Read this if you're feeling behind in life
No matter how much stuff I do, it never feels enough. My inner critic is very loud and I am sure many of you can relate to this feeling of being “behind” in life, guilty of procrastinating and comparing yourself to a handful of “successful” people. It’s very easy to go down this rabbit hole and focus on the negative, but what’s the point?
So I decided to write this shameless post of self-love to celebrate myself and all the amazing things I was able to accomplish this summer. And I’m encouraging YOU to create a similar list for yourself! It's something I‘m now doing on a regular, because I’m no longer waiting for someone else to tell me how amazing and worthy I am.
Here is a short list of my awesomeness from this summer:
1️⃣ I took care of my body & mental health. I did 60+ HIIT runs despite earlier convincing myself that I hate running and just not built for it. I also did hundreds of km of bike riding, 30+ yoga classes and many hours of hiking. It didn’t seem like a lot on a daily basis, but looking back I’m saying holy sh*t! I’m so proud of myself!
2️⃣ I launched a kick-ass podcast with amazing human and a life coach Veronica. For the first time, I am doing something with the intention to serve others and not just myself. And this, I might say, feels like true north in my compass of life.
3️⃣ I made early rising a part of my daily routine, and this helped me make more time for connecting with nature, learning new things, reflecting and deepening my relationship with self.
4️⃣ I fell in love with meditating, and now do it twice a day. Seeing how needy my ego is and detaching myself from it helped me recognize my wholeness and enoughness. I now know what it means to find joy in just being.
5️⃣ I opened myself up to dating and learned a thing or two about benching, orbiting, breadcrumbing, ghosting (ouch!) and other common practices on this market that can be quite damaging for a fragile self-esteem. Srsly, I was clueless 🤷🏼♀️ But now I’m pretty clear on what I am looking for, and who I need to become to attract the qualities I want to see in a potential partner.
6️⃣ I started owning my imperfections, and recognized my addictions to avoidance, control and external validation. They didn’t go away btw, but I’m working on catching and toning them down every single day.
7️⃣ I got in touch with my emotional needs and found the guts to have difficult conversations and establish boundaries with several people. I got better at seeing and addressing manipulative behaviours. I learned to speak my truth and say “no” when I mean it.
8️⃣ I allowed myself to travel during Covid times and spent a few days doing absolutely nothing. I deepened my old friendships, and made new ones. I invested in experiences, and treated myself to a few material things I wouldn’t allow myself to have before.
9️⃣ I stopped watching Netflix. I now rarely watch the news and became selective about my sources. I overall became a lot more mindful about the info I consume (still need to do better on IG though 🤦♀️)
🔟 Most importantly, I finally understood the importance of putting myself first, and got much closer to not giving a flying f*ck about how other people think I should look, talk, think, spend my money and live my life.
Being selfish with the right intentions can be a wonderful decision, telling ya! We all know we must put a mask on ourselves first before helping others 😷
So give yourself some love. Don’t underestimate your accomplishments. Don’t be shy about them. Own them. Claim them. Celebrate them.🎉🎉🎉
Any kind deed, word or thought counts. Resting and doing nothing counts too.
What were you able to do this summer for yourself or for others that you are proud of?
Today is a good day for some reflection and self-love. Because if not now, then when??
Drop me a line to share what you came up with? And if your list is not looking so great, let’s work on making it shine together!
Xoxo Olena