JAMIE’S BLOG – YEAR 8 – DAY 24 :: joy is a choice

Hi, I’m Jamie. This blog started on January 1, 2011. …because I made a promise to myself.

I did not purchase clothes or shoes or other frivolous things (things I love mind you) for an entire year and wrote about it every single day. For 365 Days. Then I went on to make promises and blog every single day for 9 years (yes, that’s right). Want to read more? The adventure begins below…

Year 1: No Shopping
I began by making a promise in 2011 to not shop for one entire year and instead invest in my head, heart, body & soul — and I did it! The Promise Process© unlocked such an amazing power inside of me I continued my journey even deeper the next year.

Year 2: Lovemore+Fearless
2012 sent me rafting down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon where I slept next to scorpions. I tossed my old engagement ring in a fountain in Paris, and swam with sharks in the Bahamas. In the end, I learned more about LOVE than fear.

Year 3: Abundance
My promise in year 3 was to dive deep into abundance, which included a promise to give away a gift a day. Ironically, there was something else in store for me as I found myself moving across the country, having surgery, and giving away my thyroid. It all started a little Card Crusade and my biggest lesson yet was to come in the form of a doozy: health is our greatest wealth. Abundance indeed.

Year 4: Peak Performance
Surprise! 2014 sent me back to the surgical routine. Getting a surprise diagnosis, mastectomy and reconstructive surgery all in one swoop. Overall, it probably saved my life. Ironically, I ended up with two NIKE swooshes in the form of scars across my chest. The sign of Peak Performance?

Year 5: BLISS!
It’s all about that bliss, ’bout that bliss, no trouble. This year was all about FOLLOWING OUR BLISS. And follow it we did…. all the way to Bellingham, WA! Who would have thought?

Year 6: Yoga for a Year
Yoga every single day. I did it. Really, I did it! Not every single day was amazing but I downward dogged it on planes, trains, across the “plains” crisscrossing this country. What did I learn? To be kinder to myself. And this: just showing up creates miracles (for me that’s Crow!). In the unprecedented events of 2016, I also learned our world needs a whole heaping dose of kindness.

Year 7: Intentional Acts of Kindness
This year’s promise was all about kindness – the intentional kind. We ended up getting married in a surprise pop up ceremony in Estes Park, Colorado. Could there be anything more kind?

Year 8: JOY
When I made a promise for “joy” I found a new job, new city and new adventure on the east coast. We said goodbye to our #1 Pup, who lived for 17 joyful years. I never know what will happen, but I do report back here every day.

Year 9: Trust
The year I learned to trust the adventure was complete, and celebrated the grand finale of thepromise365 as a daily blog. Then COVID-19 hit.

Year 10: Connections
Hear we go again! In this post-Covid world there is something to say about making connections.

xo~Jamie