Turning 26! 💛 The Lessons I’ve Learned Within The Past Year
Wow! I cannot believe that another year has gone by and I am writing another post about how I’ve grown over the past year. This past year has been a monumental year of growth for me. It’s been a year of transition and a challenging year at that. But, it’s a year I am most grateful for because it’s led me to where I am today.
Since turning 25, the year had a super promising start! I became super connected with my spirituality again and I got baptized shortly after. I am super grateful for this experience because it showed me how I wanted to feel all the time. It was the first time, in a long time, that I really experienced that closeness with God. Shortly after I began learning more about myself, I would say I began to question a lot of things about myself and my life. I had so many questions and I didn’t know how to work through the turmoil of “shedding my old self and becoming anew”. You could say I was experiencing my “quarter-life crisis” during this time. I was searching for my purpose and then once I found it, I didn’t understand how I was supposed to fulfill that purpose which was all deeply discouraging. During this time of figuring all this out, there have been a lot of things that I had previously done that led me to feeling very stagnant in life. I believe that because of this stagnation, it also led me to experience and uncover past trauma I didn’t realize I still needed to heal in order to be the person I knew I was meant to be.
What got me through that moment in time was the same thing that got me through my previous hardships in life which was knowing that once I got through whatever difficulties I was experiencing, I could be a light to others and help them get through similar things. That has always been my purpose: to be encouraging and to bring value to others especially when it comes to mindset. I know what it feels like to feel down and for a lack of a better word, a little bit depressed, even when things were outwardly going well for me. The biggest lesson I learned through all of this is that perception is EVERYTHING. It doesn’t matter what goes on around you. Your true reality is how you PERCEIVE the world. You have the ability to choose to see the world positively or negatively. We cannot always control what happens to us and what we experience, but we can choose our outlook on life.
I choose to look at things positively and I choose to reframe my mindset to grow into the person I know I’m meant to be. When it comes to feeling stagnant in life, I realized that it began from trying to limit myself in order to be perfect or always trying to do the right thing. I also came to realize that this deeply stemmed from wanting to be in control of my life because I experienced so much change and uncertainty throughout my childhood that I now tried to control everything consciously and subconsciously — even when I thought I was doing the right thing. The other big lesson I had to learn — and I’m still learning — is to let go and ALLOW things to happen. I don’t need to be in control of everything. In fact, in order for God to work in my life, I need to let Him work. And not just God, but other people in my life as well. Change and uncertainty are the catalysts of growth! In order to grow, you need to let go and allow things to just be. Allow things to fall into place as they should and you’ll find that you’ll actually be happier and more relaxed and things may even turn out BETTER than if you tried to control the whole thing yourself.
Part of learning to trust the process is learning to ENJOY the process. When you focus on enjoying what you’re doing each and everyday more than the achievement you’re working towards, I find that life is more fun! Life is more beautiful and relaxed and pleasant when you simply embrace the current phase you’re in. In fact, LEAN INTO the phase you’re in. Big or small! Part of femininity (which is also something I love learning about) is just going with the flow and allowing yourself to receive. One of the main reasons it also has been so difficult for me to receive, especially when it comes to gifts, is because I didn’t feel like I was worthy or deserved any of it. I’ve always felt like I had to do something in order to receive love in the form of gifts. Whether it’s gifts from God, gifts from friends, or even gifts from my parents. It’s always been hard for me to accept gifts because I felt like an inconvenience and that I didn’t deserve whatever luxury they were treating me with. My fear was seeming ungrateful so I felt like I had to make up for it in some way. THIS is a limiting belief that just isn’t necessary. When I think about gifting others, it’s because I love THEM and I want to show them that I love them and I appreciate them for being WHO they are, not what they do for me. I had to reframe my mindset that the best way to be appreciative of gifts from God, from family, and from friends, is to accept them and receive them graciously. And if they’re gifts I can use for the good of others and/or share, then I work to do so!
We all are worthy of receiving love in whatever form that is. God wouldn’t gift you a blessing if he didn’t believe you could handle it or if it wasn’t meant for you! You DO deserve good things and it’s time to start believing that!
The last lesson I learned is that I’m way more appreciative of education. This seems sort of random, but it’s true! I really love learning! I love learning about others and understanding different perspectives. I desire to gain new skills and enhance my current level of education and this doesn’t just mean going back to school — although who knows, maybe I will!
Knowledge is a power for a reason and I’m not saying that in a superior way, but in a way that it can really help in a multitude of other ways. It’s also important not just to know things but to be able to implement them! What’s the point in reading all of these books and spending time educating yourself and then not apply it to your life? There’s so much to learn and I desire to always learn new things as I grow.
Life is really beautiful. And as I wrap up this post, I wanted to thank each and every one of you for reading my blog! This has been such an incredible journey and to learn alongside you is a blessing. I am in a place of my life right now where I am just enjoying each and every day as it comes, being grateful for my blessings, and working towards using everything I have to help us all elevate into the people we know we’re meant to be. I’m truly in a place where I’m deeply in love with who I am and I’m excited to grow more and more with each day that I’m granted. I hope this post encourages you and helps you work towards your goals, your dreams, and helps you live in a blissful state of mind with God by your side! I love you all very much!
Have a wonderful day! xx