by Christie Ison

Sisters, I’m in a slump.

There, I admitted it.

Starting a new business, dealing with health issues, and just the day-to-day craziness of family life have just thrown me a loop. I’m in a spot where big things are happening, but I just don’t feel the sizzle that I had before. And I know some of you have been there, or you are there. Can I get an amen?

The thing is, I know we have all had that sizzle…that time when we knew we were at our best. Our schedule may have still been crazy-town, but we were contributing something unique from ourselves that came straight from the heart. And it felt great.

Others pick up on the sizzle, too. A couple years ago, my sister-in-law stopped by the Food Blogger Bake Sale that I helped coordinate to raise funds for Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry programs. She arrived during setup, when I was excitedly directing volunteers, helping to decorate our space and receiving the last bit of donations to be sold that day.

She told me later that she left the event and immediately called other family members, telling them about the Christie that she’d never seen before: empowered, excited and ready to take on the world.

I’ve been thinking about that day and about that version of myself. I want the sizzle back! I want to feel empowered and excited again. And I’ve given some thought to what the solution might be.

Lots of people could coordinate a bake sale. In fact, most folks could probably do a much better job than I did, given my tendency to disorganization. However, I had a personal connection to No Kid Hungry, having taught one of their programs, and I was passionate about the results in ending community hunger that I had seen with my own eyes. I could see the bigger picture from a unique perspective.

My current projects have gotten so buried in details that I’ve forgotten that bigger picture. For example, in my business, I help foodservice and hospitality professionals find meaningful work. It is incredibly rewarding to reach into people’s lives and get to know them, mentor them, and connect them with good opportunities. However, the work also gets bogged down in WordPress plugins, sales funnels and strategy meetings. The sizzle gets lost.

The same applies to family, as well. I’ve got a hard-working (not to mention super cute) husband and two healthy, smart kiddos. We don’t have much to complain about. But running around for school and church activities can be exhausting. Fun activities, just for the sake of having fun together, fall to the wayside. We fall into the typical school-sleep-electronics routine. (Again, can I get an amen?)

Thinking about the big picture is making me think about some goals for the next few months. (If you missed it, read Kimberly Mitchell’s article on getting the sizzle back through goal setting and checking…it helped me!) For work, I need to not only remember the importance of mentoring and helping my clients, but also to write this into my schedule every day. That way I’ll remember the purpose when I have to work on websites and marketing. And as for family, I’m thinking about instituting a weekly game night or other easy activity that we can do together. Heck, maybe even a scheduled date night with the hubs wouldn’t hurt, to add some sizzle where it matters!

Can we decide together to focus on the big picture before getting bogged down in the details of life? I’ll check in on you if you check in on me. Remind me to ask myself where the passion lies, what difference I can make, and then to go out and do it.

I’ve got it in me, somewhere, to give my best again. I know you do, too. Let’s sizzle.

Christie Ison has been an intermittent food writer at her blog, Fancy Pants Foodie, since 2009. More recently, Ison launched arfoodjobs.com, an online job board and digital community for the state’s hospitality industry. She also teaches cooking classes and is on the advisory board of Pulaski Technical College Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute, of which she is a graduate.