Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Love Letter to Myself for the New Year


Hi friend:

I see you sitting there in your yoga pants contemplating the past, present and future.  Let it go.  It's time to focus on 2018, its all about you.  This year you're going to be selfish and you're not going to feel guilty about it.  Since becoming a mother almost five years ago, you have made life about everyone else but yourself.  You've devoted all your hours, minutes and seconds to your family.  This year, you are going to give yourself the same unconditional love you give others.  In order to love others to your full potential, you must first love yourself.  Being selfish is not going to make you a "bad" mom or wife.  It's actually going to make you happier, centered and accomplished.

First on the list, stop trying to attain perfection.  You put so much unnecessary pressure on yourself when in reality, you are the only one who notices if your rug has crayon marks, if the dishes aren't done or if you're not perfectly put together {every. single. day}.  I understand you can't help but obsess over  the "perfect lives" on Instagram but remember, its easy to play pretend on social media. There's no way that mother, with those five children, has a perfectly organized house every day. Don't be so hard on yourself.  It's completely fine to let your son eat chips off the floor or to allow your daughter to eat  Oreos for dinner. It's called survival mode and you're rocking the shit out of it.

Second, your business is going to BOOM and not in the way you think. Fringed Haven is your passion project. You started it to inspire people, build relationships and beautiful spaces.  When something is created out of passion and authenticity, it grows on its own and that is what you've manifested.  This year strive to connect with people on a deeper level by building trust and friendships in order to deliver beyond their expectations.

Third, read, read and read some more.  Not a magazine or social media posts, actual books.  Put down the phone and pick up a book.  There are so many things that interest you - spirituality, Buddhism, architecture, design, cooking....read about it, learn about it.  Remember those corny commercials  with the stars floating across the screen and the tag line 'the more you know' popping up? Knowledge is power.

Fourth, write, write, write.  Commit to writing at least one blog post a week.  Your readers have expressed their fondness in your writing. Give the people what they want will you?  At the very least, keep a journal handy and write down your thoughts throughout the day.  Great ideas pop into your mind all the time but exhaustion at the end of the day seems to vanish them.  Don't let the next big "thing" slip your mind.

Fifth, get your ass into the yoga studio, like yesterday.  Remember when yoga was your thing?   Remember how it makes you feel?  How it grounds you, relaxes you, helps you sleep?  I'm sure you would love to feel that bliss again.  I mean, you already have your yoga pants on. Put them to good use.

Most importantly {and I stole this quote from somewhere but I can't remember where}, "stop saying YES to shit you hate."  More so, just stop saying yes to anything you really want to say NO to.  It's alright if you just want to stay home on a Saturday night, or if you don't want to schedule a play date with that mom you don't really like, or if you rather not attend the networking event.  Declutter your life and only say yes to what truly makes you happy.

2018 is going to be about spiritual understanding and personal growth.  Peace, love and happiness in New Year!

xx,
Me