intentional living

51% SURE

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Okay friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday post I wanted to talk about something that has been on my mind lately. I have shared recently how I have been struggling a bit lately. Some of that has been trying to figure out what exactly I’m doing with my life. I have really enjoyed sharing creative content on my YouTube channel the last four years, but I’ll be honest, I have been feeling a bit burnt out with it lately and struggling to know what to share as I have been feeling like I have exhausted a lot of the ideas I had when I started my channel. I had a lot of spaces in my home that I was working on getting decluttered and organized and I shared that process throughout the years on my channel, but now I have gotten to maintenance mode, which affords me more time and margin in my life. I’m trying to figure out what exactly I want to do with that time. 

As someone who overthinks things, and struggles to make decisions, I am struggling to know what to do moving forward. I still really enjoy creating content and I would like to continue to share in some capacity on my YouTube channel, and other media platforms, but I am pondering other ideas I would like to pursue in life. And I wanted to share with you an inspiring principle I learned about on a podcast I recently listened to where Mel Robbins was interviewing Steven Bartlett, who is a British entrepreneur and podcaster. He talked about this idea of taking risks when making decisions. He explained that so many people want 100% (or near 100%) certainty that the decision they are making is the right decision. He suggested that we really only need to be 51% sure about something to go for it. He said oftentimes when we make these decisions we need to recognize that most of the time they are reversible so we might as well try! This perspective really inspired me! Because I overthink things, I am definitely the type of person who wants more certainty than just 51%, but if we don’t take risks we likely won’t be successful! Taking more risks leads to more likelihood of success, which makes sense just from a statistics standpoint!

One thing that can be challenging when we want to pursue something new or change direction in life is motivation. It is much easier, and more comfortable to continue doing what we are doing. We can end up on autopilot, which is beneficial in some ways. It requires less decisions and is predictable. On the other hand, autopilot causes us to kind of float through life and may prevent us from being intentional. Living on autopilot doesn’t allow room for growth. We grow outside of our comfort zone. But, back to this idea of needing motivation to grow and change and get outside of our comfort zone… Maybe instead of doing some big thing to make a change, we start with something small. We can’t make a change until we take a step towards change, and that step can be a small one.

Today I was listening to another podcast by Mel Robbins, obviously I’m a big fan of hers so I highly recommend checking out her YouTube channel. I linked that interview with Steven Bartlett above. In the podcast today she was talking about this very idea of the importance of just getting started. She was sharing this analogy of how when you put tulips in a vase, they will begin to bend to the direction of the sunlight. She suggested we need to “bend towards the light” – bend towards whatever change we are trying to make in life. If we just stay where we are, we will not grow or thrive!

I hope this post encouraged or inspired you in some way today! Leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts!

Here is the YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post.

GET UNCOMFORTABLE

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Okay friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday post I wanted to talk about something I shared a little bit about in an Instagram Reel and a YouTube short earlier this week, but I wanted to take some time to elaborate on this topic. I shared how it is human nature to fight for what is comfortable. To fight for the path of least resistance. To fight for the familiar. But just because that feels natural, doesn’t mean that’s what’s best for us. Sometimes in the comfortable we become robotic. We stop being present. We stop engaging with our lives. What if the fulfilling life you want happens when you get uncomfortable?

You might have heard that it is common for people who were abused as children to gravitate towards those types of abusive relationships as an adult. I don’t think it’s because they are sadistic, I think it’s because as humans we tend to gravitate towards what we know, what feels normal, or what feels safe. This can be true even if that may be toxic. We must fight against the toxic narratives that were programmed into us.

It’s not easy to change behavior or thought patterns. A great analogy is likening our thought patterns to creating a pathway, like a roadway in our minds. When we keep traveling down the same path over and over – that route becomes like a highway. It is so much easier to travel on that highway than to take side roads or back ways. But as you work to change your thought patterns and go down the new way, the healthier way of thinking, THAT pathway over time becomes the predominant thought process instead.

