Blooming Season Family!
Welcome back to another week!
How’s your New Year going?
I’m going to share something that is having a profound positive impact on my life.
I was listening to an incredible conversation earlier this week between a holistic psychologist by the name of Dr. Lepera and the awesome Lisa Bilyeu who is a brilliant co-founder to many successful brands. (I’ll add the link down below just in case you want to check it out.)
Dr. Lepera mentioned one question that sent my mind spinning into a deep dive.
She said, “How are you showing up in the world?”
I paused the video and immediately understood another layer of the depression that took me so long to get out of.
Depression is a sour cake made up of many bitter ingredients.
Not showing up in the world, as you truly are within yourself, is one of those ingredients.
When our thoughts, words and actions are not aligned, we are literally at war with ourselves.
We become the enemy when we step on any part of ourselves.
I was my greatest enemy for a long time because I was not expressing the fullness of my being in every area of my life.
I’ll give you an example.
When I was around 8 years old, I was rehearsing for a performance with my class, after rehearsals there was a moment when we all sat in a huge circle and took turns dancing in the middle of the circle.
No one was forced to do it but most of the kids in the class participated.
I remember wanting to get up and dance so bad.
My little heart ached, my eyes quickly collected rain and I suppressed the storm inside my soul.
My soul wanted to dance freely, arms open wide and feet spinning but I could only manage to imagine this picture in my head because I was not able to show up as my authentic self in that moment.
This exact scenario repeated itself for many years in various situations well into my adult life.
I have hundreds of missed opportunities laying dead in a cemetery called, “All of the times Ana suppressed her voice, personality and spirit.”
But, by the grace of God, I’m coming alive to who I really am inside and I am showing up, in every space, as the most authentic version of myself.
Each day, I'm getting closer, unraveling the layers and allowing myself to just be.
Have you ever struggled with this?
Knowing that there’s an entire universe within you while expressing a mere 10 percent of it?
I feel you.
I’ve been getting better at showing up completely and I want to share something with you guys that has helped me.
Getting into alignment with your thoughts, words and actions, requires intentionality.
Just like everything in life, it will not happen unless you are intentional about executing a plan.
So, make a plan.
What plan?
Ask yourself, “What’s something that terrifies me and excites me at the same time?”
Think about for a bit.
In 2018, I was still dealing with some stage fright, so I dragged myself to the busy mall, walked to the center and sang a song with my guitar.
My armpits transformed into rivers, my hands shook as if they were trying to contain an earthquake and the pounding of my heart could probably be heard in Japan but as soon as I finished, I felt more like myself.
I felt more like the girl who loves to perform, entertain and spread good energy to people.
I felt closer to the person God created me to be.
Am I telling you to do something drastic and awkward? To break what’s left of your shell by doing something that will shock your system? Not necessarily.
But what I am saying is that, you must challenge that part of yourself that hides and holds you back.
The longer you allow that part of you to stay in a corner of your soul, the more comfortable it will get and the harder it will be to challenge it.
This is hard but not impossible.
As long as you’ve got the gift of life, you’ve got the possibility of unlocking every single part of you and expressing it fully.
But you must challenge yourselves my friends.
Start with something small.
A small challenge doesn’t mean that it is insignificant.
Small challenges build up your courage to face the giants.
My favorite guy in the Bible, besides Jesus, defeated a giant but before David knocked the giant out he fought a lion and a bear.
There are levels to everything, so start with something small, like actually expressing the joke that popped into your head instead of suppressing it.
It could be something like doing a little dance at the grocery store because the song that they’re playing is one of your favorites or wearing an outfit that you really goes with your personal style instead of wearing something that everyone expects you to wear.
All of these little moments, when we dare to be ourselves, give us the courage to show up as our true authentic selves.
This past week, I released my first project of some songs that I wrote and produced at home.
It was a big deal for me because in the past, I didn’t feel bold enough to do something like that on my own.
I thought I needed a record label, a whole team and a large following to support it but then I realized that those were all excuses.
Releasing this project has made me feel more like myself because I am honoring the totality of who God has created me to be by sharing these songs that I believe have been gifted to me.
What’s my point?
Share your ideas, lift your voice, dance your dance, write that poem that’s on your heart, say that funny joke, make that silly video, release your content, invest time and energy into what you love to do.
Dare your entire self to show up in 2021.
We got this.
You got this.
Go head and say it out loud one time, “I got this.”
- Here’s the link to the conversation that I mentioned earlier with Dr. Lepera : https://youtu.be/jqvq4mE-hEs
- Here’s a link to my project : https://music.apple.com/us/album/i-survived/1549116774?fbclid=IwAR0_BZ_RHQGQVJxOZT_fisx-j12qhXzeb_AYPu_m2awy_Yi6_h6FNyp84n8
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