I'm Not Lucky, I'm Good. My St. Patrick's Day Epiphany

The following is a guest post by Heather Monahan. Her bio follows.

I found myself thinking about St. Patrick’s day this year and realized that the luck of the Irish struck me differently than it had in years past . As a good Irish girl, I have always celebrated with friends and made sure to wear my green and consume green beer while listening to Irish music. Growing up in Boston has a way of making you a big fan of St. Patrick’s Day in the conventional sense. This year when I realized the luck of the Irish was upon us, I also realized that I have never been particularly lucky. What is funny is how many times in the past that I have chalked up my success in life to luck and specifically to being a lucky Irish girl. This was an epiphany moment for me.

As you gain experience in life and confidence you are able to see things differently, this is why I am writing today. Years ago when someone would compliment me on how I looked, I would chalk it up to having good genes. If someone was to tell me how excited they were that I was promoted, I would tell them it was because I was a lucky Irish girl. Throughout my life, I have realized that I never took credit for what I had done or who I had become or even how I presented myself when others complimented me. It is almost as if I felt I didn’t deserve the compliment or wasn’t able to accept it because I wasn’t sure how I had actually achieved it.

Now that I am 42 years old, I see things for what they are. I have worked insanely hard my entire life, while friends vacationed, I worked. I got married much later than my friends and had a baby in my thirties; these choices were made because I wanted to advance my career and myself first and foremost.

I realize that I look the way I do because I make myself a priority and I invest in myself. I get up at the crack of dawn to do a boot camp most people would consider torture. I put time and effort into getting ready when I am so tired I can barely wake up for my alarm. As a single mother I have managed a routine in the morning that allows me to get my son ready for school and get myself ready as well. We can never leave the house later than 7:20am but somehow we make it each day. We are a team.

There have been many opportunities that have presented themselves and at times I have let them pass but now I jump on them and take advantage of each one. I believe in my own unique talents and listen to my intuition as opportunities arise. I am now empowering myself to be the boss of my life and am standing in my power unapologetically.

Not much that I do is easy. My life is a lot of work. But I finally realize that I am where I am in life because of the work that I put in and good that I put out there for others. I am happy today to say that while I am Irish and will enjoy a green beverage, I am not particularly lucky but I am really good.

heather snip I'm not lucky, I'm good.