After a little time away from the farm, I am back with a better focus and goals for the upcoming seasons. In small business, it's a fine balance of accurately predicting the future and being prepared. An agricultural business is all of that plus the unpredictability of weather, animals, and risk assessment of all of those things. It's being creative, pivoting, buckling down to get jobs done, and often wearing many hats. Not for everyone, and always an adventure!

This year I have been fortunate to travel a lot and take some space away from the farm. When picking locations, I often choose nature and find myself in the mountains or in wide-open spaces. It's this "space" that allows me to reset and gain clarity on what drives me and what I am hoping to achieve in my short time on this earth. I have come to realize that feeling good is paramount to anything else. Eating the foods that fuel, exercising, and taking "space" has been the most helpful and beneficial lesson learned this year.

I have always filled my plate with a million things, so owning an agricultural business has been a great fit for me. I wear many hats and for the most part, I love it! But yes, there are days when too many things on the plate can feel very overwhelming. Those are generally the days I force myself to go to the gym. In those moments, I know what I want to do and what I should do are different things. Motivation isn't something that comes from feeling like you want to do it, instead, it's mustering up the energy to do the thing you know you should do when you just don't want to.

Somehow bench pressing, leg presses, and stretching my muscles clear all those feelings of overwhelm. It immediately changes my mindset. It makes me feel strong and confident to tackle any problems or obstacles that come my way. I am more creative & have more clarity about how to achieve my goals. It builds a strong body AND a stronger mind. You will often hear me say I go to the gym for my mind not my body... and it's true. It 100% changes my attitude every single time. It also fills me with a sense of gratitude. Gratitude that I can even go to the gym. Gratitude for the beauty around me and the most gratitude for the people around me.

My adventures over the last year have taken me away from the farm, away from packing orders, chatting with customers, and managing the many, many moving parts that keep the wheels on the bus (or in this case the tractor) spinning. None of this would have been possible without my great YFM team: Ginger, Katie, Brigitte, Casey, Jack & Paul. Immense gratitude to this team for caring, working hard, and schlepping lots of meat, packing, organizing, and feeding animals, and marketing and connecting with everyone that walks in the door or places an order. It is hard work but this crew rolls up their sleeves, gets the job done, and never, ever complains.... even when I throw some crazy ideas their way. Definitely feeling grateful for our team!!!

So, don't forget to take some space for yourself. Get out in nature or hit the gym. You may be amazed by the immediate results you feel in your body and your mind!