The last few months have seemed like a wild ride. How is it already almost July and where has the time gone? This year has been a mentally challenging one for me. There have been times that I have been on top of the mountain and there have been times when I could barely get out of bed. There have been times when I have been winning at all the things except for the things that matter. When the relationships with people that matter are not on point, then my world gets rocked regardless of whatever else is happening. This has helped me reflect and realize what is most important in my life as well, my people.

I just finished reading this book – “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” and I found it very fascinating. It is very intriguing that we as humans tend to say “Yes” to all the things in hopes that it gets us to where we are going faster, only quite a bit of the time that isn’t the case. When you spend all your energy completing all the tasks on all the things, you make very small moves. If you spend all your energy completing just a few tasks on the right path, you make big moves.

My biggest takeaway from the book was, when an opportunity presents itself, if you don’t immediately say “Heck Yesssss! Let’s do this thing” then you should probably say no. But before you can do that, you need to make sure you have a clear vision on what your future/path looks like. You have to make sure that the opportunities you say “Yes” to align with the ultimate goal. Because if you aren’t shooting for the ultimate almost unattainable goal, then what are you aiming for?

All that being said, we all know that in some cases we have to do things we don’t want to do because well, that is how we survive and get a paycheck. My challenge to you though is to start pursuing things you enjoy. Start trying new hobbies, start exploring those options. Find what makes you happy, clarify your vision, and do whatever it takes (legally) to make all those dreams come true. The journey is the best part. That is where you learn, grow and become the person you were made to be.

While this first half of the year has had its up and downs, the growth I have done as a person out does all the hard days of barely getting out of bed. I have finally come to understand that I have barely scratched the surface on what I am capable of, and I cannot wait to see what happens the rest of the year. It is never too late to hit the re-start button. You got this. Go be amazing!

For me, I love learning. I find many different things fascinating and want to learn as much as I can about them. My current obsession is self-growth. I have grown so much the last year but feel like I have so far to go. I am constantly trying to think of ways to stretch my comfort zone. 

I began reading John Maxwell’s – The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth – I made it to Chapter 3 and I was blown away and I had to share it with y’all!

Chapter 3 – The Law of the Mirror – You Must See Value in Yourself to Add Value to Yourself

The chapter goes on to discuss the power of positive self-esteem and that low self-esteem puts a ceiling on your potential. The value we place on ourselves is usually the value others place on us. For someone who has struggled with self-esteem issues and has always wondered why certain people, things, and places were attracted to me or that I attracted, reading that sentence, a light bulb went off. You can’t expect people to think highly of you, if you don’t even think highly of yourself first. This goes back to self-love, you have to love yourself first before you can ever truly love someone else.

So what is the next step? You realize you need to work on your self-esteem but how? The chapter continues with Steps to Build Your Self Image

1. Guard Your Self-Talk

Do you encourage yourself or criticize yourself? Are you a positive person or a negative person? These things are important and matter, remember to pay attention to the language you are using on yourself. Many of us say destructive things to ourselves that we would never say to another person we cared about.

2. Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

You can’t look at your journey and compare it to someone else’s success. Right now, this is one of the hardest things I am dealing with. Want to know why I am not as present on social media anymore? This is why. The nonstop scrolling looking at other people’s highlight reel, brings all kind of negative juju into my life, so I stopped scrolling.

3. Move Beyond Your Limiting Beliefs

For some reason, we as humans tend to believe we can’t accomplish certain things. If you constantly tell yourself that you won’t achieve that thing, then you never will. I catch myself sometimes wondering if I will ever really achieve my dreams. When that happens, I stop and pause and sit in the moment and think about how I will feel when my dreams do come true. ALWAYS believe you can achieve something, just know you may have to work a little harder for it to happen.

4. Add Value to Others

It is really hard to feel bad about yourself when you are adding value to other people’s lives. You never know how one tiny contribution from you can change someone’s perspective.

5. Do The Right Thing, Even if it’s Hard

Always do the right thing, even if that means you are in trouble. Being true to yourself and your values is a huge self-esteem booster.

There are five more tips but I don’t want to spoil the whole chapter for you! If you are interested in the additional five tips, just send me a message or comment and I will be happy to get those for you. At the end of the chapter, he asks you to reflect and do some “homework”. 

Make a list of all your best personal qualities. This might be a struggle but don’t stop. If it takes you a while, that is okay too but don’t stop until you have written 100 positive things about yourself. Yes, you read that right, 100! I am currently working on this challenge myself and I challenge you to do the same thing. You got this!

As always share some love, we could all use a little more love

XOXO

Casey