Fall in love with the process

Ever heard of the saying “creature of habit?” I was introduced to this phrase in my early 20's but had experienced it since I was a teenager. I’ve been thinking about this phrase a lot lately. Before the world went on pause, I set some high-stake annual goals for myself and built a healthy structure in place to meet those goals. My routine looked like this:

• Wake up early in the morning

• Get my daily dose of caffeine

• Email

• Work

• Gym

• Read

• Practice playing piano

• Practice dancing

• Plan for the next 24 hours and repeat.
  

I believe it was a healthy routine that benefited me to improving myself every single day. Once the world went on pause, I went off the trail and forgot my commitment to the annual goals. To be frank, I slipped. My inner demons (aka bad habits) wanted to come out - some did, some were silenced, and some were shooed away. I saw many of my friends on social media go through the same process. At the beginning I think we all went back to the bad habits we once worked really hard to get rid of, and in the process may have even developed some unhealthy habits. After a while, I was fed up with feeling sorry for myself. If there is one thing to know about me, it is that I refuse to be defeated and I won’t allow a virus to bring me down or stand in my way of achieving my goals. I approached this epidemic in different ways and I tried to adapt by figuring new ways I could be productive while sheltering in place. First things first, I take it one day at a time. I try to find goodness in what I am doing right now. I list things I am grateful for – family, friends, food, money, health, wisdom, silence, peace, nature, and the list goes on. Lastly, I am thankful for the Internet and social media because let’s face it, we would not have made it without it. I try to throw myself off from the daily routine to keep things interesting and so I do not become a creature of habit. I find this to be a great way to be and live in the present moment. I played around with my schedule every week for the past few weeks to see when I'm the most productive and creative – night or day? Morning, afternoon, or evening? One day I even decided not to have a structure and just listened to my inner voice and let my intuition guide me in what I desired– read a book, binge on TV shows, eat sweets, run – I did whatever pleased me! That day I learned that by not doing or following a structure, I was actually more creative, productive, and inspired with new ideas. For the month of April, I decided to take a different approach. I chose to challenge myself to go outside of my comfort zone every single day or in other words – say yes to the things I would normally say no to. Through this process, I learned a lot about myself and the environment I was in. I learned I enjoy learning about myself and seeing the personal growth every week. Lastly, I learned that magical things happen when you go outside of your comfort zone. The point is – there is no right or wrong answer in how to live your life. What works for one person may not work for another. You have to find what works best for you and roll with it, sometimes through trial and error, until you fall in love with the process. The question is, how will you know what works for you, if you don't even try to explore it? I am still figuring parts about myself every single day. It is the little things you do throughout the day that will help you learn more about what you like and dislike, and eventually it will get you closer to your vision and your goal that you set out for yourself. Let me ask you a question. During this pandemic, did you set a goal for yourself or did you wave a white flag and allowed the system to dictate how you lived? Like I said, I refuse for anyone to tell me what to do (unless you’re my mother or a film Director). You are the CEO of your life and you owe it to yourself to be the best version of you there is. Do what you love with all your heart. I live by this principle every single day. I want to prove to myself that I am worthy of achieving my goals and I have a say in how I want to live my life. This is my life, and I make my own rules. I continue to set goals to prove to myself that I am capable of anything I set my mind to. Feel free to check out my street cred on LinkedIn and Backstage to get a better idea of who I am and what I am capable of. If you don’t know this already, I am comfortable being uncomfortable, but I didn’t get to this level of comfort without hard work or without challenging myself every single day. For a long time I used to hate when celebrities would say "If I can do it, so can you," but as I grew older and applied this mindset to my life, I understood that they were right. It’s all in the mindset, baby. If I can do it, so can you! Healthy mind, healthy thoughts, healthy life = healthy you! You owe it to yourself to live the best life possible for you. Don't be a creature of habit. Growth happens when you go outside of your comfort zone and amazing things happen when you do. On the next blog post I will go into more detail about developing good habits and how to make them stick and be a part of your life. It’s easy, if you want it to be! Stay tuned! Your friend, Hoja Aya #howtostayfocused #motivation #selfdiscovery #inspiration #healthymindset #healthymind #healthy #mindset