniversary season, I had to stop myself the other day and do this very exercise. I needed to take a pause, look back, and appreciate just how special the past few months have been. Though I love moving forward to the next thing and the next and the next, I had to remember to count my blessings before charging ahead over the next entrepreneurial hurdle!
For example, in May we celebrated our 24th recital and it was the first time I wasn’t there (though I did make it to all the rehearsals!). Miss Shayna, our General Manager whose dedication and love for MDU is off the charts, led ALL of our shows while I was in Massachusetts celebrating my daughter’s graduation from the CLI Conservatory. I knew that everything with the performances was in good hands, and I was able to fully support Isabella and this incredible achievement in her life. Talk about a WOW moment as a business owner!
Then a few weeks later, I was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame at my alma mater, Logan High School—the same school two of my kids attend now, and that my grandpa, grandma, mom, sisters, mentor, and husband all attended too (Mitch and I met at Logan!). To say I was proud would be an understatement, and I can only hope that being honored by the school will inspire a kid who is like I was; a kid who sees encouragement and inspiration from the people and stories on the wall of honorees.
These were BIG moments for me, and I had to take the time to let them soak in. I needed to not be in such a hurry to blast off into the orbit of next season, and instead pause to appreciate where I’d been and celebrate with the people I love. What an energizing difference it makes to reflect on the good life has taken you!
I hope you will do the same. Resist the urge to move so quickly that you forget to embrace the blessings heaped upon you. Use your reflections as motivation for the new dance season ahead, for all you want to accomplish. This gratitude is fuel!
As you ramp up for this summer and beyond, I encourage you to take more frequent pauses like these. Take a break from the busyness, catch your breath, and lean into the good so you are ready for more. 🙂
Love,
Misty