We must be patient with ourselves. In order to stop fighting for what is familiar and do something different, it takes time and work. Retraining our minds is not easy and it doesn’t happen overnight. Most people don’t like to hear the truth that we grow and change slowly, organically over time. Especially in our fast paced culture where everything is a click away, we are impatient and want quick fixes. We must learn to submit to the fact that personal growth just doesn’t work that way. 

It’s not easy to be uncomfortable. It’s not easy to change and grow. There is a reason when children grow and have physical pain we call it “growing pains.” It hurts to grow, and no one likes pain. But that pain should remind you that you are making progress! When we workout our muscles get sore. That is a sign that our muscles are growing. They are sore because they were stretched and pushed to the limit, but the outcome is we are stronger!

As I look back over my life, I am reminded time and time again that when I have stepped out of my comfort zone and did something scary that has led to the most fulfilling experiences in my life! I know it’s hard to do something uncomfortable or scary, but it’s also hard living a passive life where you feel like you’re just on a treadmill going nowhere! You choose your hard!

Well friends, I hope what I shared with you today was encouraging or maybe challenged you! As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on my thoughts down in the comments!

Here is the YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post!

INTENTIONAL LIVING, VALUING EXPERIENCES OVER THINGS

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Hey friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday post I wanted to talk about part of my life ethos with regard to intentional living. Part of choosing to live intentionally for me is valuing experiences over things. Some people may say that when you spend money on an experience, it is over after that experience is over, whereas with things you will have it for as long as you would like. But I would argue that experiences actually last you a lifetime. You will always have the memories you make. I think now more than ever it’s important to be intentional about spending time with family and friends, or even by yourself off of screens!

This year I am turning 50 years old. I was joking with some friends that some people celebrate their birthday week or even their birthday month, but Joy is going to celebrate her birthday year! I plan to do lots of traveling in 2024 as I am focusing on this principle of experiences over stuff!

We recently returned from a family ski vacation in the mountains. The mountains are for sure my happy place! I love skiing for lots of reasons, one being the peace I feel on top of a mountain and as I ski down. There is nothing like the sound of silence in the mountains. The mountains are a place that also moves me emotionally and spiritually. There were several times where I just started crying because of my awe of the beauty and majesty of the mountains. That feeling really can’t be replicated.

I also wanted to share a little story about some of the things that went wrong on our trip. This seems to be a theme for our ski trips! I shared a ski vlog a couple of years ago on my YouTube channel, which I can link below, and you can listen to the stories I told from the adventures of that ski trip! But I wanted to throw in here this idea that it’s okay when things go wrong or we endure hardships when we prioritize experiences. I’m learning that just goes along with the territory and it can teach us lessons as well!

So, it was snowing when we entered the resort. Our condo was at the top of a hill on a small road which had not been plowed. AND we don’t have four wheel drive… you can probably tell where this story is going. We tried getting up the hill from two different entrances AND we tried helping push the vehicle up the hill while my husband hit the gas, to no avail! So, we decided we would park in the parking lot of the resort and walk our stuff the 400 yards or so up the hill to the condo! I have never experienced altitude sickness, but I think between working hard carrying bags up a hill immediately upon entering the mountains, and also not really getting enough to eat or hydration for the day since we were driving all day, made me more susceptible to getting sick. That night, in the middle of the night I got a text from my son saying he felt really sick too. I was then wide awake, not feeling well myself but also worried about him. I tried to get up to go to the bathroom, but took two steps before I passed out. I called for my husband to help me and I was trying to stand up again and passed out again! I woke up to him standing over me asking if I was okay. I was like, no I can’t stay conscious haha! He helped me get back into bed, gave me electrolytes, and a trash can cuz I was feeling nauseous. Sorry for the TMI, I did end up throwing up, but felt better after that. I thought for sure I wouldn’t be  able to ski the next day but surprisingly I was able to rally! Unfortunately my son felt sick for most of the trip and was only able to ski one half day of the three we were skiing!

Also, the morning we were supposed to leave it was predicted to accumulate close to 11 inches of snow, so we tried to get out as quickly as possible! It was a little precarious, but we did in fact make it out of the resort and down the mountain and then home safely!

