Mental Rejuvination

I have a curse.  Clearly this curse only allows me to post twice a year (*ahem* procrastination).  But the biggest reason I have to write right now is having a revelation.  After feeling a bit down and discouraged the past couple of days I'm pleased to say I am extremely rejuvinated.  This is not the "I went to the spa and had a massage and facial" rejuvination kind of way, although that would be nice. This is the I got my negative nancy thoughts off of my chest and out of my mind and recieved advice on how to put the pep back in my step.

I have the fortune of having an extremely wonderful core group of people that I can talk to. After talking to a wonderful woman about my fears and apprehensions about my future she pointed out that you can indeed be your own destruction. Now, this is quite a concept for me....how could I possibly be my own destruction? Luckily I am a huge advocate of constructive criticism.  So here are things that were pointed out to me, and things I vow to change.

1. Don't Compare Yourself to Others:  This is so hard to not do.  You see someone in a position you want you are naturally going to compare yourself to them.  What are they doing that I can't do?  What makes them so special?  etc. etc.   This is bad because you stop focusing on perfecting your own being.  You stop focusing on getting your skills and mindset in the right place.  So my goal is to stop comparing myself to people and instead ask them to teach me so that I can absorb their knowledge and exptertise. 
2. Be Aware of Your Surroundings: It is easy to let everyday become mundane.  To get stuck in a rut and a routine.  Obviously this is negative.  You get bored and become robatic, people can tell you are only going through the motions because you have to.  Find something to ignite your passion again and it will make your task that much more exciting.
3. Spread Positivity:  This pretty much speaks for itself.  Be postive and it is going to rub off.  Smile at everyone, even if they look like grumpy cat.

While this is not everything I took out of my heart to heart last night these are the important ones to me.  It is easy to get down on oneself, to tell yourself that you aren't cut out for something or to generally mak yourself feel like crap.  I'm reading a book by Kelly Cutrone titles If You Have to Cry Go Outside: And Other Things Your Mother Never Told You in which she says.

This is an important lesson to remember when you're having a bad day, a bad month, or a shitty year.  Things will change: you won't feel this way forever. And anyway, sometimes the hardest lessons to learn are the ones your soul needs the most.  I belive you can't feel real joy unless you've felt heartache.  You can't have a sense of victory unless you know what it means to fail.  You can't know what it's like to feel holy until you know what it's like to feel really fucking evil. 

 I've read this book before and I'm reading it again because she is a powerhouse woman.  Every woman should have some kind of powerhouse woman in their life, if not many.  She inspires and reminds me that everyone is going to have a discouraging day (some worse than others) but those moments will make you appreciate the sweet ones even more.

Tough lady, but inspiring. Kelly Cutrone

One last note on power women.  I have the fortune of having many powerhouse women in my life.  This is probably much of the reason that I am as strong as I am.  But I have to shoutout this particular one because I believe it is a sign that I ran into her today.  From 6th-8th grade I had the same English/Literature teacher. She challenged me academically, strengthened my writing skills and made me love school.  The things she taught me I carried with me throughout my entire academic career.  She was one of my inspirations, a strong and smart woman.  I had long desired to find a way to tell her how much she impacted my life, but never had a way.  I think the universe works in mysterious ways since in a 24 hour time span I was able to have a revelation about looking up and then I was able to run into a major influence in my life, which reminded me that I am going to continue to grow.