The first part of 2023 has gone by too quickly! I don’t remember ever being busier or happier! My youngest two daughters have both moved three hours away (in the opposite direction, of course) and as you know, we’re getting ready to have our first granddaughter in September. I love having everyone closer, but that also adds to my life, because when they’re closer, they visit more and they want us to visit them as well. Our daughter, Sarah and her husband, just bought a house in Columbia, South Carolina and I can already tell you that she is going to want help with getting settled and of course, I can’t wait to go and help! We’ll also be in Richmond (a lot), getting to know the newest addition to our growing family and we’re so excited!

We have also just gotten preliminary drawings back for renovating our master bedroom/bathroom AND the kitchen! I’m over the moon about the plans but not over the moon about the prospect of my life being invaded by construction…but it will be so worth it!

I also personally have things to accomplish and dreams to continue to pursue and I’m beginning to wonder when I’ll be able to sleep.

Going into 2023, I have a strong, clear vision of what I’m creating in my life. I plan to make that my top priority.

I’ve talked about the importance of keeping your word to yourself often. When you make promises to yourself and don’t keep them, you loose confidence and basically let yourself down. We all are so good at making excuses about why we don’t have time to get to the gym, read the book, start making healthy meals, take the course, write the book, start the blog, etc., but when it comes down to it, those things are important and when we get to the end of the year, or the end of the decade, or the end of our lives and we haven’t accomplished them, it doesn’t feel very good.

Willpower is not the answer. It’s the power to control your mind that is the answer and you find that power by creating your life in stillness through imagination. Can you quiet your mind enough to actually imagine yourself doing something you want to do? For example, can you close your eyes and see yourself getting up, putting your clothes on and driving to the gym or going for a walk? What are you wearing, what do you see along the way? How do you feel when you’ve finished? If you can do this, you are much more likely to follow through because you’ve created the feeling of the experience before it ever happened. Stay with me here…

Making time to pursue the things that light you up is self care. A pedicure is nice, but it’s pleasure and not self care. Self care feeds your soul in a way that can be life changing…it can spark your creativity and take you down an amazing life path that only you can walk.

When I wrote my course, Journey of Becoming, I had a lot of pushback about the word “becoming”. People said to me that we are already everything we need to be, we are enough. I do believe we are all enough, but most of don’t know it…our enoughness hasn’t been uncovered by us. So many women feel unworthy, unseen, and are just trying to maintain their sanity every day, which is no way to live!

Staying stagnant isn’t even an option in life because everything changes, however, t our thoughts and our beliefs in ourselves can stay stagnant and we can feel stuck because we’re living in the past and letting those thoughts dominate our lives, or we’re having anxiety about what’s to come in the future. The best place to be is in the eternal now. It’s always now and that’s where creating your life.

Life isn’t about what you do, it’s about who you be. The answers to our burning questions, greatest longings and deepest desires are found in stillness. Take the time to be in stillness every day and quiet your mind enough to feel some sense of peace and then, dream a little…imagine your life as if it were already exactly as you desire it to be. Hold a vision of that life in such a vivid way that your mind doesn’t know the difference. When you open your eyes, you will have carved out the beginnings of manifesting the life you want to live. Give yourself this life changing gift every day for at least 15 minutes! You have 15 minutes…I promise!

I used to put certain people on a pedestal, thinking that these people lived perfect lives and had everything figured out, but I found out since starting this blog that it simply isn’t true. Everyone has “stuff”. Even the people that appear to have perfect lives.

It’s all about how you deal with your “stuff” that makes a difference.

For most of my life, I made everything that wasn’t going right someone else’s fault. I never accepted the fact that I had created it all until just a few years ago. It took a traumatic experience and the realization that it was up to me to change things and accept responsibility for my life before anything would ever change.

Almost 9 years later, I’ve changed my life completely. I meditate each and every day for longer periods of time, I read books that feed my soul and I take the time to take care of me. I also take the time to take care of my body by going to the gym, walking, eating well and yes, I do get a pedicure and love my Botox.

When I ponder the next 6 (5-1/2) months left in this year, I know the importance of my daily self care. It has given me so much confidence. I want to continue to show up here and share the ways that I’m growing and learning and inspire you to do the same. I truly 100% believe that we can intentionally create our lives to be anything we want them to be…ANYTHING! If you can dream it, you can achieve it.

Here’s one of my favorite quotes from Brianna Wiest, author of one of my favorite books called The Mountain is You.

“ A beautiful life is not stumbled upon, it is built, it is chosen. It is nurtured over the years. A beautiful life is made from the heart, not the head. It is not one that is easy, it is one that is worth it.”

As we go into the last half of the year, what enoughness will you uncover? What will you imagine and dream for yourself? If you decide to do it, you truly can be on a Journey of Becoming everything that you already are…and the sky isn’t even the limit!

I’m reading an amazing book that has taken me even deeper into my meditation journey. It’s called The Neville Collection and it’s a collection of books written by Neville Goddard in the 1950’s. Wayne Dyer’s book, Wishes Fulfilled was based on Goddards methods for manifesting. This book is still so relevant for today and it’s been my obsession for the past month or so. This is a book that has made so many things clear to me and one I’ll keep forever and reread many times in the years to come. To say it has had a profound effect on me is probably an understatement. It’s not an easy read and I’m reading it slowly and taking the time to contemplate as I read.

I would so love to know your thoughts on this post! Please share in the comments if it feels right to you! Thank you so much for reading today!

For the fashionistas who are interested in this look…the top is from Ulla Johnson, the jeans are AG, the shoes are cork from Schutz and the bag is Cult Gaia. Exact pieces are linked below!