One other thing I wanted to share with regards to valuing experiences: look for opportunities to experience whimsy. I find that I basically turn into a five year old child who is enamored with whimsy when I’m in the snow! Maybe this is a result of living in a climate where I rarely get to see snow, but nevertheless, it reminds me of the importance of finding joy in the little things in life. Look for moments or opportunities to experience playfulness. Sometimes we need to just stop taking ourselves so seriously!

Here is the YouTube video I posted in conjunction with this blog post.

DO YOU WANT OPTIONS OR FREEDOM

/ OrganizedWithJoy / 3 Comments

Okay friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday I wanted to talk about something that I have been thinking about with regards to minimalism. I have talked frequently about my quest to simplify my life. I’m sure many of you who have been around for a while know that I have spent several years decluttering our home. I’m finally getting to a point where I have reached maintenance mode.

One big lesson I have learned from this process is the idea that we have a choice between options or freedom. What I mean by this, is we can have a lot of options in any given personal possessions category, or we can have freedom from those items. Take clothing as an example. We can have a closet full of clothes, which offers us lots of options, but it comes at the expense of freedom – of time, choosing what to wear can be more difficult with more options, and it also takes more time to maintain a larger wardrobe.

You might have heard people talking about how paralyzing making decisions can be these days because of our options. The internet offers us so many options – from different types of jeans to purchase, to job opportunities, to dating partners. Having endless options can be overwhelming and take up a lot of mental capacity to sift through all of the information presented to us to make a decision on any given thing.

I have been thinking about how as we pursue minimalism, we must decide which categories are important for us personally to have options and which it’s important to have freedom. This will be different for each person since we all have different interests and passions. Maybe you don’t cook or bake much, so you can have far less kitchen and pantry inventory on hand – giving you more freedom to spend time on other things. There are some people who find that freedom is more important than options in most categories of possessions. But we must each decide what works best for us and for our families.

For me, I used to have lots of extra decor on hand. I loved decorating for each season and rotating out different decor, but as I age I’m realizing I would rather own a smaller collection of items I truly really love and rotate them less frequently. I choose the freedom of not switching out decor often and having that time to pursue other things.

Everything we own will cost us. It will of course cost us the initial monetary price, but then it will cost us time and energy to clean, maintain, organize, and store these items. It will also cost us the mental energy of one day perhaps deciding to declutter that item. 

I was especially thinking about this as I put away my Christmas decor this year. I realized it really was quite simple to put everything away because of how much I have pared down my holiday decor. And I have several transitional pieces that can stay up through the winter.

Stuff can own us, or we can own the stuff. I have learned that it is a balance trying to decide what’s important enough to have options and where I want freedom instead. The longer I pursue minimalism and simple living, the more I become drawn to freedom over options! Each of us must decide what works best for us, our lifestyles, and our families!

The YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post.

CONSTANT STIMULATION + DIGITAL DETOX

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Okay friends, for this week’s Thoughtful Thursday post I wanted to talk about something I have been thinking about recently. I have been thinking about how easy it is for us these days to be overstimulated. We are exposed to constant stimulation and therefore are prone to frequently multi-tasking. I know for me, when I have a day where I am doing multiple things at once all day my brain gets more easily tired. In addition to that, sometimes I feel like I’m not as efficient or producing quality work when I multitask.

For me, my anxiety causes me to easily get overstimulated. As a mom of three, I got used to constantly multitasking to make sure everyone’s needs were met in a timely way. Over time this took a toll on my mind. I can still multitask, but I feel like I have residual effects from that time period in my life when my kids were younger and I was trying to do so many things at once.

I recognize that we sometimes need to multitask, especially as moms. But I have been thinking about some intentional things I wanted to start implementing into my life in order to live at a slower pace and train my brain to focus on one thing at a time, and really enjoy what I’m working on and being present in the moment. If you have been around for a while, you may have heard me say don’t wait until the new year to make a resolution towards change. As we approach the new year, it could be easy for me to just wait until January to implement these new habits, but I am choosing to start today. I encourage others not to wait, but to start once you realize a new habit needs to be incorporated into your routines. So, that is what I am doing today.

