As we mark a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been made new and whole again. We are out of the cocoon. We are breaking through the shadows of age and time. Life has presented you with a clean canvas and it is time for you to paint it.
The past year has caused a massive shift in most if not all of us. We were exposed to a circumstance that none of us ever imagined. Restriction of movement and activity. This action resulted to the starvation of freedom and expression. It made us stop and perceive where we are. For some time, we saw our identity when pushed to its boiling point.
There is beauty in change.
Nothing will go back to how it was. It is important to understand that before anything else. Clinging to past mentalities and beliefs only make it harder to cope with the current times. Businesses, personal lives and even people’s characters have evolved throughout the year. Let go of previous notions and allow yourself to learn and adapt.
The reason why change is uncomfortable is that it gets you out of your comfort zone. As a writer, trying out new genres gives me anxiety because I am unsure of the audience’s satisfaction. However, by embracing change we allow our minds to open to new possibilities and other paths. Life is not fixed on concrete and it does not have to go your way. Making peace with change allows you to move on to finer planes of life.
It is human to sabotage.
Do you ever doubt your good fortune sometimes? Especially when life is flowing as it should, we tend to start wondering how long it will last. As important as it is to always be prepared, it is equally paramount to trust your success. Because it is in doubt that we incapacitate our growth. We start looking for tiny reasons to justify our premonition.
Fear of the unknown is a vile spirit that takes control when you are unsure about yourself. This includes a lack of confidence and comfortability with your authenticity. When you are true to yourself, other people’s validation is simply dressing to the salad. It does not diminish its nutritive value but rather adds to the taste.
It is human to succumb to fear because we all have our low moments. We end up disrupting growth by sudden laziness, mixed emotions, and endless questions on whether we will achieve our purpose. However, do as much as you can to pull yourself to the present. Gather strength to push through grey blankets. Go for a walk, listen to that song, or even call that person who gets you laughing. Embrace your humanity. It is okay to be down, but you can get back up.
Believe in your own sauce.
The power to be the best version of yourself lies in your thinking cloud. Every thought you process about yourself moulds you to be the present you. Your feelings towards yourself project themselves on your appearance and mannerisms. Now that you are back to the world, work on your self-image. How you dress, does your style match your eccentric personality? Align your speech with your ambience.
By building a self-brand, you have a grounding to identity. Proper grooming culminates to self-awareness and radiant confidence. Automatically, this translates to how you carry out your tasks and to what degree of perfection. When you believe in your own sauce, other people’s perception of you does not count. You are not who they think you are. You are who you think and act to be.