2022. Onward. Inward.
Happy New Year!
So, how are you doing, my friend? How are you feeling, really?
It’s the beginning of the year, a fresh start! A time filled with optimism, new beginnings, and gusto! As it should be. I welcomed the year beaming with revived hope and inflated faith.
But this is what really happened. These first 12 days have been hard. I spent the first night of January crying. Because there are personal struggles. Discouragement with work. Unsure of everything... So here I am, sitting, figuring out my feelings between fresh hope and disappointments. Between enthusiasm and self-doubts. Between faith and uncertainty. Between big dreams and reality. So many thoughts and feelings… seriously!
From someone who has lived with mental health struggles most of her life, I know who I am. And I don’t expect myself to change because it’s the new year. I can keep dreaming. I can keep hoping. I can remain faithful. But I also realize that I get to continue to do the work. For most of my life, I have had to put out twice the effort to just live. The mental stress of just having to go through each day. Working to better myself to not only survive but to thrive... it’s nonstop work and it can be very exhausting. But I also know that with each new day - I am growing. I am healing. And so it continues…
If you get what I am saying and you find yourself resonating with my words… it’s 2022 yet, you are the same you. And you are not feeling as pumped up like the others, I’m here to remind you that, it’s OKAY! If you are going through physical and mental fatigue these days just as I am, trust me, it’s not just in your head. You are exerting twice the effort and energy. You are planning. You are dreaming. You are working so hard. You are doing so much.
What you’re feeling is okay and totally normal. Don’t pressure yourself to be like the others you see on social media. You know your real, honest self and you get to embrace that beautiful soul no matter what. And the sooner you accept that life is a process, and challenges may continue, you can take comfort in knowing that you have grown so much and you have come this far. You are here. You are doing it and you will continue to do so.
Let’s remember that there is no need for a radical change just because we started a new year. A new beginning can simply mean renewed hope, so we get to keep moving forward. We get to keep doing the work, inward. And I hope you can learn how to give yourself grace during this time.
Every day.
In every moment.
No matter what is going on,
growing is transpiring.
healing is always happening.
Let’s do this, friend. I see you. I feel you. And we are in this together.
Onward. Inward.