I have talked before about how I use Sunday as a true Sabbath – a day off of work. I don’t do housework, or YouTube work. I mostly stay off social media on this day (with the exception of talking to people in Instagram chat). I really think this social media detox, or digital detox one day a week has been beneficial for me. I want to continue this practice of getting on social media apps very minimally on Sundays. I would like to incorporate more prolonged periods of staying off social media, which I do plan to do in the new year. I’m still in the process of figuring out how that could look as someone who shares creative content.

Something I implemented today is to sometimes eliminate background noise. I have this habit of constantly putting in my ear buds – watching Marco Polo videos, watching YouTube videos, listening to podcasts, or listening to music. I do these things as a passive activity while I’m doing some other somewhat passive activity – like cleaning, doing laundry, cooking, checking email, or even some parts of editing a YouTube video. This week I have started to take out my ear buds more and experience the thing I’m doing. Even if it is a “boring” thing, I want to learn to enjoy these boring mundane tasks that need to get done. Also, when I’m constantly ingesting input, it’s hard to process everything fully. I’m doing everything in a passive way, not fully experiencing it. I have found that when my mind is not overstimulated it has time for creativity, meditation, presence, and processing.

Something else I plan to implement is a night time routine that doesn’t include my phone. I have always had a night time routine, but I want to focus more on slowing down and unwinding. Putting my phone down, taking a hot shower or bath, drinking some herbal tea, reading or journaling, and applying all of my nighttime facial products! I think it helps to get better sleep if we slow down at night, don’t expose ourselves to blue light, and do activities that are calming and don’t overstimulate us.

Moving into the new year I definitely want to be intentional with my time and energy. I don’t want to just go through my days on autopilot, but I want to enjoy the everyday things that need to get done. Let me know if any of this resonates with you and what are your ideas to prevent constant overstimulation? There are certainly more things I could do to prevent constant stimulation, but I want to focus on just a couple things right now to make the habits lasting!

Here is the video I posted in conjunction with this blog post!

GRACE IN HOMEMAKING

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Okay friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday post I wanted to address something that some of my girlfriends and I were talking about this week. We were talking about this idea that there are different seasons in life that allow for different abilities and different bandwidth for homemaking.

I wonder if some people come to my YouTube channel and see my organized spaces, see my tidy home, hear me talking about my disciplined homemaking schedule and think to themselves: I don’t have the bandwidth for that. Guess what, I have not always had the bandwidth for the way I live now! We are all in different seasons of life, have different responsibilities and obligations, and we all have different abilities. Some of you may have a chronic illness, or depression, or other health conditions that limit what you can do in this season in life. You may have young children with busy schedules, or you have other priorities and commitments outside of your home – whether that is a job or an organization you’re involved in. I just want to let you know, if you visit my YouTube channel, you are seeing one stage in my life. You are seeing the stage of life where I have more margin in my life. My kids are older now and more independent, and in addition to that, ever since Covid I have not been involved in as many things I once used to be involved in. I have enjoyed this slower pace of life, and so have been more intentional with my schedule and what commitments I will make moving forward.

Check out my YouTube channel if you have not already!

Thirteen years ago I went through some health issues that affected my ability to be productive. I had pretty severe anxiety and debilitating acid reflux for quite a while before I learned about my food sensitivities and some of my hormonal imbalances. During that time in life, which was also when my kids were in middle and elementary school, and my husband traveled a lot for his job often leaving me essentially to be a single parent, I had to evaluate realistically what I could do. It’s in these more difficult seasons of life that we must give ourselves grace with regards to homemaking. Sometimes just keeping people alive is enough!

While I have always had a schedule, even when my kids were very young, I have also allowed myself flexibility based on what commitments we had in each stage of life. While I have always incorporated deep cleaning and decluttering in my schedule, it certainly didn’t happen as regularly as it does now. There were some weeks when my kids were younger that I just didn’t have the bandwidth to get it done. In those seasons I had to prioritize other things – like my kids activities, volunteering, and other obligations outside of the home. 

