Fear/Break Loose/

Change is good. Regardless of how you and I may feel about at times, change is good because it can bring direction. I must dare say that some of our “normal” routines need to be shaken. We can have so many desires and goals, but certain changes must be implemented first in order to achieve those goals. For example, one can have a desire to eat healthier but must be willing to make a change in their present eating habits so they can fully embrace a healthier future. A change of residence, a change in career, a change in routine, and any change that take place always come with a certain set of standards to maintain that change. In order to maintain those new changes, the mind must change.

I noticed that a lot of my fears and self-doubt is rooted in old patterns of thinking. Afraid to achieve certain levels of success because I think others may feel like I am better than them. Afraid to branch out into new places because I think some people may disapprove of my choice. Afraid to move on because I think I will never find anything better. These are legitimate feelings that surface when I take a step forward into the new direction for my life. No, I am not the only one that deals with these feelings of fear and doubt. I am determined to push myself further than I have before because I refuse to be chained to “being normal”.

For me, “normal” is staying in the boat and not rocking the normality surrounding our present culture. “Normal” is staying in your place and not being different. “Normal” is living up to someone else’s expectations. “Normal” is a life of safety and not taking risks. My “norm” has been consisted of people-pleasing, self-doubt, anxiety of making a decision that is right for me, and moments of overthinking that have caused me to stay confined to a box that was not designed for where I was going in life. I like to share three things I want to focus on this year that will help me push myself beyond my “norm”.

Relocation. If I have not mentioned before, I currently work in a contract position which means my employment is not permanent. As I am coming closer to my end date this April, I am thinking about moving to an area where I can work and pursue my passion at the same time. I am not saying you cannot accomplish certain things in certain places, but I am looking to be pushed out of my ‘comfort zone’. So far, I have lived in two states (Mississippi and Arkansas) where I have not been that far from home, (the farthest I live at was three hours away.) Although some prefer to live close to home, I want to break out of that box and explore new areas. Sometimes “home” can be a limitation to what you want to achieve in life. I do have a certain state in mind that I am looking into but will save that for later… (for a hint, this area knows how to DO IT BIG.)

Writing and art goals. As a writer, I am trying to overcome the challenges that come with “selling yourself”. A great product cannot be all that great if no one knows about it. So, I am going to market my second book ‘BE’ more on this year because I feel like I have not given it enough attention with all of the good “nuggets of wisdom” that were laid out on those pages. It is good to just “try”. I will never know what can happen if I just try. It may be easier to hire a team to market for me, but I want to see myself going hard for myself. Yes, I will definitely be writing more on this year because I have aspirations of working in film and media production in the future so putting in the work now. Art has also been a love of mine, so my goal is to publish an art book on this year. One way I am preparing for that is to commit time to drawing each week. I have an art journal and an art sketchbook that I will be using to mold my craft and inspire others as I share my work online. [An added note- If you would like to follow me on both journeys, you can find me on Instagram: @swcreatedworks (For writing) & @artofmessages (For art)]

Social media. Social media has been a pain point for me at times because I do not like how things are portrayed on there but overall, it is not a bad thing to have social media. Regardless of how other people decide to use it, I want to get back to the “connectivity” and “the community” that comes with social media. My goal is to become more active online as I become more comfortable in sharing my voice. I do not have to pretend to have this big personality or chase after every trend on Tik Tok but be totally and authentically myself. I do not want to use social media to just build an audience but to bring real change to our culture as well as create spaces for people to not only build their own things, but have their unique voices heard as well. So, I got work to do!

If you enjoyed reading, please feel free to share your thoughts….Have a great night!