2010 -- a Year of Discovery

Here we are at the end of another year, talking of making resolutions and how we will change to make our lives better or more productive. I gave up making resolutions a long time ago. My success rate where resolutions are concerned ranks right up there with our beloved Seahawk's current win record.

I figure it's better for me to simply reflect on where I have been and examine how things may work better if I continue to look beyond the challenges faced each day, month, or year. When I face it that way, I am keenly aware that I really have made some progress over years past!

This time last year I had just finished up a year and a half journey with breast cancer. Thankfully, my journey did not include chemotherapy and radiation, but several surgeries over the course of one year. I was sad to move on from an incredible medical staff. I felt that I was losing some old friends.

Professionally, I felt equally at a loss. Having been "let go" ("You're not a good fit, Coral." ) from my position as a corporate recruiter just five days before my diagnosis, but thankful to have found a small business owner who would work around my surgery and recovery schedules at a (very) part-time retail position, I knew I was at one of those crossroads moments in life. I recognized my need to do some serious "me" work and to take a stand about living and working confidently within this personality all of my own, rather than repeated unsuccessful attempts where I was not appreciated.

For the first time I made a conscious decision to embrace what others had referred to as "too bold, too outspoken, calling attention to things needing changed, and making others uncomfortable by doing so." I figured that if I could face cancer head on and be bold and outspoken, then the work world would be a piece of cake!

After lamenting and fretting for several days, it really all came down to this: I needed to declare my mission in life. Once determined, the rest of it is moving down the path to living with that mission in mind.

My mission in life is...to inspire others to see beyond the challenges. Simple. How that is done is the harder part, but the mission is quite basic. Once declared, the world started opening up to me.

Shortly after that declaration, I found a job doing what I love to do-getting in front of people to talk, encouraging them to push beyond the confinements they see for themselves. One month earlier, I had started writing for Associated Content, and had been awarded a Best New Content Producer award, which has given me the opportunity to finally use my "voice" and speak up about the things I find important. I finally, after 53 years of life, felt that I had "arrived"!!

2009 is also the year that I learned about recognizing and growing healthier relationships, not only with others, but also with myself. I am better at letting things go, which do not serve me well, and more discerning about those things that I recognize needing changed in me.

This year I do not leave the old year behind with any regrets. Nor will I be giving it a hearty boot-in-the-pants, as I shout "Good riddance!" down the hallway. I live these last few hours of 2009 with a distinct fondness for the lessons I have been fortunate enough to learn, gratefulness for the people who have come in and out of my life, and the knowledge that I am finally on the right path.

What lies ahead? Another 12 months of exciting things to be explored! Another 52 weeks to create some amazing experiences! Another 365 days to look, see, think, and live beyond more challenges.

Here's to 2010-a new year of discovery!