If you have watched my channel over it’s lifetime (which by the way I officially had my four year YouTube anniversary on November 1st!), you will have seen the transformation of my home. While I did my best to keep our home clean, organized, and tidy while my kids were growing up, that wasn’t my priority then. But since starting my channel 4 years ago, with my kids older and more independent, I have done a lot of organizing projects and a lot of decluttering, which I only now have had the time to be intentional about. It took us 27 years of marriage to accumulate all of the things we have today, and it has taken me the last 8 years or so of prioritizing decluttering and organizing to get my home to where it is today. I organized and decluttered our spaces little by little over time, it didn’t happen overnight.

I did want to share this with you to let you know that anything I share on my YouTube channel or my blog comes from a place of where I am in my season of life. I share with you tips and things that have helped me as I get my home decluttered and organized, but I fully understand that not everyone is in a season where they have time to devote to these things. This is why I am such a big advocate for doing things a little at a time, and being intentional about what comes into your home! 

I hope if you are in a season where you don’t have as much bandwidth for homemaking, that you would give yourself grace today. I truly hope anything I share is inspirational to you and doesn’t make you feel discouraged because you can’t do things the way I do them. I only share to inspire and motivate! If you are in a more difficult season, where you don’t have as much time or energy – just be encouraged that seasons change! They always do!

Check out the YouTube video that I shared in conjunction with this blog post!

BEING THANKFUL FOR THE LITTLE THINGS

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Okay friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday post I thought it was fitting to talk about thankfulness since it is the first Thursday in November! I wanted to kick off this season of thankfulness by sharing my thoughts on the importance of being thankful for the little things in life.

No matter what challenges you face today, I am sure there are little things in your life that you are thankful for. Sometimes the little things are overlooked because we tend to take them for granted over time. If you live in a western culture and have running water, you have something to be thankful for!

I think especially when we are in a difficult season in life it can be easy to focus on all the things that are going wrong. It can be overwhelming as we try to problem solve to resolve whatever is going on, and that can take up a lot of energy. I certainly don’t want to minimize anything challenging you may be experiencing in life right now! I simply want to encourage you to also focus on the positive things in life and the blessings you have even if it’s something small!

I was having a difficult day the other day and I was sharing with some friends on the Marco Polo app that whenever I’m having a hard day I like to stop and think of the things I’m thankful for! (Side note, check out this app if you aren’t on it! It is a fun way to stay connected with people!) On that day I shared with them that I’m thankful that I have a flexible schedule. For those of you who don’t know, I have been a stay at home mom/wife for over 25 years now. I did have a couple of part time jobs and I ran my own organizing business for a while and now I’m managing my YouTube channels and social media content, but all of these things afforded me flexibility in my schedule. I’m thankful for my husband who works hard for our family to provide for us financially, which allows me to pursue content creation and to be there for my husband and kids (yes, even adult kids need you from time to time!) 

This is something that I can definitely take for granted at times. It is good to stop and recognize this blessing. There might be days where I don’t feel well, or I don’t want to do what is on my to do list that day. I have the freedom to rearrange my schedule as needed, within reason. I do have deadlines I create for myself, but that is just to help me to stay organized and to stay on top of the household chores and administrative things that need to be done for our family.

It can be easy to overlook the small things that we may take for granted on a day to day basis. Even something as simple as a cup of coffee can allow us to feel grateful! I hope this chat inspired you to be grateful for something little in your life!

When I was talking to my friends, I asked them to share what they were grateful for. I think hearing what others are grateful for can remind us of blessings in our own life that we may be overlooking or taking for granted. It was so fun to hear all of their responses! I would love to hear what you are grateful for if you want to leave that in the comments! I hope your holiday season is off to a great start!

Here is the YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this post!

POSITIVE MINDSET

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Okay friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday post I wanted to talk about having a positive mindset. I know that I often talk about positive self talk as a technique to keep a positive mindset. But I realized that when I share that I may make it sound like it’s a simple solution for negative thoughts or beliefs. I wanted to talk today about how I recognize this is absolutely not an easy thing to do.

