Dear Me,
As you are getting older, you are becoming more realistic, financially stable and satisfied with your life. You are making major life choices, and while that is great, there are a few things I hope you never forget. You have spent masses of time learning a few lessons that are vital to a prosperous life, and these vital lessons have helped to shape the person you have become. While continuing to learn to wear heels is at the top of the growth list, here are a few things that we have (pretty much) under control.
Pray every day.
God should be number one in your life, and I hope you have kept Him there. Prayer is your lifeline to God, and without that conversation each and every day, you will slowly begin to drift from His ways. While other things will come up, from jobs, appointments, to major life events, God should be a key component of life each and every day. Stay humble and He will continue to feed you spiritually. He tells you, "Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10). He does not say, "Freak out because the world is coming to an end because you burnt dinner and the dog is ripping up the floors." Don't tie God's hands. Keep up your relationship with Him. Read morning and night, do right by others, stay faithfully obedient to His calling and His word, and do not falter from anywhere that He places you and most importantly, pray every day.
Confidence is key to life.
As a woman, you will face the struggles of men making more money than you do, and typically the man will get hired over you. It is life and you cannot change the actions of other people, so don't take it personally. Keep you head held high and remember your value and your worth. Confidence will take you much further than you could ever dream of. Get up every day, do your hair, put your makeup on, dress in your cutest attire and remember that God created you for much more than what you're doing right now, so be confident.
Remember where you came from.
Remember that back home you may be a big fish in a small pond because that tiny town watched you grow up and they are cheering you on from the sidelines of you life. Do not forget about everyone who has helped you along the way and remind yourself of the tiniest details of their massive life lessons that you did not even think twice about at the time. Remember that your best friend is waiting on you to text her and set up the next lunch date, because you have always been the planner and you are the busiest between the two of you. She misses you, and you know that she is scared of bothering you, so you need to take the initiative and make it happen. Remember to call and check on everyone you said you would. Yes, they will forgive you when you don't (just like every other time), but it will completely brighten their day when you make that call. Remember all of the fun times and smile.
Keep marching on.
The rain will fall and the storms will come, but there is a rainbow coming afterwards. Nothing in life will come easy. Take the hard times day by day, month by month, and year by year. There will be good days and bad days. As long as you keep marching on, the good days will outweigh the bad ones. There will be days that you do not feel like eating salad and taking that walk, but you had a cheeseburger yesterday and a steak the day before that and you had Zaxby's for lunch, and you really just want Chinese food for dinner because sesame chicken has been on your mind for a week.
Keep marching on. Eat the salad and take the walk because you will thank yourself later on in life. When you wreck your car and you have missed a week of work from being sick and you have no idea how the ends are going to meet this month, keep marching on. Life has highs and life has lows and having the ability to remain calm think with a level-head and stable mindset will be helpful when you find yourself in a pinch. Keep marching on. There will be mornings that your jeans do not fit like they should and your favorite top is at the bottom of the dirty clothes hamper. Keep marching on. Life will get better, but it takes positivity to make anything better.
Remind yourself of your why.
The why has become so important lately. Your why is the reason you slump off to work each and every morning, and the secret behind rolling out of the bed at 5 a.m. This why will change often. However, remembering your why will give you purpose each day and will continue to remind you that your life has meaning, value and possibility. Write about your why and meditate on your why and become focused on that part of your life.
Fixate on positivity and happiness.
It has been my mantra that you choose your happiness, and when you choose happiness you are also choosing positivity. The two complement each other. Happiness follows positivity, which follows happiness, and the circle is never ending. Find those animals, people, and lifestyle choices that make you happy, and bring positivity into your life. Think of those things that make you smile and keep them in your life. Who cares if you are the crazy dog lady? As long as you are happy and all the dogs get along and are up to date on their shots, have as many as you can financially afford without moving the dogs and all of your belongings under the closest bridge.
Leave frenemies behind -- now!
Cut the poison out of your life, and end those toxic friendships because they are bringing negativity into your life and your personality cannot handle negative people with a negative outlook on life. Frenemies will only bring you down in the end, so break up with those friends as quickly as possible. Positivity is fed through the relationships you foster and the influences allowed in your life. Frenemies are not worth a life filled with positivity and happiness. People, frenemies, will suck the happiness from you. When people with negative energy surround you, you too will begin to think negatively and will fixate on the negative. Steer clear of all things negative and whenever necessary or possible, remove the negative from you life.
I know this is a lot to remember. But these are valuable lessons that have helped shape who you are. Life is about moving forward, learning from those teachable life moments, and learning something new each and every day. Find the sunshine in the rain and always top your biscuits with gravy.
Xoxo,
Me.
