We’re all guilty of it. You know those things that you avoid doing for one reason or another? Because you don’t have time or because you’re scared or nervous or because you’re fine with the status quo? It’s time to do those things. Right now. Now that I’m 25, a quarter of a century old, I’m realizing there are some things that just have to change.
My mom and I at lunch for my 25th birthday.
During my latest journey of self-discovery (cheesy much? My bad), I realized I never really challenge myself or give myself room to grow. I keep doing the same things I’ve been doing all my life without straying much. I used to be content like that, but not anymore.
Growing up, I was “the good girl” who always asked for extra homework (for fun), read constantly and didn’t drink until I turned 21. I like when other people are happy and everyone is getting along, and I’m not big on being the center of attention.
Those are at least some of the principles I’ve followed for a good portion of my life. Not that I now want people to be fighting all the time and I’m a total drama queen (okay, maybe I am, but still), but I started rethinking some and I realized it’s time to adapt them.
Here are some things I used to avoid for one reason or another but am now pushing myself to do to expand my horizons.
I’m challenging myself to:
— Be a leader in a group. All my life I’ve always preferred to blend in, just be in the crowed, not stand out at all. But I’m smart, and I have value, and that’s nothing to be ashamed or scared of. I need to learn how to step up, contribute something, take a stand.
— Get a tattoo. It’s not like I’ve always been super opposed to tattoos; I just never thought of anything that I’d want on my body forever. My sister and I came up with the idea for matching tattoos that we’re going to get after she turns 18 in August, and I can’t wait!
— Get business cards for my blog. I feel like it’s just time to move on to bigger and better things with my blog, and this is a great first step toward that. This blog is something I take seriously, and I need to project that more. Stay tuned!
— Stand up for myself. I like when everybody gets along, and I don’t like a lot of conflict or controversy. Sometimes I’m guilty of letting things slide when I shouldn’t because I don’t want to inconvenience anyone. But then I end up inconveniencing myself, and how is that good? I’m ready to speak up for myself more without fear that others might dislike me because really, that’s their problem.
— Only write posts I want to write without worrying who else will like them. I’m sure that you’ve noticed that in recent months, I’ve been posting more about reflections, self-confidence, acceptance, self-love, etc. These posts mean more to me than just doing reviews, although I’ll still do those from time to time. When I first started this beauty blog, I sort of just copied what other successful bloggers did: monthly favorites, empties, reviews galore, etc. Some people can do posts/YouTube videos/etc. of just those things and be happy and really succeed. I felt like I wanted and needed to get more out of my blog and project the idea that you don’t need to wear makeup to feel and look beautiful, which is how I came up with my blog’s name in the first place. I want to keep writing more meaningful posts while sprinkling in a few reviews or empties posts or things like that. It’ll probably take me a while to find the right balance for everything, but this is a good starting point for me.
— Start writing a book. So what if it sucks at first? No one else ever has to read it, and this is something I’ve always wanted to do. Time to just sit down and do it! I’ve signed up for NaNoWriMo a few times but have never followed through with it. Maybe that’ll be the push I need this year just to get started!
— Wear more bold lip colors. As I’ve mentioned before, the people that I work with don’t wear a lot of makeup at all, which is totally fine, but it makes me feel like I really stand out when I wear winged liner or bright lips or something. Like I said above, I like to blend in and not be the center of attention, but bright and bold makeup isn’t hurting anyone. It’s not really inappropriate for the office. I buy fun pink and light purple and coral and red lip products, but then I only ever wear chapstick at work. Where’s the fun in that?! I’m going to start expressing myself more at work (I mean, I’m not gonna just start rocking black lipstick or anything. Or am I?…no, I’m not) and just have fun with it. Because why not?
— Join more blogging groups and connect with other bloggers. I keep saying I want to connect with other bloggers, but I haven’t been the best at actually taking the steps to get there. I’m in a couple of blogging groups but don’t do much within them, and that’s about to change!
— Comment on other people’s blogs and posts without wanting or expecting visits to my blog or posts. I’m really bad about commenting on people’s blogs and then waiting (very somewhat impatiently) to see if they click on my blog and comment back, which is dumb, really. I want to build and cultivate meaningful, wonderful relationships with people, and having expectations like that certainly won’t help.
What are some things you’ve been putting off or avoiding doing for one reason or another?
