Keep on Truckin': My Daily Encouragement

I feel like we're kind of in a weird time warp and I just need to remember that things to indeed get better and things change quickly sometimes. But that can be tough.

I really enjoy sitting down to write my newsletter each week. It gives me the chance to think about how I’ve been spending my time and what has been pulling my attention away from the things I care most about. Well, when I sat down last night to write this week’s newsletter, all I could think about sharing was how defeated I feel sometimes regarding things that I have no control over. So that’s what I want to share today.

First off, if you’re not in the mood to hear my personal pep-talk, save it for later and come back after you’ve had your coffee or green juice or whatever. And if you need a little encouragement, here you go.

Disclaimer: my brain likes to go down its own paths and if you can follow along, hooray! If not, I apologize but I’m sure you’ll get the concept. Follow me over on Instagram for more coherent daily stories. :)

Daily Encouragement

Get you some friends that check in on you, unprompted, and that can both keep you in touch with reality AND provide subtle encouragement. True, you can’t rely on others to either make you productive or be the source of your happiness, but you can for sure set yourself up for success by including the right people in your everyday life. I don’t get to see everyone everyday, but the simple texts and random work conversations help keep me grounded.

One friend in particular is amazing at helping me keep a balance between working towards goals and working to maintain. I think it’s very important to have a bit of a routine and just keep life up-to-date but then also have things you’re working towards. For me, the routine comes from our family’s morning schedule and then me opening my computer and evaluating my to-do list. And then I stare… That’s the “maintain” portion of my day.

But what helps me pick-up even when I’m feeling like I just need to make it through and keep going is when I am reminded of what I’m working towards. Know that I’m building the future I want and then framing it in my mind as what will be helps me. My friends are great about dropping little notes or having quick calls just to check in, and even if they don’t know they’re doing it, they’re helping me bust through my daily wall.

Things I Can’t Control

So here’s what does typically get me down or make me lose steam: seeing things not go as planned or not do well, even when I’m not the one who is responsible for making things happen. I really get discouraged and feel like I’m failing when something isn’t going right.

For example, I am the one who runs our vacation rental, from managing the bookings to cleaning it. When there’s a gap in guests and our rental property sits vacant, I feel like I should be doing something to drum up business. But then I remember that I already keep our little bungalow in great condition, I keep it priced so that families can afford to book it for their beach vacations, and I am on top of making sure that I’m doing the logistical things for this little business. But if there’s not a guest or if somebody checks in and didn’t do their due diligence to make sure it’s right for them, for some reason I feel like this little blip is my failure.

Something else that’s out of my control but it really wearing on me lately is selling our house even though we have our new one already. We’ve done an awesome job maintaining it and fixing it up. Our house is really cool and unique, and it’s just perfect for somebody. Also, it’s priced properly (and now we’ve reduced it). And yet here it sits, no offers and limited showings because the housing market is 100% different now than the other two times we’ve sold a house, and it’s SLOW at the moment. But I feel like there’s something more I should be able to do to get it sold. Besides just dropping the price again, I feel like there’s nothing I can do. It’s out of my control.

But these things aren’t my failings. It’s just life sometimes. My pals help me remember that.

Things I Can Try to Influence

Something else that gets me down and angers me is what’s happening here in the USA right now, and especially here in Florida. One of the best ways to affect change is to be present in a place that needs it.

Something we always aim to do is to get our family to new places and just be a visual representation of a different sort of family. Florida is a great place for that because it has a reputation and currently lots of actions that say "You aren't welcome here." And while that is going on, we still have to keep on keeping on and interacting with people that we don't see every day to make change and equality make sense to people that don't see the point.

Between being visibly present as we travel and being active in our own community, I feel like I’m capped out in what I can do to make a difference in the laws rolling out in Florida.

