Part 3: Peace

Whew, we’ve made it to the end of the series! We’re clear on what we want and need and we’re embracing our lives, so, what’s next? you gotta rock with yourself! Basically have peace about who you are. So cliché, I know, but bear with me please. Peace is one of the hardest things for me to feel about myself, there is so much I want to improve or not exactly fond of. But you know what, I’m here so might as well embrace what is. Being at peace with who you are doesn’t come naturally. Let me just say, it is much easier to write out everything that you want or to embrace life with joy when there is no discomfort. But throw some hardship/struggle in there and things might get shaky. Especially when your current situation doesn’t really align with who you say you are or who you want to be. When what was put on paper or dreamt about isn’t as glamorous as we thought we tend to go back to what we’re used to. Back to doing whatever is thought to be acceptable and cool.  Back to doing what everyone else is doing. Back to playing it safe. But when things get shaky, it takes a level of courage to have and keep peace with who you are and where you’re going. It’s having enough peace when there’s no money to splurge on the things you want or you’re having an off day to not allow the feelings that come with obstacles stop you from seeing your unmatched potential. Have peace about each quality you possess (good or bad) because your uniqueness is what makes you, you. You can stay on your time and path of life without comparing your journey to anyone else’s. Life is going to throw some curve balls but don’t let them discourage you from loving who you are! Be brave enough to not allow yourself or anyone steal your peace! Let’s go be great.

Part 2: Joy- Choose to Embrace Life

Welcome to Part 2 for the Becoming You series! Once we have identified what we want and need from life we must choose to unapologetically pursue those things in order to have joy in life. How many times do we need to see the phrase ‘do the things that make you happy’ before we actually get it? I know it’s a super generic phrase, but it’s actually really good advice. Think about it, what things are you doing currently that are literally draining all the life out of you? Those things may in fact be withholding you from your true self: going out every weekend, spending money you should be saving, helping everyone but yourself, never missing an event… Your job… yes, I said it. Imagine how dull you feel when you work into a job you absolutely hate. You may not be able to change your job immediately but you can choose to show up every day and be fully present.

Our whole lives could change if we just made a choice. A choice to embrace the talents, gifts, skills, circumstances, jobs, body, family/friend-the life we’ve been given. Choosing joy, a lot of times is simply a mindset change. Sometimes I have to tell myself to stop viewing my life from a mean, judgmental lens. Stop looking at your job as a joke and create an opportunity for improvement and learning. Look in the mirror and see the version of yourself you are aspiring to be and quit calling out all your flaws/failures. Even as you read this post think of an area in your life you’d like to be more joyful, choose today to make an effort to not allow your thoughts, feelings, or fears get in the way of bringing that to fruition. For me, and this may not come as a surprise with all the job examples, but I want to put more of an effort in at work to stop going through the motions. Allowing fatigues and frustration to steal my joy is not an option anymore.  I think that before you can obtain greater, more extravagant endeavors, you first need to appreciate and tend to where you are currently with joy.

Experience something new, ditch your current routine and incorporate spontaneity into your schedule. If you are having trouble really finding your passion, trying something new and exciting may help. For me, I started journaling a while ago and found it super liberating and thought why not create a blog? I promise you, if you ever feel like you’re just going through the motions of life and not really passionate, analyze what you do (or wish you were doing) daily/ weekly to renew yourself.  Are you a writer, artist, fashionista, food enthusiast, musically savvy, fitness junkie, etc… Pursue whatever it is you enjoy, regularly to fully embrace your life!

Part 1: Clarity on What You Want and Need

Welcome to 2019! With only two days into the year, if you are anything like me you probably haven’t had a chance to right out all of your goals yet and that is OK. I think that before we can even make goals, it’s important to be clear on exactly what we want from this year, from life, from our relationships, from our Career, etc..  Likewise, In order to fully know and understand who you are, you have to ask questions for clarity. Kind of like when you are getting to know someone, fully knowing each other doesn’t come after the initial introduction. You have to ask questions. Not just any questions, though, the right questions. I’m  reading Brendan Burchard’s book the Motivation Manifesto and he provides endless insight on breaking the barriers that block us from becoming  our true selves. In the book he states we should write out ‘our own manifesto, our own written declaration of what our lives are to be about.’ He gives a list of essential questions to ask:

What m I really after in life? 

What do I truly want to create and contribute? 

What kind of person do I want to show the world?

What types of persons shall I love and enjoy life with? 

What great cause will keep me going when I feel weak? 

What shall be my ultimate legacy? 

What steps must I take to begin and sustain these efforts? 

How will I orient my days to accomplish these goals this week? Month? Year? 

I encourage you to write these questions out and answer each one with your truth. Look at them daily, weekly, or monthly to remember and be clear about who you are and what you want.

Becoming You

New Year, New Me, right? What if you are confused about who is on the other end of the mirror? I’ve gotten so much confirmation about this series- Michelle Obama’s book ‘Becoming’, I’ve read blog posts about this topic and it is something I am still trying to figure out. ‘Who am I?’ is a question most of us ask ourselves at least once in our lives. We have desires and goals that set our souls on fire but we haven’t pursued them with full force due to doubts or other interferences. I want to start a blog series as we go into this new year titled ‘coming into who I really am’. We fall in love with people, ideas, dreams, etc… But we haven’t fallen in love with ourselves. Honestly, let’s not let another year go by without finding who we are first.  My theory, if we can figure out who we truly are we will have more clarity, joy and peace. Stay tuned for a weekly update on each topic.

Clarity– be clear on what you want and need

Joy– choose to embrace life

Peace– You don’t need to conform