Stop Playing Small: How My 2024 Can Inspire You to Crush the Sunday Scaries!

Y’all might be over this whole “reflect and rewind” part of the switch to a new year, but well, I’m not. ???

With the events of this past week behind me, I’m finally in a place to look at the last 365 days and see how they inform the next 52 weeks. It was a banner year for a lot of reasons, and I intend to take every bit of that momentum and do even bigger things in 2025.

I hope you’ll do the same, and here’s some inspiration to help you do just that.?

1. Stop Playing Small

Around the Fourth of July, I remember saying these words to myself.?

Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do, but I felt that I had more to give - a greater impact to offer and something bigger to bring to the people I’m passionate about serving.?

I didn’t realize how powerful these words were going to be until things started happening!?

The words were one thing, but the mindset shift that phrase unleashed changed both my perspective - and my year. Opportunities I couldn’t have imagined started unfolding, and the second half of 2024 ended in a flurry of new, exciting, and even life-changing experiences.?

Stepping up - and showing up - really does matter!?

Where can you take life and leadership to the next level in 2025?

2. Engage Experts?

If you’ve been a faithful reader of Combatting the Sunday Scaries for more than a year, you may recall I spent a lot of my time on the ski hill last year in clinics with ski instructors.?

As a snowboarding convert three years ago, I committed myself to overcoming the learning curve as quickly as possible.?

?? Hey, FOMO is real when you suddenly move from double blacks to the bunny hill!

While I knew how incredible the instruction was then, I realized it all over again when I stepped out onto the ski hill at the start of this season, feeling stronger, more confident, and more dialed in than ever.?

Whether it’s in business, life, or adventure, experts can play a huge role in your growth and progress.?

Maybe it’s a shameless plug ??, or maybe it’s a good reminder that you don’t have to go it alone ??.

Who can help you get unstuck??

3. Be Present

We are more distracted than ever, trust me - I’m right there with you and the never-ending phone notifications.?

Feeling centered and 100% present 100% of the time would be amazing.?

I’m also a realist; we all know that’s an impossible feat, but still, there are times when life forces us to slow down and refocus, and in those moments - we must take the call.?

Early 2024 wasn’t all roses over here, as Jim started the recovery from knee surgery after a blowout sustained on day six of ski season.?

An overactive husband in a straight-leg brace and crutches in the middle of winter and a five-month-old maniacal puppy (who I was, admittedly, out of my mind to think was a good gift for a “cripple”) tested my will earlier in the year. ????

A few months later, I found myself at “home” in Pennsylvania with Mom and Dad to help around the house after my dad had to undergo surgery.

I’m happy to report everyone is recovered and healthy, and I’m reminded that being present isn’t just about being in the room. Grounding yourself in your roots and showing up emotionally and mentally is just as, if not more important, than being there when the people you love most need you.?

Ask yourself: Are you striving for progress at the expense of the present??

4. Get Out of Your Backyard

Getting out of your usual environment changes everything, even if it’s just a small change to the next neighborhood over. In 2024, I checked off not only my 40th state but a whole new country and continent!??

Every trip was a reminder of how refreshing and inspiring it is to see the world, gain new perspectives, eat new food, or just get out in nature and play.?

Need a little help planning your next vacation??

Here’s the list of all the places I visited, slept outside, and adventured in 2024: Orlando, Pennsylvania, Ruby Horsethief River Camp, Crested Butte, South Dakota, The Badlands, Minnesota, Nashville, Raleigh, 12,965’ at the top of Mount Sopris, Moab, Orlando (again), Pennsylvania (again), Idaho, Paris, Caen, Renne, Clermont-Ferrand, Avignon, Lyon, Geneva….and home for the holidays ??.?

Where are you headed next?

5. Say Yes

Before I even expound on this one, I have to preface it with: I am also a big fan of saying “no”. However, it can be a little tricky to say yes to things that feel too big or stretchy…and that’s where I will push you to be curious, take chances, and say yes when given an opportunity to do something new.?

That’s what I did when I got the call for a paid speaking gig, talking to a room of marketing executives about leadership. It was a new stage, a new format, and even a new topic, so it would have been easy to shrink.

But, remembering it was time to stop playing small, I gave that caller a big “hell yes” and have never regretted it for a millisecond. ??

Saying yes to the right things can shift your path in incredible ways.

What can you be intentional about saying YES to in 2025?

6. Check Something Off Your Bucket List

Y’all followed along as Jim and I (but more Jim) experienced what it’s like to check something off your bucket list after dreaming of it for years.?

Even if France wasn’t #1 on my list of travel destinations (hello, Italy), it was magical to see Jim’s dream become a reality - and even more to share it with him. ??

We’re meant to pursue our dreams, and seeing them come to fruition gives us a chance to look back and say to our younger selves, “You were right to dream this big.”?

Whether it’s a location on a map, a career goal, or a personal milestone, you deserve to reach for the thing. You deserve to prove yourself right. You deserve to stop playing small.?

What Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal are you going to check off your list this year?

?7. Do the Thing That Scares You?

Speaking of BHAG bucket lists…have you ever heard the saying that, “The thing that scares you is probably the thing you’re meant to do”??

Yeah. That’s why I’m wrapping up this week’s newsletter with a reminder to go big. Even if you go bust, you’ll be able to say “no regrets” at the end of the day, plus you’ll likely learn along the way.?

A few days ago, as part of National Career Coach Day, I unveiled The Modern Coach - something I’ve been dreaming about and cooking up for months if not years. If I’m 100% honest, I was a little terrified to launch it.?

?? The fear told me it mattered.?

?? The excitement told me it was time.?

?? The reception confirmed I was right.?

What are you so scared to do that you know you need to put it out into the world?

Make this your year.?

Your Friend and Coach,?

Angie

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