…..continued.

A couple of years ago I wrote a post called “You are the most beautiful when you are your true self”. It was during a time in my life where I struggled to find my purpose, and realized who you are supposed to be lies in your ability to let yourself be who God created you to be. Let that sink in. If you haven’t checked out that post, I highly recommend clicking here first and giving it a read! At the end, I mentioned that I wasn’t finished. I wanted to share the perspective that has helped me, ultimately, live the life I was meant to live. And let’s be clear – I have far from figured out, but that’s the beauty of it. We get to figure it out together.

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Do what makes you joyful.

You can role your eyes all you want, but tell me you don’t feel a sense of happiness when you get to spend time doing the things you love! That’s what I figured. Admit it- you just can’t. As silly as it sounds, I’ve realized I spend far too much of my time doing the things that pay the bills and that I “have to get done” on that never-ending to-do list that no one created but myself. Hear me loud and clear- I am NOT telling you to throw all of your responsibilities out the window to pet puppies all day because that’s what makes you joyful. And if you are one of those people that love your job so much you never feel like you work a day in your life, then I say, “You go girl!” For the rest of us, it’s all about balance. Yes, we have to work and yes, we have a billion obligations that follow. The laundry doesn’t clean itself and neither do the dishes, the floors, your bed sheets, or your toilet, but we all know that’s never going to change. I feel like I waited so long for all of these tasks to just “go away” so that FINALLY I would be able to freely do what I love to do with all my spare time which I figured would then lead to me to who I was meant to be. As lovely as that sounds, it’s just not reality. I’ve had to work tirelessly to find some sort of balance in my life so that I don’t feel like I’m drowning most days and honestly, most of the time I fail. It got to the point where I had to sit down and rediscover what it was that made me joyful, beautiful, and excited about life. There’s no shame in sitting down with a pen and paper and just writing down all the things you love. In fact, I encourage you to do it right now! Don’t think too much, just start writing all the words that bring a smile to your face.

This was mine:

puppies

working out

fashion

makeup

organizing

wine

encouraging others

california

laughing

binge watching Netflix

a clean house

tacos

decorating

snuggling with Tucker + Wilson

date nights with my hubby

christmas at home with my family

traveling

online shopping

lattes

chocolate

margaritas

and the list goes on……..

Your list may look completely different from mine, but regardless, I encourage you to start doing things on your list! Go find puppies to love on, treat yourself to your favorite latte, heck, scrub your bathroom floor if that’s what brings you joy. Find time for the things that make you joyful and confident, because when we start to believe in ourselves, we start to connect with who we really are and more importantly, who God has created us to be.

You are who you surround yourself with.

One of my friends once told me “You are a culmination of the 6 people you spend the most time with.”

Can we just take a minute here. Woah.

Who are your six? Are you embarrassed to say? Or maybe actually feel pretty good about those that surround you?

How are you ever supposed to be the best version of yourself when you’re constantly surrounded by people who are self-centered, unintentional, annoyed by our success, and exude negative energy? We can’t. It’s that simple. I don’t believe we ever intentionally mean to be around people like that, we just normally end up being the last person to see who is directly in front of us. That’s when it’s time to take a step back.

It hasn’t been until this past year that I’ve realized truly how special people can be. I’ve had friends in my life for such a short time, but it couldn’t have been any sweeter. I’ve also had friends for over a decade that continue to build me up and pour into me every single day and I probably don’t deserve it. While it may be hard to lose a friend sooner than you had anticipated, don’t ever underestimate the possibility of influence and transformation that one can foster in your life. You truly never know when someone will reach into your heart and help you to see yesterday, today and even tomorrow in a way you never thought existed.

I say all this because let’s face it, your time is precious. We already established we lead busy lives and barely have time to do the things we love, so don’t waste it on people who don’t push you to a better you. Don’t get comfortable. Ever. Push yourself out of your comfort zone and be willing to let others hold you accountable and do the same for them. You’ll realize you’ve become more connected to who you are in the end.

I’m all in. Are you?

Final thoughts.

There’s no magic recipe, Y’all. In fact, I’m still learning every single day- some days harder than the one preceding it. My only hope is that you 1. don’t feel alone in whatever internal struggles you face, and 2. take the time to take care of you and reconnect with who you are. Maybe who you are right now isn’t who you want to be. If so, what’s holding you back? I can almost guarantee it may be the people who surround you or your own lack of self-love and awareness that there is something extremely unique and special about you. At the end of the day, we’re all on this messy journey together, and I’ll be darned if we all decide to give up now when who God created us to be is right around the corner.

XX, Em