6 Year New Yorkiversary!

January 23, 2017 ~ Nicole Monahan ~ Leave a comment

Each year it’s become a tradition to blog on my New York Anniversary. I can’t believe it’s been 6 years and the amount of big life changing events that have happened. It make me so fortunate for this life path and makes me think of how everything could have been so different.

Last year I completed my first half marathon and got engaged on the same day. Went to Ireland, Savannah, and lots of trips back to Florida. Got a new job. Was in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade again. Still have the cutest cats on the planet.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the past year.

Every year, I try to take away an important life lesson that I’ve learned. This past year it’s tough. I’d say being at my old job was very challenging. I had no management or guidance, the commute to the city everyday was exhausting. I also felt that I wasn’t achieving my full potential, only pushing paper. In my new job I absolutely love that it’s not only closer to home but I’m doing event planning which is my dream job. Yet, maybe it’s the timing of things, but I’m currently taking on multiple responsibilities at the moment, leaving me back to feeling exhausted.

My lesson here is to try to listen to the signs. When I had one of my biggest meltdowns at my old job, I was on the phone with my dad, taking my usual commute and had heard gunshots behind me. A drunk man welding a knife at a police office was shot right outside my office. If I was literally a minute earlier I would have been in the crossfires. It was a huge sign, and I then took every ounce of energy to looking for a new job. I’m much happier where I’m at but again very tired. I’m hoping to get back into more meditation, reading, writing, walking. Things that will bring me more joy and calm.

As for this year, I’m excited for more trips, brunches, seeing friends and family, and marrying my best friend. xoxo

My Journey in Trading in New Year’s Resolutions for 30 Day Challenges

March 10, 2015August 16, 2015 ~ Nicole Monahan ~ Leave a comment

We’re probably not thinking about or sticking to our New Year’s Resolutions by mid-March, but I am.

This year instead of making that infamous New Year’s resolution list, I decided to break down my goals and made 30 day challenges. Here’s what I’m on track for this year. [Will be updated each month]:

January: Work the Brain.

Practiced French lessons via Duolingo and trained my brain with Elevate app. Along this journey I was also introduced to NPR’s Invisabilia and National Geographic’s Brain Games, both are fascinating and have kinda changed my life.

February: Photography. Take a photo a day and share it on Instagram.

I love this challenge because it reminded me of when I did the 100 Happy Days Project last year and countless of Project 365 Challenges I used to do in college. It makes me excited to find something new or unique or something that makes me happy in the everyday.

March: Talk to Strangers.

This 30 day task was especially hard. Who actually wants to talk to strangers in NYC? However one encounter with a stranger I met at an event really stuck with me. I was in the process of moving, a major change and next chapter in my life. This woman gave me a great analogy for life. (I know, that escalated quickly!) She had said life is like driving from the East coast to the West coast at night. You know you’re going to get to your destination, but with the headlights at night you can only see 20 feet at a time, that’s life. You’re going to get there but can only see or do so much at a time.

April: Cook More, Try New Recipes, Eat Healthy (No Junk, Less Sugar)!

Here are some of my favorite new recipes I tried from April’s challenge:

Skinny fettuccine Alfredo — Skinny Fettuccine Alfredo

May: Catch up with friends, family, and acquaintances.

Caught up with a bunch of old friends. I was most surprise when I tried to reach out to acquaintances from NYC. Everyone seems “too busy” with lots of loaded excuses and “let’s try in a few weeks to get together”, which never happened. Nothing short of a surprise with New Yorkers though.

June: Yoga / More Mindfulness

Favorite new mindfulness/meditation apps: Calm, Stop, Breathe, and Think, and Headspace.

July: Learn a new skill. Coding, calligraphy, or storytelling are on my list.

Took up calligraphy from I Still Love Calligraphy.

August: Read everyday for an hour.

Books read: Big Little Lies

September: Write/Journal every day for an hour.

October: Practice happiness and start a gratitude journal.

November: Finances & Savings. $$$

Have already started a 401K!

December: Random acts of kindness and giving. Donate blood, volunteer, make someone smile.

Covered in Color! Saturday Adventures at the 2014 Color Run

June 12, 2014 ~ Nicole Monahan ~ Leave a comment

I used to love running… I’d wake up early. Get the runner’s high. Push myself further and further each run. The best part was getting toned and in shape, having buns of steel! Yet, I gave it up about two years ago. I had been training for a 10K religiously. I’d hit Central Park on the weekends for my longer 6 mile runs, and along the west side highway to the Chelsea Piers on weekdays for my shorter runs. I actually kind of miss the routine and structure of it all. However, hitting the concrete jungle’s pavement for too long really damaged my feet, before I knew it I had plantar fasciitis and was going to physical therapy.

