Have you seen those posts on social media that encourage you to disappear for a year, only to come back unrecognizable?

Well … that’s not me, not yet … but I do feel as if I “disappeared” for the first third of this year. One second ago I was writing my last post of 2024, and now we are in the first week of May. I share some reflections from the last few months.

Health/Wellness Journey:

You may recall that I have been working mindfully on getting healthier and stronger for about a year now. In my last post of 2024, I shared some things that I hoped to put into practice in 2025; based on what I had learned and done in 2024. Mainly, I shared that I felt ready to tackle this journey on my own.

Just as soon as I wrote that, I ended up joining not one but two of the groups belonging to health coaches that I follow. In some ways I was afraid to share the about-face I seemingly made because I felt like I came across and indecisive and susceptible to good marketing tactics. While that can be true (I did buy a shake weight back in the day!), this time my decision to go it alone was based more on fear than good information. I had worked with two different coaches and gotten mixed results. I felt like I was doing more and not necessarily enjoying the process, nor did I feel like the direction I was headed was sustainable long-term. And I feared that choosing another coach would lead me down the same path.

Yet, I pulled out my wallet and enrolled, for a month, in both programs. I explored the platforms and how the group was engaging with the coach and each other. And… I learned A LOT.

I quickly realized that one group was not for me. The focus was primarily on workouts at a gym with limited (to no) options to replicate the workouts at home. I need to be able to work out at home. The meal prep menus attracted me at first, but as I tried to implement them, I realized that they were too restrictive for my lifestyle.

Armed with this information (and what I had learned with the prior two coaches) I approached the other group with discerning eyes.

• Could I work out at home?
• How does the app work?
• How often do I have to work out?
• What trainings are offered?
• How do participants get questions answered?

In addition to asking all these questions before I committed to joining, I realized I had a much better understanding of what I needed and wanted out of a group.

And the only way I could know what I needed was by trying out other things and learning from what worked and what didn’t.

Experiences are simply that: experiences. Once I let go of one experience being bad or good, I realized that I really did learn a lot from the two coaches I worked with in 2024. I built a solid foundation, worked out kinks, and developed more of a routine for preparing meals and working out. All of this allowed me to hit the ground running with Cathy and her group. And, I haven’t looked back since.

Fairness and Significance:

Fairness. Oof. My daughter has been talking to me about some really big topics lately. For one, I’m so grateful that she feels like she can. Second, sometimes I feel like she’s tracking how I am feeling and brings these topcis up so I can process the emotions, too. (She’s pretty smart like that.)

The first has been the concept of fairness, and, as we came to find out, kindness. The fundamental issue (presented through a couple different, unrelated scenarios) centered around what is fair and what is not.

Life simply isn’t fair.

But we did not leave it at just that. We pulled some nuggets of wisdom out of these experiences, which are:

1. Whether you get an award, recognition, praise or not, always do your best work because it’s the right thing to do.
2. Whether you get preferential treatment or not, always be helpful and kind, because it’s the right thing to do.

And finally, allow yourself to be instrinsically motivated to be a good, helpful, kind human being. Sometimes people act a certain way simply to try to garner attention and/or recognition. And, if that doesn’t come their way, they fall apart. Other times people talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. And if we look at the bigger picture of life, that is their journey to walk in this lifetime.

Be the person who shows up, does good work, treats people with kindness and respect, and is self-motivated to do so. That will go a long way toward bringing more joy and meaning into your life.

Significance. If you can believe it, my 11-year old is starting to ponder such philisophical concepts as our place within the greater context of the world, Universe, and life. She recently came to understand that our lives are significant and insignificant at the same time. (She realized this when thinking about ancestors she’s never met or known much about and how, someday, she’ll be one of those ancestors, too.)

My husband grappled this one with her, but it got me thinking about how we spend our days and hours and how much significance we place on certain (fleeting) things.

As I processed this on my commutes, walks to and from the office, and moments before falling asleep, it dawned on me that experiences are just that, experiences. They may be significant in that moment (such as walking into my big firm job on the first day) and insignificant later on (such as not remembering what it was like to work there some 15 years later).

Experiences help us learn, grow, fall apart, rebuild, connect, reconnect, and so on and so on. The more we allow the experience to guide and teach us, the closer we get to understanding who we are at our core and what truly makes us feel alive and joyful.

And just as something will feel significant for a period of time, it too shall pass, and the only thing left will be the lesson(s) we choose to take away from it.

The New Firm:

This year (2025) marks TEN years since I purchased the domain for The New Firm. TEN years since I worked with a designer to bring a logo and energy to this concept. TEN years since I put myself out there as someone who wants to contribute toward helping make this world a little better than when I found it.

In those TEN years I have had SO many experiences with The New Firm that have helped me learn and grow, reflect and refine. Just last Friday, I worked with a wonderful virtual assistant to add a subscribe pop up to my website (again!) and create a template for a newsletter. Earlier this week, I was inspired to create a new meditation which is pending approval on InsightTimer. (Note: I was approved the next day, here’s the link!) Last night I chatted with two amazing women about some ideas I have been sitting with and how we could collaborate to bring them to life.

I’m learning how I want to show up right now and how I can best honor my zone of genius (and my time!) to create and share things that are meaningul to me in the hopes that they will serve whoever needs to use them.

So, I won’t be posting daily on social or creating frantic feeling social media plans. I won’t be forcing anything to come to life or rushing any projects that don’t feel ready to emerge. That experience doesn’t feel good anymore.

I will use this experience to deepen into the creative process, to slow down, to learn and to teach what I learn, and to cultivate meaningful relationships by building community. I also plan to share some fun content through the new newsletter that will come out every now and again, starting sometime this summer. 🙂 If you feel so inclined, use the subscribe button at the bottom of the homepage to follow along.

And if you don’t feel so inclined, that’s great! You get to choose the experiences you want to have, and I totally honor that!

Wishing you wonderful experiences that help you ground further into who you truly are!

In awe of you,

Gabriela