At the beginning of the year I thought about what was important to me and how I wanted my 2021 to turnout. After 2020 I had the chance to pause and pivot while being on lockdown. In January, I came up with goals in several key areas of life. I thought about what I wanted my life to look like with my family, fun, finance, field, fitness, friends and faith. I came up with 3 goals in each of these categories and from those 7 goals picked the one that resonated with me the most. In my past, I probably would have easily picked fitness and to lose so many pounds. This time I wanted to do something new and different. I choose me, all of me. I decided my number one goal for this year was to be my own best friend.
Over half the year has gone by and I realized that it was time to check in and evaluate how things are going with my goal.
The first part of this goal was to get to know myself more. Like really get to know myself for me and really examining what’s in my heart of hearts. After becoming a mommy, raising Damian was my focus and overtook my life. It’s still definitely a huge part and I love being a mom but besides that who was I? I really thought about what values were important to me and why. In 2019 I broke up with my then boyfriend and I was sad but also relieved. I needed a break from trying to please others and start making myself happy. It was the first time I let myself be single and focus on myself first. In my past I’d go from relationship to relationship and I knew it wasn’t healthy. Instead I started to date myself. It was of course painful at first but now I like not having to answer to anyone and I do what I want when I want period.
After some self-examination with a heart centered approach instead of the harsh "shoulding" on myself constantly, I focused on the friendship part and thought about the relationships I have in my close circle. My tribe, as I call them, believes in me and reminds me of my awesomeness just for being me. They reassure me that my heart is one of gold and my resilience in how far I’ve come. They love me for me on my good and bad days and remind me I'm enough just the way I am. This year I've been more mindful about how I talk to myself and therefore treat myself.
One of the biggest parts of being my own best friend is listening to my gut more and being more confident in my skin. Taking a pause when needed to ask myself what I would really love and listen for the answer helped me be more in tune with myself. I am still very much a work in progress but I am happy that I am making myself a top priority after neglecting myself for many years. I’m grateful for my tribe and the unconditional love they give so freely.
If you liked this blog and would love more, feel free to hop into my group All Heart and Hopeful, Happy and Healthy Moms where we talk about topics like this and more.