I stopped running after completing that 10k, but I knew in 2013 I wanted to do the Color Run 5k. Pathetically I tried training again but at the root of it I ended up mostly run/walking most of the way. There’s no denying that the Color Run truly lives up to it’s slogan, the happiest 5k on the planet. I had a blast, completed it, but didn’t have much interest in coming back next year and messing my foot up any further.

All of this was thrown out the window four days before this year’s Color Run in Queens. My friend Megan, pounced at the opportunity to win tickets from blog celeb Gala Darling‘s Color Run giveaway. A few of the original winners didn’t claim the prize and now the Color Run was ours for the taking! We both responded to her and won instantly.

The whole giveaway was in partnership with one of the Color Run’s sponsors, Shout, which was produced by Edelman. Gala had to do a number of things like take part in photos and videos, Instagram/Tweet the event, and write a blog post recap. Overall, all of us got to reap the sweet benefits and were treated like royalty. We received ahead of time Shout/Color Run swag by mail, although I still never received mine due to UPS. Womp Womp. But they took really good care of me when I arrived there, showering me with shirts, bags, and tons of free stuff. We also got to skip the entire line and went straight to the starting line.

Other fun perks:

We had a videographer follow us around for most of the run, and one girl got to wear a GoPro through the whole race.

We got to cut the line for the Shout 360 Color Cam Videos.

We got to cut the line and go directly on stage for the orange color throw. (Shout’s brand color)

And overall I didn’t have to force myself to run or hurt myself. We all walked it and it was so much fun to hang out with a brunch of friends and meet a whole group of new friends. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend my Saturday. These ladies were awesome!

Here’s Gala’s blog post from the Color Run adventure. And a few more photos below from the event.

xox

Tea + Purpose Recap – Developing Your Life Philosophy

March 11, 2014 ~ Nicole Monahan ~ Leave a comment

I know creative abundance is available to me in this moment…

This is how we began Tea + Purpose, a new monthly tea meetup that connects over a topic area allowing more women to create awareness and action in their lives, all created by my dear friend Carla Blumenthal. For this meetup, Sarah Kathleen Peck, writer of the blog “It Starts With“, joined and guided us to develop our own life philosophy framework.

We started the meetup with tea and scones at Press Tea, one of my favorite tea shops in the city. As more and more women trickled in we gathered around and got started with introductions. We began with answering this question – What have you been proud of so far this year? This question really opened people up a little bit more, in addition to signing this realness contract, promising to bring our real selves to the tea table.

Following intros, Sarah dove right into asking the group this question, when was the last time you felt an adrenaline rush? A lot of folks including myself mixed this feeling up with the feeling of anxiety. With all these fears, moments of anxiety, adrenaline, and vulnerability stemmed raw emotion and positivity. Here’s some of the comments I scribbled from this round of discussion:

It doesn’t always get easier the more you get into something and put it on the line. It’s a leap of faith and only gets more risky.
It’s hard to go into the unknown and know it’s going to be okay.
You have permission to screw up and change your mind.
We’re all humans having an experience.
Showing up everyday counts for something.

We were next asked to talk about happiness. What’s the definition of happiness and is it even the goal? Takeaways from this included:

Happiness is a feeling of inner peace and reflection.
Be in the present. It isn’t about if I get this job then I’ll be happy. Once you get to that goal or thing you’ll always be looking for the next thing. This turns into a vicious cycle, wondering if you’ll ever find peace and happiness.
Take away the “SHOULDS”. I should be like this. I should be doing that. Take it away. You don’t need to feel guilty about anything, just be yourself.
Set time aside to think and reflect. Schedule unplanned time.
When someone is being negative it means they need love or a boundary.
What you give attention to grows. If someone says something negative or you believe something negative it grows. If you don’t accept these things, it can’t grow… This has been the biggest eye opener for me because for the longest time I’ve said and thought about my job search in this way. I blame the economy, the competition here, thinking I’ll never get something. If I keep thinking that I won’t find anything, then I really won’t. Acknowledge. Don’t think about the negative. Don’t engage. Then the other person/thing is left with it.

Next came loneliness. What is it and why do we experience it?

This was also another awakening. When I feel lonely, it’s particular when I work from home. I’ve always wondered why I feel this way. Sarah shed some light on this for me by sharing some of her tools on how to improve this feeling of loneliness.

Use your voice. Ask yourself how much did you talk today, sing, anything? I should also note that this is why Sarah opened up this discussion, so that everyone could talk instead of her doing all the talking.
Language – Write and reflect.
Touch – Maybe we’re feeling lonely because we haven’t been touched all day like a hug or a handshake.
Eyes closed – Not sleeping but understanding and being aware of the moments and your surroundings. Meditation. Focus on your breathing.
Connect outward – Giving a warm real hug. Sharing with others.

Lately, I’ve been experiencing more revelations from friends (and in this case strangers) about who I am as a person. I’ve realized I can do a much better job at speaking up and showing who I truly am as a person. I’ve learned that I’m not the only person that has these fears or feelings and have come to peace with feeling vulnerable, it just means you’re being real.