This post brought to you by Famous Footwear. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Mom Fabulous.
For the past few years, I’ve followed in the footsteps of a few brilliant business men and women and chosen a word of the year. Last year it was Contentment, the year before that it was Simplicity and if I remember correctly, the year before that it was Health.
This year my word of the year is FEARLESS. 
As some of you know I’ve grown my blogging business into a full-time income, but I still have such a long way to go. Although it brings in an income we can live off of, it’s not a firm foundation for us to stand on. In all honestly, I have a lot of work to do.
I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching and have realized I’ve arrived at this business plateau over and over again. You see, this isn’t the first business I’ve started. I’ve started and stopped more businesses than I care to tell you and I truly believe most of them have reached a certain point of not growing anymore because of one thing: FEAR.
Can you relate? What does fear hold you back from? Does it hold you back from loving someone? From building stronger and deeper friendships? From standing up for yourself and asking to be paid what you’re worth? From getting rid of clutter? From losing weight? 
Fear is a powerful thing that can have a strong grip on us.
Here are a few things I’ve done so far to step forward and grab a hold of my word of the year: FEARLESS.
Started Exercising Again 
Here’s something you may not know about me and it’s because I don’t share it. I struggle with depression. And as someone who works from home and can easily cut herself off from the world completely if she wants to, I have to be extremely proactive and self-aware of what’s going on in my head. Because if you struggle with depression, you know how it likes to sneak up on you out of nowhere.
I know that regular exercise helps keep my depression in check. So I did two things a couple of weeks ago. I bought a pair of really comfortable running shoes and a treadmill. My shoes are from Famous Footwear and they are the Nike Women’s Tanjun Sneaker. I read really good reviews about them and they’re stylish enough to go from the gym to out and about, which I love. Plus they are super lightweight. 
Although it’s not ideal, the treadmill is in our bedroom (my husband calls it a super expensive clothing rack – hahahaha), so I have no excuse whatsoever to not exercise. Other than, I just don’t wanna!
Joined a Mastermind Group
As a businesswoman, I believe this is crucial for success and for sanity. This Mastermind is a small group of like-minded women who are smart, encouraging and will also tell-me-like-it-is when I need them to. They’re helping me be fearless. They’re helping me achieve my scary goals. They’re helping me to not look back, but to keep looking forward and remember the prize at the finish line.
If you’re just starting out in business, get a group of local women together and meet for coffee once a month or once a quarter. Chat business. Chat goals. Keep each other accountable.
If you’re a mom who works outside the home, grab some girls for a lunch date once a month. If you’re a stay at home mom, playdates are the best. I lived for those when my kids were little.
Find a group of women who you can encourage and who encourage you back. Find that group who challenges you a bit and vise versa. And always, always remember, if the group isn’t working out, it’s in your control to change it. Say something like “This has been fun ladies, but I’m going to have to take a break for awhile.” Don’t stick with something that adds unnecessary stress to your life.
Plan your day the night before
I like to organize things, but I’m not really an organized person. Does that make sense? Give me a messy closet and $300 to the Container Store and you’ve just made my day. Tell me to get my schedule in order and I’ll drag my feet and whine like a four year old who was just told it’s time to go to bed. I kind of like to fly through life by the seat of my pants and just see what happens. That’s fun right?! Well yes and no.
I have learned the hard way that waking up in the morning to a day that’s not planned out is one of the worst things I can do for myself. So I’ve started planning my day out the night before and my productivity has increased immensely. Not to mention my mood has lifted.
Not only have I been planning my day out the night before, but I’ve set yearly, monthly and weekly goals for myself. Watch out world! Julie is out of control! 
Have you ever chosen a word of the year? If not, is that something you’re interested in? Let me know because I have a few ideas and a challenge up my sleeve for the New Year.
Until then….let’s be FEARLESS. Fearless in the little things and fearlesss in the big things.
Do you like shoes? Yep, me too. Be sure to follow Famous Footwear on Instagram for all things shoes.
