Happy freaking Friday friends! This week was a doozy, and I’m so excited to have a full weekend back in Chicago and just chill. I’ve been really reveling in nights and weekends where I can just relax, kick up my feet, drink a glass of wine, and enjoy being still. The older I get, the more excited I get about finding peace in stillness – and I’m learning to embrace that (and balance that with the much needed rowdy nights out with my girlfriends from time to time too!)

In finding more times to be still, I’ve been taking more moments of self-reflection than I typically do when I feel like I’m just bouncing from place to place, to-do list to to-do list, meeting to meeting. And honestly, I’ve been feeling a little dull, less creative, and a bit in a slump. I’ve been struggling a bit with self-doubt (the usual, “am I doing good enough?” song and dance) and finding that I’ve been surrounded by a bit more negativity than normal with things not always going the way I (or my friends, family, co-workers) had planned. It happens often, but spending more time at home and being with myself has made me realize it a bit more than I usually would have. In any case, the first part of fixing a problem is recognizing it, so at least we’ve got that part under control 😉

One of my best friends in college described me as a “sparkly” kinda human. The type of person who usually has a pep in her step, a corny joke to drop, and a naive optimism that’s mostly endearing (and probably sometimes infuriating too). I’m a glass half full, rarely gets angry, “things happen for a reason” type of girl – and sometimes when life gets crazy, my sparkle kinda dulls. Don’t get me wrong, I still walk around with a smile plastered on my face 90% of the time, but my equilibrium of constant optimism starts to go downhill when I get sucked up into the negativity of those around me, and the self-doubt I inevitably put on myself.   So I’m giving myself a pep-talk, and thought we could all use one too (so if you’re still reading this – you get one too!). We can all use one before the crazy of the holiday season.

First of all, you’re a sparkly human, and shouldn’t let anyone else or yourself dull your shine. You are enough (not too much, just right) – good enough, smart enough, talented enough, creative enough, loving enough, and more. You don’t have to be perfect, you just have to try on days you can, and let shit go on days you can’t. Hold onto people you love, spend time being with them, and put your phone away to really be present. And surround yourself with people who lift you higher, and run away from the people who don’t – they can find other people to drag down with them instead 😉 

I know you’re supposed to have a mantra, but I can’t quite condense all my pep-talk into one single sentence – so that will have to do! Hope you have an extra sparkly day, week, month and beyond – keep being a sparkly human <3 xx