From Self to Self

I’ve been asked this question several times, the question was, knowing what you know now, what advice would you give your younger self? Every time the question was posed, I always found myself unable to give an answer. It’s like being stuck on stupid. Thoughts will begin to consume me. I truly didn’t know how to answer. I would just play it off with a laugh and say some shit like, “boy that sooo long ago”, or something like, “You will have to let me sit with that for a bit, that’s a hard one”. Ok, First of all, when did I become an adult?? I mean the years have fallen off so quickly. I can’t even remember what being a child felt like.

This morning I woke up with this question on my mind and my heart filled with answers. It felt like the flood gates just opened up in my spirit and now, there is so much to say. I would start by saying… Stay true to who you are and be sure to take care of you first. AT… ALL… COST… No matter who you think you may lose or offend. Do not dumb yourself down or lower your standards to meet others at their level. Stand in your truth and have them come to meet you at your level. If they cannot rise to the occasion and start to fade away, let them. It just simply means they were never meant to be in your life. Understand that you can’t take everyone along with you on your journey, and it’s ok.

Know that you are beautiful from the inside out. Society will always challenge your beliefs on this, but don’t take that on. You are always enough. When your mind is overrun with the thoughts of your flaws, and you feel like you just can’t quite catch your balance, remember, fear is just an illusion. It’s a liar and it will try to cripple you. But.. you have been here before, and you will be able to breathe again. What you have, and who you are is, and will always be enough. Understand that you are a unique being. There is no one like you. No one else has your goals and dreams. No one else see the world the way that you do. And no one, absolutely no one else holds the same kind of magic inside as you do. Stand and believe in that!

That thing we call intuition? It’s your soul, you can trust it. It is your inner guidance and it knows best. Listen to it when it is nudging you, it is NEVER wrong. When something feels off, it is. Now there are people out there that will make you feel like you’re paranoid or even insecure. Do not subscribe to this. Trust the energy that is being projected. Your spirit picks up on certain vibrations. They don’t always make sense to you right away, but there’s a reason you are feeling the way that you are. Do not let the noise and messy opinions of others drown out that small voice of reason residing within you. As challenging as this may sound please, please have the strength and courage to follow your intuition, and heart. They know exactly where you need to be.

Boundaries!!! Boundaries, Boundaries, Boundarieessss. I put so much emphasis on setting boundaries because they are detrimental in the journey of defining who you are. They are a measure of self esteem. If you do not have these in place, you will fall into the trap of being a puppet for… well, everyone. You will be too worried about making the needs of others to be met always before your own and as result, you will end up losing yourself and forgetting your worth.

I’ll leave you with a tip, any negative experiences life throws at you, pay attention. There is always something positive to take away from it. If you don’t, well, life has a funny way of repeating the same lessons until you get it. It will show up in different settings or people. Sometimes the hardest lessons are taught by those closest to you. Live authentically and unapologetically, no matter who it may offend. Your life is to be lived by you, for you. No one else. You are your only competition. I’ll tell you this… You will have quite a story to tell. Just keep pushing forward and stay magical..

Sophia Tavares Barrett