Today's blog post is coming straight out of my journal. I wrote it out in long form, in my journal, just for you!
Yesterday, someone that has known me for many years said, "If I didn't know better, I would ask if you were pregnant. You are just Glowing!"
I'm not pregnant. That part of my life is behind me now.
So what is my secret? I'm happy. Real, genuine, bonafide happiness.
How did I get here? That is a great question. The short answer is that I made the decision to be happy no matter what that looked like.
The long answer? With that decision made, I took a calendar year and determined that my focus was to learn to love myself. I learned to care for my body with good nutrition. That required hours of research and testing and I was able to reverse my diagnosis of prediabetes. I did the same with exercise. I learned. I tested. I got stronger. I made a goal to complete my first half marathon. I wanted to finish in under four hours. I trained. I did it. If felt good. I learned to love and accept the person I saw in the mirror every day of that year. I learned to smile at her and remind her that she is beautiful and worthy of all the good things. I searched myself to find the things that I like. I spent so much of my life being plastic and conforming to the preferences of those around me that I lost who I was. I found that I loved shoes and perfume. I remembered how much I loved to cook delicious and beautiful foods. I learned that I loved to color, spend time in the sun and daydream. I took a look at my reactions to life events, comments people made, interactions with family, and the like. I did some self-reflection to see where those automatic reactions came from and if the reasons were still valid in my life. I consciously made changes to my reactions. I focused the non-stop conversation with myself in my head. I worked hard to catch the negative, self-depreciating thoughts and correct them as they came. The hardest lesson of the whole year was the last one. I had built up so much confidence, strength, and happiness within myself and I loved myself so much that I could no longer stay in my current situation and relationship. It was a hard thing for me to do and I did it with tears and sadness, but I left the situation and relationship for good. I knew it was what was best for me and that is why I did it. However, the whole year of loving myself also came with a healthy dose of empathy for others. I realized that I am myself, but I am still human. So is everybody else. I didn't want to hurt the feelings that I knew I was going to hurt by leaving. I did it though, with as much gentleness and compassion as I could. It was a long and eventful year and that last lesson was a whopper, but I did it and I came out stronger, healthier, bolder, and more confident at the end. You can see it in my face...
I didn't have a plan to follow. I didn't have a map or a guide. I didn't have a friend to walk through it with me. I walked this path alone. However, I've always felt that we should share our experiences with others to give them hope, strength, and the courage to get through the hard stuff.
That is why I tell my story and that is why I'm writing self-love journals. I have the map and I want to share it with others. I want everyone to have the strength and courage and self-love to be unapologetically themselves. Be Authentic. Be real. Be You! Start now! Tell yourself how awesome you are! You are fearfully and wonderfully made! You are strong! You have survived 100% of your worst days! You have purpose! You are beautiful! You are incredible! You are worthy! You are!
You are worth the work. If you want to try this journey, get the journals here. If not now, whenever you are ready.
Please remember who you are and that I believe in you!
Much Love,
~Lady Misty