I feel as lost as last years Easter egg. Or that one puzzle piece that you are convinced was never in the box to begin with. The car keys. Heck, the parked car at Target. That one sock that eludes the laundry basket – I mean seriously?! How do I manage to lose a sock every.single.time. Where on earth do they go?!
The good news is that I’m clearly not the only one that feels they have lost “Me”. (see Ashley’s post. I was drafting this post and she had just posted her same sentiments hours earlier! no, no we really aren’t twins, it’s just that prevalent of an issue) The bad news is that it appears to be an epidemic among photographers, videographers, graphic designers, interior designers, event planners, florists, musicians, caterers, bakers –infecting each and every component of weddings & event vendors. But wait, it doesn’t stop there. It has also spread amongst the attorneys, teachers, landscapers, police officers, insurance agents, construction workers, physicians, military personnel, social workers, treasurers, boutique owners, restaurant managers, bartenders, the unemployed, farmers and the mailman. Moms. Wives. Sisters. And their male counterparts of course. It’s evident that is’ not a career or lifestyle or town epidemic but in fact a human epidemic. None of us are immune from losing “Me”, and although I don’t know the cure or any preventative measure just yet, I do know that we can get back to “Me” with lots of blood, sweat & tears of determination. I don’t promise it’ll be easy but I do promise it’ll be worth it. It’s got to be. Something has got to give because I cannot continue to allow pieces of me to be taken bit by bit or worse, in one smash & grab- like diamonds during a jewelry heist. Because I liked how they sparkled & shined.
After reading Mary’s (of Justin & Mary) post about her own struggles with comparisons to other photographers, negativity & “the black hole of bitterness” known as Facebook- I thought, “not only is she an incredible photographer & businesswoman but she’s clairvoyant too.” I mean, jeez! she had just repeated every single doubt in my mind as quick as I could think it. She was in my head and in my shoes. I began to contemplate a strategy…and then *poof* she was knocking around in my pea brain again and created a 30 day challenge. And I’m a sucker for a challenge. Originally created to focus on social media and how to free ourselves from negativity and comparisons, the challenge quickly took a life of it’s own and now includes 5 steps towards reviving “Me” including:
–Eliminate the negative. Accentuate the positive. Quite simply, a detox of the social kind. Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Myspace, Classmates, MyLife, whatever your social media site of choice is-ditch it or filter it. This includes real life people… We allow others to ruin our day with their negativity and we allow our own negativity to bring us down. If it doesn’t inspire you, uplift you, make you smile or feel all fuzzy inside, don’t get near it!
–Attitude of Gratitude . We take what we have for granted. Stop and take a minute to think about what you are thankful for every single day. It doesn’t have to be deep and philosophical or lifechanging – if you are happy you found that elusive sock and now have a grand total of 3 matching pairs then shout it out!
-Charting your own course. Sit down, take a deep breath, shut out the world and think about where you want to go in life. Life gets in the way of our dreams & we often must choose between wants & needs, with needs usually coming out on top. What do you truly want? What are you biggest dreams? Your scariest goals? Whether you think you will achieve them or not is irrelevant – because you can & you will..or you will at least grow trying. All you need to do is try.
–See yourself. See yourself for who are becoming. Not who you always have been. The past is the past so we can focus on the future. Say goodbye to the old version of you. Get ready for version 2.0 or 3.0 or whatever you’re working on.
-Let your fears & setbacks move you. We learn as we grow. And if we stop learning we stop growing. Mistakes, failures, pain, fears, decisions – they all give us the opportunity to make choices. Sometimes we choose wisely and other times we don’t. Sometimes we take the easy & safe route and other times we chose the tumultous route. Maybe we follow or decide to walk the path less chosen alone. Regardless of what choices we make, we must live with those decisions & consequences – using the postives and the negatives to our benefit. “Life is 20% what happens to you and 80% how you respond to it”. True that.
Head on over to read Mary’s entire 5 step process and challenge yourself. I dare you. All we need to do is try. Give it some effort. Have good intentions. Even just the slightest change is sure to make a measureable improvement in getting us back to “Me”.
Like all plans, it’s subject to change. And like all challenges it’s not gonna be a piece of cake and not gonna go smoothly. So I intend to make every effort to follow the 5 steps, figure out what works for me and what doesn’t, improvise when needed, pick right back up when I fail…and document it via the blog with the hopes to challenge you, inspire you, let you know what you are not alone. But mainly so I put it out there for myself – my fears, my struggles, my goals, my accomplishments, my likes & dislikes, my strenghs & weaknesses, my personal & professional growth – so I can find me, my happy place, my peeps, my path, my brand – both professional & personal (and that’s called being vulnerable, which covers step #5 Fears & Struggles) I’m well on the way to detoxing my business & my life.
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