A TIME TO REFLECT...

Well, my birthday has come and gone (this post is waaaaay overdue) and with each passing year I like to take time to reflect upon what I've learned, what's made me happy and unhappy, and what changes I need to make in order to improve my life. I spend a lot of time thinking (too much), so my thoughts just bounce around in limbo driving me bonkers, but this year I've decided to jot them down. It'll be nice to look back on, and hopefully other people will be able to relate.

GRATITUDE

When life gets you down, it's alarmingly easy to enter a negative mind-space. To help combat this, an exercise I've been doing lately is getting into the habit of saying "thank you" for all of the things I have in life (tangible and intangible). One of my good friends introduced me to a gratitude journaling exercise where you jot down everything you're thankful for in addition to the things you want to attract into your life. Since I've been keeping up with these gratitude exercises I've felt a lot happier, because it really does put everything into perspective. During my younger years I spent a lot of time dwelling on things not going "correctly" in my life. It was hard for me to adjust my attitude and mindset to a more positive one, because I was fixated on what I didn't have and what wasn't working instead of what was. My grandfather always used to say: "it isn't what happens to you in life, it's how you adjust." Wise words. There's always going to be something that could be better or more balanced, but life isn't supposed to be perfect, nor should it be. I'm a firm believer in allowing yourself to feel, as well as expressing those feelings, whether they're positive or negative. However, becoming entirely consumed by negative thoughts is unhealthy. The mind is a powerful place, and can either be your greatest ally or worst enemy. Life might not always be a walk in the park, and you might not always be happy and smiling, but there's always something to be thankful for.

APPRECIATE YOURSELF
I'm hesitant to use the phrase "self-love," as I find it to be a bit overused these days, but... to me "self-love" is something that evolves over a lifetime, not something that happens overnight. We're different people at different points in time, so our "self-love" treatment will be unique to certain phases of our life, therefore ever-changing. When I start feeling weighed down by life (usually after a breakup, but can be for various reasons), I like to "disconnect" from the world. I retreat from social media, I spend a lot more time thinking and analyzing my emotions, I meditate more, and I always go on an Etsy shopping spree, filling up my cart with alllll the mystical sh*t and healing gemstones (I love the energy of Rose Quartz. It's very calming and helps with healing matters of the heart). To be honest, I haven't always appreciated myself. I very much viewed that as an outside job, for someone else to do. However, certain situations led me to realize that taking care of myself is just as important (if not more) than receiving love and appreciation from others. At the end of the day all you have is yourself, so you need to be loving, gentle, and kind.

PEOPLE + LETTING GO

Surround yourself with good people. Point, blank, period. It may seem like an obvious statement and an easy thing to do, but I think we've all experienced friendships/partnerships that left us feeling let-down and unfulfilled. Almost 1 year ago, after distancing myself from a toxic ex and feeling ALL the feels, I had an "ah-hah" moment. I decided I didn't want to be sad and upset anymore, so I "reset" my standards surrounding how I wanted to feel (happy and fulfilled) and how I wanted to make others feel (the same way). This shift in mindset impacted my life in such a positive way, and I've been able to experience dynamics that are much more harmonious, with people who make me genuinely happy. I'm a very sentimental person and everything means something to me. I'm also very passionate and willing to fight for things, especially people. Those traits have gotten me into a lot of tricky situations, simply because of my refusal to LET GO. I've always liked the well-known "if you love something let it go..." saying, but often times it's challenging to apply that to real life situations. However, if something isn't serving you positively, there's really no need to keep it around. Thankfully I've gotten better about accepting people and situations for who/what they are, letting go when it's time to, and letting life take its course.

FINDING + FOLLOWING YOUR BLISS

I've worked in retail for 10 years, so I've always had an appreciation for clothing and styling. I originally started my blog back in 2012, which is when Instagram really started to take off. The fashion blogging scene was fairly new, at least on that platform, and I felt so incredibly inspired seeing everyday women, who weren't models, documenting their outfits... FOR FUN! A few years ago I was working 60 hours a week (full time overnight shifts and retail during the day), so I didn't have a lot of time to dedicate to this blog, and the extra time I did have I spent with family and friends. At the end of 2017 I decided that 2018 was going to be "my year" - the year that I took blogging more seriously. To be honest, it's terrifying posting pictures of yourself online, but little by little I'm overcoming my shyness. I know I look ridiculous while taking the photos, but I have sooo much fun doing it, so it's worth it. The older I get the more time flies, and I don't want to look back in a few years and regret not making an effort, especially when it comes to something I love. Life is precious, life is short. You have to make the most out of it, and do what makes your soul shine!