Why I'm here

Several months ago I was reading an article in a magazine where a woman utilized the services of a "life coach,"  and although the author of the article was extremely skeptical- using the life coach really only for research purposes to write her article- in the end, the author said that the life coach had been well worth the money.  I wish I could even remember where I read the article so I could share the link here - but all that I remember was a piece of advice that the life coach gave. A piece of advice that is largely what brought this blog to life.

She basically said that it's ok to allow yourself to do something JUST for fun.  It is ok (and a good idea!) to temporarily turn off all of the voices inside your head that tell you why you shouldn't waste your time doing something, or why you aren't good at your passion, or how your time could be spent better.   Turn off all of the doubt and just DO IT. Whether it's an hour a week, or an hour a day, allow yourself put away everything else that you feel like you should be doing, and focus on your dream- however far fetched it may be.  If you love to paint, paint. If you love to write, write.  Don't think about whether or not you'll be successful at it- just work on your craft.

Several years ago I left my career to devote myself largely to my family.  But as my kids move from the baby stage and I occasionally have time away from the nonstop demands of motherhood, I've spent lots of time thinking about what I love to do.  I've made endless lists of careers that I could potentially see myself doing .  It is very hard for me to stop with the list though- because even though the words on the paper say "Interior Designer,"  or "Professional Organizer," the voice in my head fills the rest of the page with technical details such as my lack of training, lack of artistic ability, and lack of time/money to devote to the pursuit of "starting over" career wise.  It wasn't until I read the article about quieting the voices of doubt and just DOING without thinking about the outcome, that I was able to sit down and write this blog.  This blog doesn't make me an Interior Designer or a Professional Organizer, but it allows me to do something that I love without listening to the voices of doubt.  I've always followed the moto of "Do what you love, and the rest will fall into place,"  so that's what I'm doing.

The idea for this blog came from more list making (as if this blog wasn't already proof enough about how type A I am!)- but lists that were not specific to careers, just lists of things that I enjoy doing. On those lists were a few key things that I've put together in this space:
Organizing
Taking Pictures
Blogging (I also have a blog about my family that is somewhat more private than this one), and reading blogs
Sharing projects that I've done with friends
Thinking about Interior Design

So I thought about starting my own blog, which could potentially (maybe some day in the future) serve as a platform for me to move forward with the pursuit of a Home Organizing business.  I had a handful of ideas about projects I could write about around the house, and it seems like everytime I think I'm out of ideas, 5 more pop into my head.  I agonized over the name, design, and content of this space- and then finally it all seemed to click.  

I'm sharing this here becuase I want everyone to know how much I appreciate the kind words that everyone has left for me about this blog, and I wanted you all to know why this blog exists.  Deciding to share this blog publicly took a huge ammount of quieting those voices of doubt.  Almost every time I hit publish I wonder whether anyone at all will care about, or relate to, what I have to say.  But I keep hitting publish because it makes me happy and I know now that it's ok to do something just because I want to do it. So, thank you for reading, for bearing with me on my grammatical errors and formatting imperfections, and for joining me on my blogging adventure.

If you have a similar passion hiding somewhere underneath a mountain of self doubt...consider this your written permission slip to put away the doubt, put away the to-do list, and pursue your dream.  If only for an hour a week, allow yourself to do something that you love and don't worry about anything else.