4 Life Lessons to keep you Motivated and Pushing Through when going it alone
Choosing to invest in yourself can be hard, frustrating and feel extremely lonely sometimes. You may think at times that you have made a mistake of embarking on this journey to self-discovery, deciding to quit your everyday job to pursue your dream career or even deciding to explore new things.
We can sometimes forget the importance and practice of self-love and self-care, especially when we are doing something in disagreement with those who we value. So I share some practical life lessons that I have learned along the way to keep you motivated in your daily pursuit of yourself.
01. Keep your eyes wide open and focus
It is hard, I know, deciding to pursue that inner call or that career that no one believed in – I have gone through this decision-making process myself. But the one thing that has helped me through all those tough moments of doubt and despair was keeping my focus on my why and my eyes open on the unlimited possibilities. Focusing can be difficult, especially during overwhelming times of change, but remember to do one thing at a time and take one day a time.
To rewind, I have been told countless times by my peers, friends and even family members how my ideas of being self-sufficient and seeking a different life across the country were absurd – I constantly battled with ongoing thoughts and feelings often believing that I had made a mistake.
Until I separated myself from their words and ideas on life, I realized that they were simply projecting the inadequacies of their own life on mine. It was (and still is) one of the scariest things I have ever gone through, choosing to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, but standing on the other side, I know it was the right decision because I am stronger, happy and self-sufficient in ways I never knew I could be.
02. Never back down even when you've fallen
Starting anything new is never easy and often the word failure is deemed to be a negative word. For me, I believe every experience is a chance to learn a new life lesson that we can pay forward and put it into practice. There have been many times in my life where my plans for success did not happen the way I expected or bring about positive emotions. However, these difficulties pushed me to the next step and level.
In hindsight, I now know all these moments simply gave me another way to view my past experiences and by picking myself up (mentally) and trying again, I have been able to get to a better place than I could have ever imagined. Having complete self-sufficiency is something I strive for in all areas of my life, and as I continue to connect with others who are also levelling themselves up I now understand that they are contributing to my story both personally and professionally, as I contribute to theirs.
03. Be Brave and Fierce, even in fear
Throughout many periods of change, there have been times (and continues to be) twhere I could feel the fear and doubt begin to take over, where I felt utterly terrified of speaking up when it mattered or even networking. But this happens in life! The thought of doing something seems so much scarier than actually executing it. It is almost as if we trick our minds into accepting the inevitability of failure before we even attempt to act, therefore, living in fear of the unknown.
But every time I attempted something new, whether it was a personal or professional goal, I told myself to be brave in the face of fear. Every time, standing on the other side, I was relaxed, proud and happy that I succeeded beyond what my mind told me I initially could achieve. By acting (even in small ways) you will become braver, stronger and courageous in the face of fear. Looking back, you will come to understand and recognize the greatness you were able to accomplish all on your own.
It’s time to not let your own fears get in the way of what you want. Once you feel fierce inside, you will know you have made it to the other side of your fear.
04. Work efficiently and smart, not fast
I have been known to be a queen of multi-tasking, especially when it came to managing both my personal and professional freelance work and the work, you know, that paid the bills. But that just would lead to so many burnouts, days when I would drive into the sunset and return home at the end of the night or better yet weekend from a weekend of total alone time.
What I have found is that you do not have to stay busy to say you have achieved. Having a goal is great and a plan even better but that doesn't mean that you have to forgo self-care and self-love, maybe in the form having a good nights rest or a beautiful meal. Often it is when you overexert yourself by doing so much at once and not blocking off time to achieve small tasks in a day that things start to go wrong, burn out and make mistakes, right?!... Then more time is spent fixing, completing or going back to what you “technically” already completed.
If you take just eliminate the hustle and block time for anything that you have to do, you are saving yourself time in the long run.
For example, when following a recipe there is always a step-by-step guide that breaks down the whole meal into small steps allowing you to get closer to the end result of that amazing bowl of spaghetti or stew at the end.
It is not about racing with yourself to finish, it is about choosing what to do in each given moment so you maximize your time in the S.M.A.R.T.'est way possible.
These are approaches every experience that I still use today. So remember you are not alone in choosing to be you as this is your life and no one can or should ever influence your decision-making process. It can be extremely daunting and scary, yes, but just know that you will achieve greatness if you just keep going.