I’ll be honest, I don’t feel that I can march myself to Tallahassee and protest without putting our family in danger. Florida is the wild west, especially with the latest permitless carry law. I don’t think I’m being cowardly by not protesting in person, but I don’t know that protesting will make a difference with the current leadership here. It all is going to have to come down to voting and getting people into power that are actual caring humans.

So that’s what I can try to influence through my words and actions.

Things I Just Need to Get Over

Not everything I touch turns to gold. Not everything will be a hit or instant success. I know that I can just try my best and do the work and research to make sure that my blog articles are helpful and get traffic, but sometimes Google doesn’t show me the love. Or that I’ve fixed our shed door and done thoughtful landscaping, but that our house just isn’t right for everyone.

Or that Florida is a gerrymandered, money-grubbing-politician controlled state that time and the legal processes need to fix. I know that I’m doing what I can to influence people, but that change takes time and action from more than me. I won’t get over that, but I need to not let it rule my mind.

Managing my thoughts and time are the best ways I can keep myself encouraged and moving forward.

Was this all coherent or does it all just make sense to me since this is how my brain works?

Travel News

In other news, I just published two new articles on 2TravelDads! I have been focusing on so many other things that I’ve been letting my main project just sit there, collecting dust. In my efforts to encourage people to go out and be visible and active here in Florida, I wrote about some wonderful places here in the state that could use some good vibes AND make for great vacation spots.

First up: CEDAR KEY, FL - Old Florida, for sure. This sleepy island is beautiful and a birdwatcher’s paradise, but it’s also, as the many signs say in town, “Desantisland.” Gross. It’s so pretty though and there are some really wonderful people, but it’s also a place where the damaging, conservative politics rule the front yards of so many. I would love to encourage people to venture to this lesser visited part of the state in Levy County where they just need to see that people of all sorts and viewpoints make Florida the amazing place that it is.

Second article: 15+ Florida Islands that AREN’T the Florida Keys - We love visiting the Keys and are actually going back at least two more times this year, but there are actually lots of islands all around the state. And these places tend to also be where the older, more well to do population settle. These islands, on the Gulf Coast side and the Atlantic side, could use some diverse visitors.

Growing up in the Church you always are told to go shine the Light… Well, as progressive, equality driven people, we can go shine OUR LIGHT through tourism and interacting with locals when we travel. I’m not saying to plan a vacation with the intent of liberal ministry, but that one of the best ways to have a positive impact in these places is to visit and show people how awesome the rest of the population is.

Next Trip: ROCKY MOUNTAINEER

A week from today we head to Vancouver BC to start our project with the Rocky Mountaineer. Next week I’ll share the full itinerary and details, but I’m really excited already. “What’s the Rocky Mountaineer?” Great question!

The Rocky Mountaineer is a luxury train that goes between Vancouver BC and the Canadian Rockies. We’ll be stopping in Kamloops, visiting Lake Louise, exploring Banff, and ending in Calgary. It’s going to be cold but so beautiful. Be sure to follow along on Instagram or Facebook, as that’s where the daily updates will be happening. Hopefully I’ll be able to upload daily updates to Rob Explored podcast, but I can’t promise cuz we’ll be in the mountains.

Follow along on Instagram for the full scoop at it rolls!

Coming Soon to the Blogs

I love the idea of saying what’s “coming soon” as a way to keep me on track. So, here’s what I’ve got on the blogs in the next few weeks:

• History Travel Through the Southeast

• launching Birds Explored - new website

• publishing around 40 articles on Maine Explored, Savannah Explored and The Keys Explored

• hopefully a big life update blog article about moving and settling into our new neighborhood of St Augustine Beach.

As always, I’m so thankful that YOU have chosen to follow along on our journey through life. Blogging about travel and sharing the struggles of parenting and living in Florida are important to me, so thank you for reading and supporting my creative outlet/business.

If you have any questions about upcoming travel or anything else I’ve shared, feel free to leave a comment or send me a message. I love connecting with people and encouraging others the way my crew encourages me. :)