I just got back from a wonderful weekend in Lake Lure, NC with a stunning group of women for a friend’s bachelorette party. Let me just say – I HATE long car rides, even though I love exploring new places. So, my sweet friend offered to drive me and we hit the road on Friday morning for the five hour trek to western North Carolina.
She and I passed the time easily by chatting about life. On the way back, I pulled up a list of “101 random questions to ask your friend” and these were AWESOME. She and I already know most things about each other (being friends for the past 8ish years) so I didn’t expect to learn much new information about her; however, each question opened up a fascinating discussion about way more than just the literal answer to the question.
One of our favorites: “What is your goal for the next 12 months, and how do you plan to reach it?” I’ve been really focusing on using my SELF journal to take active and planned steps to reach my goals, so I really appreciated this one. We discussed how often we set vague goals for ourselves, but unless they’re measurable and you set specific milestones to hit on the way, you’re unlikely to succeed.
We also were prompted to discuss what brings us the most joy. We found that we both have had trouble finding true joy lately – and that’s a real problem. We decided that traveling is when we feel most joyful and alive, and we’re going to make it a priority to do more of it in the next year. Upon more self-reflection, I was happy to determine that photographing women and showing them beautiful images of themselves is a more recent way that I’ve felt genuine joy. Even my husband has noticed that I am completely lit up and invigorated after a session with a client – I am an empath and soak up the energy and happiness of these amazing women and hold on to it as long as I can.
What a special weekend with my sweet friend and 10 other incredible women. (And P.S. – Lake Lure reminded me SO MUCH of my hometown in New Hampshire and getting a lake house is now high on my list of goals. Pure heaven!)