Like any other healthy habit, positive self talk takes practice and repetition. I sometimes liken it to exercising. It’s not easy, but a necessary part of staying healthy. There are some days when I don’t want to workout, and the same is true for positive self talk. There may be days where I am struggling more to have a positive mindset, but I discipline myself to speak the positive, just like I discipline myself to do a workout on days when I’m feeling tired or just not in the mood to exercise.

The first thing we must do to get to a positive mindset is to be aware of our self-talk. Many of us talk to ourselves all day long unconsciously, not even really thinking about what kinds of things we are telling ourselves. Once we start becoming aware of those times when we are talking negatively or putting ourselves down, then we can start replacing those things with positive things. For a general example: if you recognize that you say to yourself, “I’m not good enough.” When you hear this, negate it by saying something like, “I am trying my best everyday.” Like I said, I acknowledge that this is not an easy practice. Anything we do that is pushing against what we naturally want to do is hard, it’s work. But I think it is worth it to do the work to get to a place where you have a positive self image and feel good about who you are.

Now I’m not suggesting you say something that is completely untrue about yourself with positive self talk. I’m just encouraging you to focus on the good in you, your character, and your talents. If we have a habit of focusing on the negative about ourselves, that is what I am suggesting to break. We still need to be accurate. It’s about creating new pathways in our mind so that we are in the habit of speaking positive to ourselves instead of negative.

I know some days can be really tough – for whatever reason. Maybe it’s a life circumstance, or maybe it’s just hormonal, but there are days that we may feel more down on ourselves than other days. I encourage you to reach out to a family member or friend who might encourage you through those moments. When we can’t speak kindly to ourselves, we may need to rely on others to remind us of the positive. 

I hope you have someone in your life who would speak positively to you, but if not there are a lot of positive affirmation videos on YouTube that could also help you! I actually like to make it a practice to listen to positive affirmations videos either before bed at night or first thing in the morning before getting out of bed. I have found this helpful for me to just maintain that positive frame of mind!

When you’re going through something really tough in life keeping a positive mindset can be extra challenging, so I don’t want to minimize whatever you might be going through that has caused you to struggle with a positive mindset. Like I said at the beginning of this chat, it’s not always easy. I have found that working hard to keep a positive mindset IN SPITE of difficult circumstances has truly helped me during those dark days! 

From my experience, overall I feel like once you experience that mindset shift, it is easier to continue on in it. It is like any other disciplined habit, the more you do it, the easier it becomes. And like I mentioned, you will still have those days that are a little more tough, but once it’s a habit it’s easier to bounce back!

THE REAL YOU

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Okay friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday post I wanted to talk about being authentic. I heard this message this morning from a Christian teacher, Christine Caine. I really love her messages, they are so inspirational! I will link her YouTube channel here if you want to check that out. She said something that really resonated with me. She said, “The real you is who you are when no one is looking.” This resonated with me because when she said that I thought to myself, I truly want to strive to be authentically myself in every situation in life.

Being authentically myself does not necessarily mean oversharing. I really value boundaries on social media and online. It can be a tricky line to walk, because you do want to be relatable, but I believe that it is okay and actually healthy to keep some things about your life private. I think this is especially true when it comes to relationships in your life. I just don’t think it’s fair to share things that are not your story to tell. And oftentimes in those situations, you hear one side of the story, which is also not fair to the other people involved.

What I am talking about, and what I thought of when Christine said that, was that I would be consistent in whatever situation I’m in. That my values would guide my behavior, my words, and the way I treat people. Now with that said, most people are multifaceted! They have many facets to their personalities, so we are not just one way all of the time. I just say this because I recognize in different situations, different parts of our personalities may be more obvious. It doesn’t mean we are being inauthentic, it just means that in that situation that aspect of our personality is showing more. 

