“Thirty, flirty and thriving.” That’s what my sister-in-law Charlotte wrote inside my birthday card. I like it. Especially the thriving part. I feel like that’s a great way to describe how I feel as I cross over into my third decade of living. As I paddled around Trout Lake last evening, I contemplated some of the best lessons that I have learned over the last 30 years. I have to say that I am very excited that I get to carry these lessons throughout the rest of my days, knowing that they will help immensely in whatever is to come. A grab bag of coping skills so to speak.
As I made my way around the little island on my board, I compiled a short list of my most prominent “aha moments” as of late…as of turning 30. I’ll keep ‘em short and sweet. I'll also divide them up into a series of posts. This way, you can [hopefully] take something away from them and perhaps think about how each one may or may not resonate with you. Here we go: Let Your Freak Flag Fly (and don't overthink it) You’ve probably heard the saying “you do you baby, you do you.” I think I finally started letting me be me in my late 20s. I was a funny, quirky kid growing up. Somewhere in the mix though, I started to try to fit in and to say and do "all the right" things. You hear it all the time that people will appreciate you more if you present the truest version of yourself to the world. No, not everyone will like you but honestly that doesn't matter! The right people will appreciate you. The ones that matter. I think back to grade 9 when we all had to have the same American Eagle jeans and hoodie. Yup, I fell into that. Self expression and being unique is so much more fun and freeing. Sometimes I’ll say or do something that is “uniquely me” and I’ll start to hear that little voice in the back of my head saying “hmmmm…was that a little much maybe?” or “maybe next time you could think twice before you say something like that.” Well, maybe sometimes that little voice does have a point but a lot of the time it does not. You shouldn't believe everything you think. Acknowledge the thought as just a thought, and move on. Like I said, don’t overthink it.
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I was recently interviewed by Ariana Travelstead for a post on her awesome website ~ arianatravelstead.com ~ You can check it out by clicking HERE.
Here is a description directly from the “about” section on her site: “I've been writing and blogging about various subjects since 2008, but in late 2016 something in my heart seriously wasn’t clicking. I needed to further understand my personality and why I couldn't seem to connect to anything deeper than our high-level 'ideal' world highlighted on social media. Where was the raw footage? Where were the stories of being in the valley as opposed to at the peak? Tired of seeing the highlight reel in my own life and in others', it seemed vital to me to create a platform for women to celebrate doing amazing things with their lives beyond having the perfect outfit and body to match. Because success shouldn't be defined by your clothes, the brands you rep or the number of followers you have on social media. At AT, we are redefining success! This site is here to bring you more encouragement, more resources, inspiration and testimonies that celebrate women as they are and not as they should be!” LOVE IT! You can also find Ariana on Insta at @arianatravelstead ~ Check her out! Grab your coffee ☕️ I've got a little story.
This morning I posted this picture on my Instagram account and for whatever reason it got me thinking about body image and self acceptance ~ For years I struggled with both, and when I honestly reflect back I think I also battled with disordered eating. I think having type 1 diabetes also added to this issue. For me at least, having diabetes equates to constantly striving for perfection: “treat yourself right, eat right, workout often, do this, not that!” When you are constantly striving for perfection it becomes pretty easy to start mentally and emotionally beating yourself down. Eventually this search for perfection filtered outside of the diabetes realm: “say the right things, teach the perfect yoga class, etc.” The cherry on top is the media portrayal of “the perfect body.” All those thoughts can pretty quickly turn into a $h!tstorm in your head. So what has helped me? Positive self talk + Self-acceptance I noticed that I really didn’t go easy on myself and I’ve worked on changing that. My quirky personality is what makes me, me. My “big ol’ thighs” are now one of my favourite things about myself. When I feel I didn’t do my best, I look at it as a learning opportunity. Of course I still struggle at times with these things (i.e. last night while trying on clothes at Winners I thought “well the lighting in here is kinda nasty…”) The good thing is I have the knowledge I’ve gained to fall back on and to help set me back on the right track. The bottom line is: Let yourself off the hook. Do you. We are all uniquely human. |
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