Marching On To the Beat I Drum

When I started this blog up, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to make of it, what topic I wanted to focus on, what audience I wanted to reach. And to be honest, I still don’t know. Yeah, it’s only been a few weeks. But a lot can happen in a few weeks – and I am still struggling to find what I want this blog to be. Lately I have had self love and accepting who you are weighing heavily on my heart - so we'll roll with it for now! 

Something we have seen a LOT of lately in the news and across social media is the idea of loving yourself, flaws and all, and really believing in who you are. I have touched on this before in previous posts briefly, but I feel a deeper pull to discuss this now. Is it something I struggle with? DAILY. But if you aren’t going to love you for who YOU are, then how can you expect anyone else to?

...This Is Brave…

For those who are not familiar with my taste in movies, I saw the Greatest Showman when it came out in December, and since then have been OBSESSED with the soundtrack. I saw it with my best friend first, then we went again with some of her friends to see it – and we enjoyed it that much more the second time around. Without ruining the movie for those who still have NOT seen it (WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?!?!), the underlying message is to believe in yourself, and your dreams, and make them a reality. BE WHO YOU ARE. The rest will work itself out. 

And yes, lyrics from "This Is Me" are sprinkled throughout this post 😉

As mentioned before, I struggle daily to love who I am. It’s a learned process when you’ve spent years (6ish to be exact for me) talking down to yourself, living in a negative headspace. This blog has helped me get some ideas out that have been rattling around in my brain the last few years, and truly bring them to fruition. Some days are easier than others – there are days where I hate (and when I say hate, I mean straight up uncomfortable in my own skin) how I look. There are some I feel I look incredible, and that radiates through my body language.

On the outside, anyone can project a happy, go-lucky, free spirit. Internally they could be battling some pretty serious demons. This is why it’s been a cardinal rule to never judge a book or person by their cover. Self love, as mentioned before, is a journey. A learned process. You have to break down the walls you’ve built with negativity and poor judgement, and rebuild with love, positivity, and BELIEF that you’re worth every breath you take on this earth.

…This is Bruised...

You have to WANT to love yourself for every fiber of person that you are, and you have to FIGHT the negativity in your head AND the negativity around you (that you may or may not have projected into the world.. body language and energy go hand in hand, friends). No one is going to love you better than you love yourself, so stop relying on others to do it for you. YOU DO YOU. 

There are plenty of books out there that can help guide you through the process of loving yourself again. DO NOT be ashamed to pick them up (Amazon has an AMAZING selection, as does any book store!) and read them. When I say read them, I mean digest every page, write in the margins, underline passages, highlight quotes – WHATEVER works for you. Use this as your guide back to that innocent, curious 5 year old self that had no fear and wanted to live life to the fullest!

All too often, we find that our lives pass in the blink of an eye. You wake up one morning and go “Well shit, it’s been a year since (fill in the blank). I can’t believe it’s been that long! Where does the time go?!” … it goes by at the same speed as if nothing huge had happened, we just tend to shut down the slower, less exciting days. CELEBRATE those slow days. Call up a friend or family member and tell them a few good things that happened to you that day. Whatever energy you put out, you get back.

Why on EARTH have I rambled on for so long? Because taking care of your SELF is what is most important in this world. Not taking care of every family member, your pets, and your friends. No. You need to take care of YOURSELF first. Taking time to truly practice some self love will improve not only your self love meter, but also improve your outward energy as well as your confidence! Are those the same? Probably. Embrace it. I’m not perfect!

...This is Who I’m Meant to Be… 

If you’re feeling super down, I understand. I was there for the last 3 years. It got pretty crazy last year (per the first post on this blog), and I spiraled deeper into self doubt and negative talk than I had in previous years. I wasn’t laughing as much, I didn’t have the energy to get out of bed most days. I was simply functioning on autopilot and not finding any joy in life. Now that I have had the time to reflect on this, I have identified some of the pressure points that were weighing me down, and am in the process of clearing them out of my headspace completely.

The past is the past. You need to leave it there. Look forward to the new adventures each day presents you. Stop living your life for someone else. Live your life based on what truly makes your soul sing. Do not put yourself in situations or relationships to feel whole – be your whole self first and THEN see what you can find. Break away from those who bring you down and cannot get out of their own head to support you. Its not hard to support a friend or family member selflessly. Stop relying on the attention of others to make you feel whole. YOU (whoever is reading this) are important. YOU are worthy of everything amazing in this life. YOU can do whatever you set your mind to. 

This gift we have, also known as life, is meant to be lived and celebrated all the time. Is it going to be easy? HELL NO! Is it going to be worth it? HELL YES! Stop listening to other people’s judgements – that’s a reflection of who THEY are, not who YOU are. It’s okay to be different. It’s okay to disagree. It’s okay to have an opinion. It’s what you do when faced with adversity that makes all the difference in the world, in YOUR world.

A little challenge for ya (thought I forgot? NOPE!)…

Do yourself a favor, and try some of these self care tips. Ladies AND gents. Give yourself some time away from technology, from the hustle and bustle of every day life, and give yourself some love. Grab a cute journal (men too! this is a no judgement zone!), find some self love exercises (I use Pinterest a LOT for journal prompts.. helps get the brain well oiled!). 

Let me know how your self love journey goes – I am very reachable, and always willing to listen if anyone reading this needs it!

…This is ME!!!