Love yourself more.

A couple of posts ago, I discussed my process in being joyful in every season of life even when I'm ready for that season to be over.

So I'm still on that journey in finding contentment and joy no matter what life throws at you. Even if life is turning out way different than you thought/planned it would. What I've learned on this journey is that being content/joyful in all circumstances also means loving and respecting yourself flaws and all.  It's pretty hard to find contentment when you are drained and not taking care of yourself. It's easy to forget that healthy self worth is so much more than just knowing that it's on the inside that counts.

Self worth is:

1. Knowing what unique wonderful qualities you have that are all your own and utilizing them every day.

2. Knowing to say no to things you don't want to do and don't have to do. Your time is precious and using your free time to do things that make you happy isn't selfish.

3.  Drawing boundaries. You're worth it to not let people walk all over you.

4. Not settling. Knowing what you you have earned and what you deserve.

5. Despite your flaws, you are still worthy of love. Knowing the Lord loves me unconditionally helps a bad day feel better.

6. Going after your goals. Carpe that diem.

7. Taking care of yourself. I've written multiple posts on self care so I'm not going to hop on that soapbox.

8. Reaching out for people. Who is that person in life you can turn to no matter what?

9. I'm tired of lists. You catch my drift.

Self worth is so much more than knowing that you are beautiful inside and out (which you are-don't ever forget it!). I truly believe having a strong sense of who you are and what you bring to the table can help you find contentment in all of life's circumstances. Here's to loving ourselves more. Who's with me?!

Regrets

So I created this blog from the inspiration of one little phrase my brother told a month before he passed away. "You gotta live man". He was encouraging me to take risks, loosen up, and just enjoy life more. At that point in my life, I was very much wrapped up in achieving, checking things off my "life checklist" without stopping to notice what a beautifully messy and wonderful world we live in.

Obviously, Tyler's death was a huge wake up call that life is precious and about so much more than accomplishing things. So I started taking his advice. I started being more invested in life and took chances. I let go a little more of the "shoulds" and started focusing on what I wanted to do. And I truly feel like letting loose a little more has made me enjoy life so much more.

The thing about taking chances though, is sometimes we have regrets. Things don't turn out the way we want them to. Sometimes when we live in the moment, we make rash decisions that we wind up regretting. You find yourself thinking "Man. I should have thought that one through a little more." Or my classic approach of humming to myself until the thought goes away.

So what do we do when we let go of our inhibitions but then regret it? The way I see it, we have two choices….we can stew on it, go back into our bubble, and play it safe for the rest of our lives.  Or we can shrug it off, count it as a lesson learned and make it part of our story and keep on keeping on.

Choice A is safe, it's comfortable, and it's easy. Choice B is harder. It's harder to laugh off a regret than you think it is. And it may be years before the regret is something you can tell as a funny story. What I have learned venturing out of my bubble after spending years there? The bubble is safe but at the end of my life is that what I wanted my story to say? Will I say on my deathbed man I'm so glad I played it safe my whole life? Nope. So here's to taking chances, making mistakes, letting go of perfectionism and living. Life is a grand adventure. Go explore. You gotta live man.