Hello and Happy Wednesday, friends! I’m sorry for my absence from the blog! I ended up getting sick on Sunday, which then carried over to Monday, so I really wasn’t in the mood to get my laptop out and write!
However, I’m back on the blog today to share a post about something I’ve been trying to teach myself: learning to slow down and be present.
I’m a go, go, go kind of person — always have been. I’ve consistently been involved in a lot of different activities, extracurriculars and hobbies throughout my life, none of which were mandatory. I did them because I genuinely enjoyed it, even if it meant my schedule was filled. I like being busy, which explains why you’ll probably never hear me say that I’m bored, because I rarely am.
Since moving back to Cleveland, I’ve been trying to get a better understanding of my life — what I want to do, where I want to work, who I want to be with, that kind of thing. But in the midst of all these life changes that I dove straight into, I’ve started to realize that I’m going way too fast and worrying way too much about the future.
You know that feeling when you’re at the top of a rollercoaster, and you can’t see anything but the sky until you start barreling down a hill at 80 mph? Yeah, that’s how I feel a lot of the time. It’s like, I’m going so fast because I’m overly involved in so many things that I forget to stop. and breathe. and chill out.
Personally, I don’t think my work ethic is ever going to change. I work a lot because I like to work. It is what it is. But I’ve never wanted my work to be the only thing that defines me. The same goes for people who don’t really like to work. If you’re lazy, you’ll probably always be that way unless you have a major epiphany.
Does that make sense?
I’ve never been the kind of person who waits for things to happen to me. Things don’t just happen out of luck — well, at least they never have for me. If you want to make your dreams a reality or land that job you’ve always wanted, what do you need to do? You need to work. Life is magical, but it’s not magical just by sitting around and waiting for things to happen. We have to put in the effort.
I want to learn to be more conscious of the amount of time I leave for my own self care each day, because that shit is important!
I want to learn that it’s okay to step away from a project to de-stress, even when that project is far from finished.
I want to learn to be okay with not working at my job, my other job, or this blog for like, two hours a day LOL.
People often ask me the question that trumps all questions: Why do you do all that stuff if you don’t have to? I do it because I want to create a life for myself that I’m proud of. I want to be able to support myself and my dreams, while still being able to travel and have fun while doing it.
So yeah, I’m taking this whole ‘slowing down and being present’ thing day by day, because it’s difficult for me, but I’m working on it! I think it’s so important to have a balance between work and fun, and I intend to work on that within my life.
Instead of worrying about my future, I’m going to use my energy toward more immediate things, like what’s for dinner or should I do a face mask tonight. Planning ahead is great and everything, but living in the present and allowing yourself to let go is so much more fun!
This year, it’s all about taking better care of myself in all facets of my life. Although I’ve been thrown a lot of changes in the past couple weeks, I’m looking forward to seeing the person I become because of them.
What’s something you plan to work on this year? I would love to hear about it in the comments below!
Until next time, lovely internet friends!
Alicia <3