Good Things Are Gonna Come

I walked this sidewalk almost every day for 8 years. Long enough to watch these trees go completely bare, slowly sprout new leaves again, turn full and green in the summer, and then explode into gold every fall.

I did not realize until I moved that I had photos of this same path in every season.

These trees were tiny when I first moved here 8 years ago. I got to see them change and grow.

Funny how growth works like that. Most of the time, you do not even realize how much has changed until you stop and look back. 🌳

Saturday I got the keys to my new place. The movers come next week!

I have lived in my townhouse for eight years. I have lived in this suburb for almost 24. The grocery stores are familiar, the roads are familiar. I know exactly which route to take when it’s raining to avoid splash back and which running routes have hills.

Even though I am only moving 6 miles away, it still feels like a HUGE CHANGE.

Change is weird like that. Your brain acts like you are moving across the country when really you are just changing zip codes.

The next week is filled with movers, Goodwill trips, Facebook Marketplace negotiations with strangers named Brad, and probably at least one emotional breakdown over a coffee mug I need to donate because I’m going to be in 400 less square feet and don’t need all these coffee cups!

I’m going to miss the older man I see walking every morning when I take Alice out. I’m going to miss the mountain view out of my living room window.

But honestly, I am trying really hard to focus less on what I am leaving behind and more on what I am walking toward. New running routes, new neighbors, energy, new memories. A fresh start that I did not even realize I needed as badly as I did.

I think sometimes we hold onto things because they became part of our identity. Even when we know deep down we have outgrown it.

If you are going through a change right now, I know it can feel uncomfortable and scary and emotional. But some of the best things in life start the moment you stop trying to make everything stay the same.

Outdoor event season is here!! 🥳

I have spent a lot of years in event spaces, and I notice something different with outdoor events. When you create an environment that feels open, people become open.

Yes, the speakers and content and structure matter. But the environment matters just as much.

It’s fun to not only create an event, but to create a feeling.

Two years ago, this little nugget and I set out on a 2,182-mile road trip. 📸 right before we left.

At the time, I just knew I needed to get away. I needed space to think, breathe, reset, and figure out what the next chapter of my life was supposed to look like.

Somewhere between the long drives, random stops, tears, laughter, silence, and conversations with myself I probably should have had years earlier … it became a healing trip in ways I never could have planned.

It was also during that trip that the idea for VoiceQuest came to me, in a dream!

And now … here we are. 💗

Saturday I climbed the Manitou Incline for the third time and I swear every single time I do it, I forget how brutal it is.

I have run marathons. 26.2 miles of steady pacing, zoning out, settling into a rhythm. The Incline is very different. It is 2,744 giant uneven steps straight up for a mile while your lungs are burning.
And then there is the altitude.

People who have never dealt with elevation think you just “get tired.” Even-though I live in Colorado, it’s still no joke.

Your body is literally getting less oxygen with every breath, so your heart starts working overtime trying to compensate. Your breathing speeds up, your legs feel heavier, and suddenly your brain starts doing that fun thing where it tries to convince you that stopping forever is a perfectly reasonable option.

Add in cold weather, wind, and snow still sitting on parts of the steps, and it becomes this weird mental battle where every few minutes you have to decide if you are still doing this or not.

At one point I remember thinking, “This is stupid. Why do humans voluntarily do this?”

And then about thirty seconds after you finish:
“You can do hard things.”

Because that is the real challenge with stuff like this. It is not actually the steps. It is the conversation happening in your head while your body is uncomfortable.

The part where your brain starts looking for exits. The part where you have to keep choosing to continue even when nobody would blame you for stopping.

And hey, take a photo because every once in a while you need proof that you are capable of doing something your brain tried very hard to talk you out of.

Hi!! Let me reintroduce myself.

It’s a new month, a Friday, so let’s do this!

I’m Jasmine Rice, yes it’s my real name! 🍚

I have lived in Colorado for almost 24 years. I’m originally from KS and went to the University of Kansas, majored in psychology. ROCK CHALK! ❤️ 💙

I am an event producer, professional speaker, coach, bestselling author, a marathon runner and a lover of working out but also French fries and pizza! 🍟

I drink my coffee strong with cream and stevia. I was never a coffee drinker until I became an entrepreneur! ☕️

I’m really really goofy! Like embarrass you by dancing in the grocery store goofy! 🤪

I believe dogs make everything better. 🐾

I love real conversations and honesty. I would rather be hurt by honesty than have someone lie to me. And know that I will always tell you the truth.

I believe in second chances, brave decisions, authenticity, and having (and respecting) boundaries.

I am the founder of VoiceQuest Agency, Good Things Are Gonna Come and Pinnacle Event Planning! I’m a busy lady!

But underneath all of that is this, I just genuinely care deeply about people and try my best to be a kind human and helping humans feel a little less alone in a world that feels pretty uncertain right now.

So if we have not met yet, hi. If we have, hello again.

Thank you for following me!

Sometimes the price is not money.

It’s your nervous system. Your sleep. Your self-respect.

If something constantly leaves you drained, anxious, or second-guessing yourself, that is not the cost of growth. That is the cost of staying somewhere you have outgrown.

I bought this “killing it” hat a few years ago in Moab after strenuous hiking weekend (including hail and snow) with my friend. We ended up hiking over 20 miles during our weekend.

I had not showered in two days, my legs were shot, and somehow I felt more like I had my life together in that moment than I do most days this year.

Which is kind of messed up when I think about it.

Most days I am sitting at my computer trying to figure out MORE, and I am in my head the entire time wondering if it is working or if I made a huge F-ing mistake in my career.

And I keep coming back to that version of me on that trail in Moab. She was not trying to figure anything out. She was not looking for signs or validation or proof that life was working. She just kept going. One step, then another, even when it was uncomfortable, even when she was over it, even when it was hard.

Just movement.

And somehow that felt like “killing it” a whole lot more than sitting still and trying to think my way into it.

Last week I think I said “I am just so overwhelmed” about ten times.

And that is exactly what I felt. Every time I said it, I would look at my to-do list … which, by the way, just kept getting longer and I did not want to do any of it. Personal, work, it didn’t matter. I just kind of shut down.

So instead, I would go for a run or work out which sounds productive, but was not checking things off my list.

Then on Friday, I had this moment of clarity. The word “overwhelmed” is kind of heavy. It almost puts you in this place where people feel sorry for you and you feel a little sorry for yourself too.

I realized if I keep saying that, I am going to stay there.

It reminded me of how we talk about affirmations. “I am” is different than “I should.”

“I am going to get that done” versus “I should do that.”

So I knew I needed a different way to look at what was actually going on, because yes, I felt overwhelmed … but saying it was not helping me get out of it.

So maybe I wasn’t overwhelmed. May I was under-decided.

I had too many things sitting in the “I will figure it out” category. Too many things I had not actually committed to. Too many decisions I was putting off because I wanted more time or a better feeling before I chose.

So everything stayed open. And when everything is open, it feels like it is all happening at once. That is what was creating the overwhelm.

Not just the amount, but also the lack of decision.

So I started making some calls.

What is a yes.
What is a no.
What is not happening this week.
What I am done overthinking.

And it helped more than anything else I did all week.

So maybe you are overwhelmed. But if you felt anything like I did last week, especially heading into a new week, ask yourself where you might just be under-decided.

Because sometimes it is not about doing more. It is about finally choosing.