Saying Yes
I cannot even believe I’m sitting here writing my first blog post!! The date is Tuesday March 24th, 2020. Right now, I’m sitting on my couch during quarantine because we are in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. The perfect time to get all of my thoughts out. I have always been a writer. I remember in school, writing was never a tough subject for me. In college, I began to write letters to people, to myself, or I would just turn on a song and write until the song was over just so I could get everything out. I use to think blogs were kind of cliche and I didn’t really understand the purpose behind them. I would write really long posts on facebook (still do) and people would direct message me telling me they loved my words and that I could ease anybody with what I wrote. My personal facebook page however still didn’t feel like the right avenue. I was constantly worried about what people were going to think or what they would write in the comments. So, I started to ponder the idea of blogging. I am a 4 on the enneagram, which I will talk about often within LivLimitless. Four’s are known as the individualists. We don’t want anything to be basic and we daydream daily about different aesthetics. We are very creative. For me, my creativity comes out in my cooking, my home decor and in my writing. For the past year I have seen a counselor who has really helped me embrace my individualistic spirit. She knows everything about me so when I brought up starting the blog I was kind of nervous. Her feedback is what made me finally say “yes” and go all in.
I told her I really wanted to start something on my own and see it all the way through, but that I had absolutely no idea what I would talk about or even write about. Just the thought of doing something like this gave me anxiety! She asked me something that forever changed me. She asked me to think about all of the things I have said “yes” to. She then asked me to identify where all of those things have taken me and the lessons I have learned from them. The truth is, I say “yes” to different opportunities a lot, even when they scare me to death. I said “yes” to going to The University of Kansas. That led me to my first heartbreak but it also led me closer to my purpose. I said “yes” to my current job which has led me to my passion for cooking and food. I said “yes” to my health and wellness business which has led me to meet people from around the world, it allows me to travel and has drastically changed my health for the better. All major things I have said “yes” to, have scared the living daylights out of me. Including this blog. After I told her all of this, she said “that’s exactly why you need to do it.” We sat for another 15 minutes brainstorming ideas and roadmapping different topics I could talk about. I came home honestly in tears because I had just committed to something I wasn’t even sure how to start.
I knew the only way to really make things official meant I needed to tell one other person to hold me accountable. That person was my mom! She is always holding me accountable and is my biggest encourager. The next day I went out and bought a brand new laptop. I spent the entire day googling “how to start a blog”. I asked close friends who were in the marketing space about which platforms to use and what I would need. I could have quit there with all of the overwhelming information. My room looked like I was an investigator with all of my sticky notes scattered around mapping out what my niche was. I will admit I got sidetracked for a couple months and let it sit dormant without truly working on it. I can say this pandemic and being forced to stay inside is a true blessing because here we are!
My point is, saying “yes” isn’t something I was aware of. Looking back however, I can honestly see how saying “no” would have changed my life completely. When we say “yes” to new opportunities, new loves, new passions, new ideas, beautiful things can happen. I don’t know where this blog will take me. I hope you all find value in this space. I hope I can share my thoughts and my story and vulnerability hopefully to inspire you to make the leap and just say “YES!”. Say “yes” to the business you’ve always wanted to start. Say “yes” to that idea you have. Say “yes” to the guy or girl that’s been asking you out for months. You never know where it will lead you. Here’s to my first blog post, and here’s to saying “yes”!