Christine shared this analogy of building a building. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes when you’re building a building, or I thought about when I’m doing a makeover on a room. There is a lot that has to happen before we get to the part where we get to decorate and do the finishing touches. So often on social media, people just see the finishing touches. They have no clue what is going on behind the scenes or what went on behind the scenes. Like I said, not that we have to share everything that is going on in our lives on social media, but all too often people just portray this external façade, that just isn’t real.

Listening to her just got me thinking, how can I truly be authentic while also having those boundaries? How can I be vulnerable and relatable while also honoring the privacy of others? I hope I share openly enough online that others can see my authenticity. Also, while I do like to be relatable, creating YouTube videos, Instagram posts, and blog posts are a creative outlet for me, so I am going to present them in an artistic way. Something else I have thought about is that some people might think: it’s unrealistic for someone to clean their house dressed nicely with makeup on and their hair done. Perhaps, but this is how I have always cleaned, even before I had a YouTube channel. And then there are some days where I don’t get dressed and stay in my workout clothes all day, and if you have watched my videos for any length of time you have seen that too! That is authentically me, and that is how I have always been!

Here in my Thoughtful Thursday posts I like to share positive and encouraging things. Things that will inspire you, or motivate you. And that is how I am in my real life as well, with my family and with my friends! I may have some down days, or rough days where I don’t feel as positive, but for the most part I am a positive person!

I hope I come across to you as authentic. Today, I’m evaluating the way I portray myself to others, and thinking about if there is any way I can be more authentic! Well friends, as always, I love to hear your thoughts on my thoughts down in the comments. Please let me know what you think about this idea of being authentic and “the real you is who you are when no one is looking.”

Here is the YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post!

CHANGING SEASONS

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Okay friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday post I wanted to encourage you, if you are in a difficult season in life, it is only a season. I have been thinking about seasons as we are finally changing seasons here in Austin! We are finally having some fall weather where the mornings have cooler, crisper air. When people talk about challenging times in life they often refer to an analogy that the winter was long and hard, but the spring is coming. For those of us in Texas, an analogy that resonates more is the summer was long and hard, but fall is coming! By late September, I am SO tired of the hot weather and I’m just longing for the crisp, cool mornings of TRUE fall!

Sometimes when we are walking through a difficult season in life it can feel so long and like it will never end. Somewhat like summer feels if you live in the southern states! Just like it’s hard to imagine the weather being cooler at the end of summer, in hard seasons of life it’s hard to imagine that things will feel positive and hopeful. I want to assure you, no matter how long you have been walking through a tough season, there is hope on the other side. You will one day feel the crispness of fall! 

I myself have been walking through a pretty tough season that has lasted quite a long time. I am just now seeing glimpses of hope that remind me that we will not forever be in a difficult season. There is hope for a change that is coming! I know more than anyone the perseverance it takes to live in a season that is challenging, so I can assure you that you can make it out on the other side!

While it can feel refreshing to exit a season of hardship, change is really never easy. At least for most people! Even when things are changing for the good, it can be scary to deal with the unknowns. Being aware and realistic with ourselves as we head into that new season can really help with this transition. While I was so excited for the cooler weather to return to Austin, I realized I had to change my schedule and go for a run a little later in the mornings now because it was not as comfortable first thing in the morning. It made me realize that we do need to be aware that change, even if it’s good, is not always easy.

Leaving a difficult season of life can bring so much opportunity for personal growth, finding purpose in life, and embracing a new perspective from what you learned in the season of darkness. So often it is in the difficult seasons of life that we actually grow the most – learning empathy and compassion, becoming more strong and resilient, and becoming more self assured. Also, in a season of hardship we may learn the value of self reflection as we process the difficulties we have endured and the value of acceptance as we may have had to learn to accept the way things are for that period of time. We must take these lessons with us as we move into a brighter and more hopeful season! This can be a great time to reevaluate your life because of the new outlook and potential new opportunities!

Well friends, I hope this Thoughtful Thursday was inspiring or encouraging to you today. As always, I love to hear your thoughts on my thoughts! I hope you might share your thoughts on this topic of changing seasons down in the comments!

Here is the YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post!