The end of a decade, and beginning of a brand new one! Happy 2020 friends, how crazy is it that we’re at the start of a new decade? I wanted to partake in the 10 year challenge but had MAJOR cringe moments just looking at the photos so I decided against it haha.
I’ve always been a believer that we each have a path, and that any obstacles that happen in our life are meant for a reason- to teach us something valuable, to make us stronger, more grateful, or to set us on a better path.
So as I charge forward into a new decade of possibilities, here are some lessons from the past decade that I’m bringing forth into 2020:
Trust your gut + feel fear, but let it go
I used to think fear was a bad thing. But fear is actually a fantastic thing. Fear is a catalyst for growth. I loved biology growing up and I always remember the body’s fight or flight response lesson. When your adrenaline piques at times of fear, do you run away or do you charge forward?
There’s also this quote from Beyoncé and it goes something along the lines of – when you’re sad or feel bad for yourself, allow yourself to feel those emotions through and through for a day and then get up the next day and move forward. I try to stay positive as much as I can, no matter the situation.
I look at old photos from back when I was in high school and it’s so fascinating to recall who I was as a person 10 years ago.
How I felt about myself, my opinions/whether I even had opinions, my confidence level, my hopes and dreams, everything!
Some things are the same now but I’m so glad that in the past 10 years, for the most part, I’ve trusted my gut in most of my decisions and tried my best to never let fear be a factor to stop me.
Have an Idea? Go For It
If there’s a quality I pride myself most with is that when I have an idea, I usually jump in and leave myself very little time to talk myself out of it.
That quality over the years has helped propel me to my greatest accomplishments, but also at times an idea that wasn’t properly developed.
I’ve heard a lot of stories of not feeling ready enough for something (heck, I still feel like that at times too), or spending too much time hashing an idea to perfection (which is not necessarily attainable), or having imposter syndrome (which I struggle with from time to time as well).
Many times, Instagram depicts life through rose coloured glasses. You very rarely see the grit and downs being shown online because, I mean, nobody feels excited to share about the tough times.
I’d rather jump on an idea and know the outcome of it instead of always wondering what could’ve happened if I took a chance. I hope you find it in you to do the same if you’ve got an idea burning inside.
Let Go Of Needing Control
I used to be a control freak, like I’d have plan A,B,C for something just in case and do my best to make sure that everything goes according to plan, and if it doesn’t, I’d feel terrible.
But life isn’t like that.
There’s a saying, worrying about the future takes away from the present – a saying I relate to all too well.
If there’s anything I’ve learned over the past 10 years is that I can plan everything to a T, and not everything will go according to plan.
But that’s the beauty of it.
I still can’t wrap my head around how I was just finishing high school 10 years back, and feeling so scared, yet optimistic about college, and love (I didn’t have a boyfriend in high school and was pretty certain I’d be alone forever), and moving abroad to a whole new country on my own trying to pave a career and a life.
I’d plan to go to the states, but ended up in Canada
I’d plan to be an actress, did background and it wasn’t for me
I’d plan to start a blog- that worked out though
I’d plan to get on TV, got my first gig at 19 and then got kicked out of that gig
And the list goes on
I planned my life out so much but looking back, everything worked out beautifully even though it wasn’t in the exact order that I planned it out to be.
So give yourself time to grow and make mistakes, to find out what you love, and to change paths if you realize you don’t love what you thought you loved anymore. I make time to practice gratitude for the things I do have instead of what I don’t.
I always felt like it was a ‘choose this and that’s it deal’ and it was very stressful because we change as we go through life and your goals and dreams can change too.
Being Present is the Greatest Gift
Being present in the moment is still something I’m working on, but I feel like I’m getting much better at it.
The past year especially was a year to rebuild but I also have been wanting to focus more on myself and growing *me* internally and not just in my career. I’ve taken time to rest and put my mental health as a priority to I can practice more self-love.
Side note,
I LEARNED TO SWIM! Which is a big deal for me because I weirdly love water sports even though I couldn’t float before. It was a personal goal I had for so long and last year, thanks to Elbert’s motivating as well, I finally pushed and took classes with my friend.
In the last class, I jumped into the deep end 5 times just because and I’m so excited to spend my summer this year swimming in lakes and all that fun stuff.
So I’ve made it a goal to be more present this year and to work on myself a lot more- like, I think it’s time I learn to ride a bicycle and ski. Never too late!
You’re going to have Crap Seasons, but you’ll get through
It’s just life.
We all have crap moments and it’s not always sunshine and rainbows, and it’s just something we have to deal with.
I go to church and I’m not the perfect person, but I do find peace, love and strength through prayer. It’s gotten me through really hard and doubtful times and I’m very grateful for this aspect of my life. When I feel down, I like to start a list of everything I’m grateful for; reflecting helps to put my problems into perspective.
Hard times can also mean times where you don’t know what you’re doing in life. I get those for sure and it comes in waves.
What am I doing? Am I doing what I’m supposed to be doing?
Is there something better I should be doing? Why am I not doing enough?
Tough moments will come, but I find solace in a strong support system- family, friends to get through any season.
Anyhoo, I wanted to share these with you in case you’re feeling the same. Cheers to a new year friends, it’s going to be a fantastic one!
Happy 2020!
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Till next time,
xoxo Sam