The 7 biggest lessons I learned in 2015

Dec 31, 2015 | Sparkly Love

2015 pic

Today is very last day we get to experience 2015! Looking back, it was a pretty crazy one for me jammed packed with life lessons that I had never experienced before. Some of them were extremely tough and bitter, while others were sweet and blissful. Reflecting back is really the only way to really see the value in what we’ve learned.

I love this time of year between Christmas and New Years when there’s time to be lazy and do the things you dream of when life is crazy busy. I spent the holidays in Arizona visiting my parent’s who live there half the year. It’s a very different lifestyle compared to Vancouver, but I appreciate how gorgeous the desert is and my favourite thing to do is hike along the red mountains and explore the canyons. It’s incredibly calm and the views are breathtaking (check out my Instagram to see some of my pics).

In order to truly reflect, you must sloooooow down. It’s pretty much impossible to be frantic and reflect simultaneously. Probably almost as hard as drinking a green smooth and jumping (two things I do each morning, but never at the same time!) People meditate with their eyes closed for a very good reason. There’s already enough going on inside of that brain.

Sitting down to write what I learned over the previous year, and setting my goals are for the next is something I’ve been doing for a few years now. It’s really amazing to look back and realize how much I’ve experienced and evolved. There’s somethings I would totally forget if I don’t reflect back month to month. If you are constantly looking ahead, it can be easy to miss all great accomplishments and achievements from the past.

Here are the biggest lessons for me in 2015:

  1. My body is stronger than I realize. In 2014 I was hit by a car while crossing the street. Fortunately I wasn’t seriously injured, but I have dealt with neck, shoulder and head pain ever since. After the accident, I took it pretty easy on myself physically and although I still worked out regularly, I didn’t push myself beyond a certain point. Last February I went to a yoga retreat in Costa Rica and it was the first time since the accident that I started to challenge myself beyond my comfort zone. I had been holding myself back for so long because I didn’t want to get injured, but in fact pushing myself further not only made me feel better but also gave me the confidence in my body again. I even did acro yoga which I would have never imagined I could do.
  2. Travelling alone is awesome! Before this year, I had never gone on a trip on my own other than to conferences and trade shows. In 2015 I travelled around Costa Rica, Chicago and Bali by myself and it was incredible! I loved the feeling of waking up to days full of possibility and meeting new people. It was so great to do the things I wanted to do when I wanted to do them, plus I was open to anything. If you’ve never travelled alone, I highly recommend it.
  3. Fight the good fight! I don’t want to rehash the whole story because it’s very long and negative (you can read about it in detail here), but basically last April another craft show created an exclusivity clause preventing anyone doing their show to do Make It. Even though this didn’t affect us from a business standpoint, the whole thing went against what I firmly believe in. I think the handmade community needs to support one another and create as many positive opportunities for artists as possible. My brother and I fought them hard and it even went to the media. In the end, we had our most successful Make It shows ever which just proves that there’s abundance in the Universe and more than enough to go around. The fight got ugly and stressful at times, but I’m proud that we stood behind what we believed in.
  4. To follow my heart no matter what. This is the first time I’ve disclosed this publicly, but over the summer we were in the final stages of selling Make It to another company. We were approached by them earlier in the year, and we really impressed by their vision of taking Make It to the next level. Plus, at the time Chandler and I were interested in pursuing other projects. In the final stages of closing the deal, I had a change of heart and decided that I no longer wanted to sell the business. When I reflect back, I think the whole thing happened to reinstate my love for what I do and that a price just can’t be put on it.
  5. I can walk on fire! I’ve always been very open to self development and improvement. Learning how brains work has become an obsession of mine and I’m constantly trying to figure out my own. In October I went to see Tony Robbins in LA and the experience changed my life. We were given the opportunity to walk across 12 feet of blazing hot coal as a metaphor for what’s possible in life. At first I was scared shitless, but I decided I needed to step up and trust that I could do it…and I DID!
  6. Believe and trust in the journey. When we decided to move Make It to the Expo Centre in Edmonton it was a huge leap for us. We had many moments when we were totally scared, but we always had faith in ourselves. This was not always easy, but I knew it was the one thing we had to do in order to prevail. We trusted and it paid off!  
  7. Anything can happen. This is the biggest lesson of all! With love, business, travel, friends, health and everything in-between, I’ve learned more than ever that openness to life is the key to all things outstanding. When you open yourself up, the magic can get in. Also, you can never control what happens to you, but you can always how you react to it.

Overall 2015 was a fantastic year and I’m so pumped for what 2016 will bring. So far I’m most excited to revamp the Make It website (FINALLY), relaunch Make It University, complete my short documentary, take my fitness to the next level and fall in love with an awesome guy! Right now I’m in the process of scheduling and planning it all because I know that’s how you make your dreams come true. It’s not always glamorous, but doing the things you say you’re going to do it the only way I know how to make it happen. Plus you also have to leave room for the Universe to do it’s magical part.

I would love to hear some of your biggest lessons from 2015! Please share them below.

Thank you so much for reading and I wish you the sparkliest New Year yet!

Jenna_Signature

 

 

 

 

Pssst! I still have my new inspirational prints on sale! Use the promo code ‘preorder’ to get 20% off until Jan 15th. Now that Christmas is over, buy a little gift for yourself that will inspire you to keep going for you dreams and making awesome stuff happen. You deserve it 😉

Meet Jenna

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