And just like that, another summer is upon us. I truly love summer in the city. The city comes alive in the warmer months. The outfits are more fun, everyone is in a lovely(ish) mood and energy runs through our veins as we shed the winter blues and spring chilly weather. But with warm weather, usually comes this neurotic need to accomplish everything under the sun. For us to check all of our goals off and make drastic leaps of progress - or at least that's how I feel pretty much every spring, summer and fall. And you know what? That toxic "you're not doing enough and you need to do more and be more and be better" energy, yeah that bully inside my head that I constantly have to keep in check - she doesn't serve me anymore. 

There was a time when I truly thought that voice was beneficial. Like she encouraged me and motivated me to achieve more... but over time, the cruel words I said to myself really just ended up ruining my self-trust and my self-confidence. This is exactly why I've been reeling back my ambitious to-do list and focusing on feeling mentally and spiritually well. It has been freaking HARD to show up for myself in the extraordinary (or even just basic) way that I wish to. Like way way harder than I expected. Everything feels sooo overwhelming and like most of my goals, dreams and desires are going to be so fucking hard to achieve - not impossible but still really freaking difficult. Then I heard incredible advice from my fellow Capricorn boss b*tch Tonya Leigh in a recent podcast episode "Showing up when it's hard". It went a little something like this: 

"When life gets really hard and you are struggling to show up for yourself - aim for mediocre. Just do the bare minimum because that little momentum will get you going." 

As I was listening to this advice, it felt like a huge weight was lifted off of my back. I took a moment to drink a huge glass of water, breathe in deeply and allow myself to A.) accept where I am in life right now and B.) embrace that where I want to be in life is not going to magically happen overnight. And honestly, if it did, I would miss out on all the lessons that are constantly shaping me into the woman I am so proud I'm becoming. And right now, that woman is coming off of another season of BURNOUT.

 

Photo by Shifaaz shamoon

So instead of giving up on all of my dreams or procrastinating on pursuing my passions because I can't do them perfectly, I am embracing B-rated work. I am ok with being mediocre this season (ok, let's be honest, even my mediocre is pretty fucking fabulous but I digress). I am ok with doing the bare minimum to pursue my dreams while I figure out how to restore my energy instead of just halting production altogether. Because putting one foot in front of the other and just aiming to be 1% better than I was yesterday is still a win. Screw society's timeframe; my quality of life and my career will unfold in the right timeframe for me. And in the meantime, I'm going to fight every day to find small things to celebrate - no matter what that nagging voice says in the back of my head. 

Now I'm curious to hear from you. Do ever feel like this too? And if so, is there one small thing you can do for yourself this week to take some of the pressure off while still feeling proud of yourself? I'm dying to know. No matter what you're going through right now, I hope this post makes you feel less alone and inspires you to be kind to yourself this week. We are all just trying to do our best, and we're in this together. Sending you lots of love! Until next time my friend.