If you’re like my team and me, your days and evenings are a balancing act between work and personal activities for you and your family members.  While each activity is worthwhile, it can be tough to juggle all of them.  If we’re not careful, we end up running (or driving?) from one activity to the next without a break in between, and find ourselves asking, “When will we ever have more time?”  Well, this month being a leap year, we are getting the rare opportunity of an extra day to reflect.   

The concept of adding a day to the calendar in order for other days to leap ahead seems counterintuitive.  For example, my birthday, June 24th, was on a Saturday last year, so if it wasn’t a leap year, I would expect my birthday to be on a Sunday this year.  Since it IS a leap year, my birthday leaps from Saturday to Monday instead.  We add a day to the calendar, and as result, the future days leap ahead.   

This got me thinking about the power of adding time to reflect and how it propels us forward.  “Leap and the net will appear,” advice given by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, has been printed and pinned to a bulletin board in my home for at least 5 years.  This advice is jumping out at me as I think about my plans to set aside time to reflect this Feb. 29th.  The idea of leaping into the unknown without certainty that there is a net to catch us is scary and often stops us in our tracks.  When we don’t know how long we will be in the air, where exactly we’ll land or how hard we may fall, we stay idle.  So how do we convince ourselves to take the leap? 

Adding time to reflect on our goals and why they are important to us can remind us that when we are seeking anything worthwhile, we don’t have all of the answers, and that’s okay.  We can research opportunities and get advice from others that have been down a path we are considering, and then we can reflect on what we have learned.  In order for us to make progress, however, we must take what we have learned with us and leap into the uncertain path.  

Upon reflection, even though it was scary, and even though I knew I could fall, the times in my life I have leapt ahead are the times I found the most help and support, whether from those I have reflected and shared my dreams with, or people I met on my new path.  In my experience, reflection has empowered me to take the leap, and once I have taken the leap, the net does appear.   Has your experience been like mine?  What are you planning a leap toward in 2024?  Please send an email to maria@wrealtygroup.com and let me know.  I’d love to play a part in your leap forward.