There are things I can't say about 2021

Hello, my love!

Happy New Year, I hope you’ve had a peaceful holiday season. A few weeks ago, I shared with you a few of my favorite questions to help close out the old year, and today, I’m sharing my own responses. 

If you haven’t had a chance to do this for yourself yet, I hope that resurfacing these questions will give you a chance to look back and see how far you’ve come in 2021. Without further ado, here are my reflections:

1. What three things am I proud of from this year?

• Winning Best of RI for Barre & Soul’s Providence studio and moving the Portsmouth studio into a beautiful new location

• Getting the honor of contributing to this wonderful BBC piece about Lotte Berk and what barre means to us today

• Hosting the first-ever State of the Barre Industry event. The buzz was incredible, it filled me with excitement for 2022, and I got to reveal some big things we’re working on over at Barre & Soul Academy. (If you missed it, we’ll be adding a few upgrades and offering it again on Jan 20!)

2. What three things am I grateful for from this year?

• Some of the best times I spent this year were with my kids, including a magical family & friend trip to the Dominican Republic where we ate birthday cake in the ocean and made beautiful memories

• Essential 2021 survival items like COVID vaccines and government funds

• The inauguration of the first woman Vice President in US history

3. What three things have I learned this year?

Some of the hardest lessons of the year are things I'll keep confidential because they concern other folks’ privacy, both personally and professionally. 

• What I can say is that I have learned A LOT of things the hard way in my business and consider it my duty at this point to pay those learnings forward and spare others some heartache. (In fact, I’ll be doing just that in the Barre Boss business course that will kick off in about a month. If you want more info, get on this list.)

• Throughout this difficult moment in history, I’m continuing to learn how to truly stand in my integrity when making difficult decisions – which is something we seem to be called to do almost every day since the pandemic. Don’t get me wrong, feedback is great, but trolling is not. Fear has a lot of people on the offensive – this brings up opportunities for us to heal old stuff and develop a deeper sense of self-assurance. We have to keep our heads up and know that we’ve weighed all the information available and made the best choice based on our values. 

• One of the most wonderful things I discovered this year was the work of Loretta J. Ross. These days, judgment is rampant, and “othering,” even “canceling” people is something that happens on all ends of the political spectrum. Ms. Ross’s work feels like the voice of reason we all need at this time. I had the privilege of taking a six-week course of study with her this year and will jump at the chance to do it again in 2022 (and will be sure to share those details with you, too!)

4. What brings peace, purpose, connection, love, beauty, and meaning into my life, and how can we bring more of that into 2022?

• For me, nature, especially the beach. One of my big goals is to buy a beach house and have it pay for itself through rental income when I’m not using it. In the meantime, I can make sure I keep incorporating bike rides and hikes into my week when the weather is nice, and skiing or traveling whenever possible in the winter.

• At work, I feel much more fulfilled when I get out from behind my desk, stop obsessing over behind-the-scenes and go interact with others in person. I can do that by making sure to take classes at the studios a few times a week.

• Sharing authentically through speaking, coaching, and writing. I’m thinking about the best way to do that this year - maybe bring back the Own It All podcast with shorter episodes, and probably not interview-style? (The admin and logistics for setting up interviews can be a lot.) I also look forward to speaking, teaching, and leading retreats -- like this gorgeous trip to the Azores in May.

And for the bonus question: What would you put on your “Hell Yes! I Did That!” List? When were some times you had to tap into your grit and courage?

• This year I was able to find an excellent therapist who is helping me heal some older, harder-to-reach places in the psyche. I didn’t find the right therapy match on the first try but the second time was the charm. If ever there was a good time for therapy, it's now.

• Keeping 5 brick and mortar studio locations open while the economy rebounds slooowwwwly AF. This pandemic truly has been a marathon.

• Going 3 months without a car when my transmission went and supply chain issues prevented me from being able to get the parts needed, or even a rental car. (Thank you, neighbors and friends, for your help here!)

• Letting people I love guide their own path even when it is extremely tempting to insert myself and try to protect them from struggle.

• Practicing vulnerability, having honest conversations that renewed and deepened important friendships. It never gets easy and it's always worth it. Letting people get closer to me is something I'm always working on.

• Approaching my network for help. I vividly remember the day after my second COVID vaccine; I was feeling awful and reached out to no fewer than 6 of my colleagues in a "moment of weakness" that day -- the best thing I could have done! I received incredible advice and strengthened those relationships too.

That's it for now, my love. Thank you for reading, and I hope this inspires you to take your own victory lap for all you've done in the last 365 days. If you have anything you're feeling proud of and want to share, I'd love for you to hit reply and let me know. I'm wrapping pure love around your shoulders as we head into 2022 with heads high.

xo,

Andrea

P.S. I wanted to share that my family recently discovered a great meal delivery service we really like, especially since none of us want to cook. If you also like healthy food but don’t like to cook, check them out! It’s called Nutre and I believe they deliver all over New England. This link should get you 15% off with coupon code: REFNQ6MQHSQFR

P.P.S. If you like visuals, my 2021 highlight video is here.