First I just want to say thank you to everyone for being so supportive of this new series on the blog. I have enjoyed reading all of your comments, especially on my post last week. You guys were really encouraging and I appreciate it. I love that so many of you are able to relate to what I have been writing about. It's always great to know that we are not alone in what we are feeling and going through. I think this is allowing all of you to get to know me more and that makes me happy. I don't really plan out these posts as I believe they work best when I just write in the moment of whatever it is that I am feeling, but if there is a specific topic that you would like me to cover, please tell me.
Touching back on last week, once I put everything out there it started to hit me differently, especially after reading all of your comments. Sometimes it really helps to just say things out loud because what you want just becomes more real. There is something about "putting it out there in the universe" that makes an impact on me. It's sort of this no turning back feeling and it really motivates and inspires me. I am always one of the first people to talk about taking risks and stepping outside of our comfort zones and for the most part, I have done this quite often. I do realize though that with certain things I still hold back a little. I still allow some fears and uncertainties to creep in, but I don't want to let that stop me anymore. Nothing is definite yet as I am still in the process of figuring things out, but after last week I started looking into flights and AirBnb for LA for the month of August. My plan is that I don't really have a plan this time and I think that's ok. I've come to realize that our plans don't always turn out the way that we want them to and sometimes that is for the better. The day I started checking out flights and wanted to book, I found out that I had fraudulent activity on my bank account again (third time this year) and half my money was gone. I got upset at first, of course, but instead of seeing this as another sign to not go, I just saw it as a minor setback. It's ok. I will figure this out. That is what I kept telling myself. This leads me into my next point. I think that what we say to ourselves on a day-to-day basis is crucial. The way we look at setbacks and challenges is important. Do we let them defeat us? Do we allow them to prevent us from reaching our goals? Or do we continue to dive in headfirst?
I've been having several conversations with friends lately about things always happening at once. They go through one bad experience and then they're hit with the next one. It continues for what feels like forever and it truly takes a toll on them mentally and emotionally. We all go through this as it happens quite often. The worst it ever got for me was losing my father and losing my job at the same time. It was a blessing though to lose my job at that time because it allowed me to be there for my father and it also got me out the door of a place that made me miserable for four years. I was able to grieve and get through the loss of my father at my own pace and was able to take time for myself to figure things out. However, I was stuck in a dark place for a while and just had no idea what I was doing with my life or where I was headed. I felt so lost without my dad. In my darkest moments I realized that I had two choices. I could let it all continue to break me down or I could rebuild myself. I chose the latter. When bad things start to snowball on me now, I just remind myself that nothing could ever be as bad as it was five years ago. All of these setbacks and obstacles are what I like to think of as tests and life lessons.
Without getting into too much detail about my sister's life, I will just say that the past five years without my dad were extremely hard on her. She handled it very differently from me and was in a dark place a bit longer. She was constantly hit with one bad thing after the other and I know that it broke her down more often than it should. Finally though, once she began to take control and see things differently, the most amazing things began to happen for her. She met the love of her life, got married and is now expecting her first child all at once. It's been a whirlwind, but if anyone deserves this happiness, it's her. She suffered for a while but now all at once she is getting everything that she has always wanted. My heart is so happy for her. My point in saying all of these things is that the way we look at what happens to us is important, as is the way we handle our fears and uncertainties. It's not always easy to be positive 100% of the time. It's not always easy to step outside of our comfort zones and try something new with no hesitation. Mentality is everything though and the way we view things can either push us forward or hold us back. Majority of the time it's not the challenges themselves that are stopping us; it's us.
Thank you for reading today's post! I hope that you enjoyed it and were able to relate to it in some way. Cheers to forward movement. Enjoy your weekend! <3