Update about me: What’s Inspiring Me Through Tough Times

What’s Inspiring Me Through Tough Times

If you have kept up with me this year, I’ve opened up about my life and the journey of being separated and having my kids 50% of the time. I am very careful in how I share my journey and most of the focus is on how I feel and what the journey has been like from my perspective. At the end of it all, when blog posts are published, it is out for the world to see, maybe my kids to read one day, and it’s a public forum that I don’t wish to shoot negative energy towards.  What’s kept me inspired through tough times are positive affirmations and quotes and of course my family and friends that surround me. Below are some quotes I love and more updates about me. . . .

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I am definitely not self-made. No one is (at least I believe). I had support from my family, friends and my ex to be where I am at.  I always had support to be an entrepreneur and I’m the first to say that in order to blog and be CEO of T&J Designs I had the support from my ex.  BUT, my networks, my collaborations, my motivation, my determination is ME.  Where I am now, what I have created on my blog and Instagram is ME and I’m proud to say that.  No one can take away that through this process this last year, I’ve made decisions myself to be where I am now with my career and my personal well being.

Being in social media has been tough going through this process, the comments, the judgments, .  . .it is hard to hide as my job pretty much is to make things look pretty and fun. It’s a daily mantra to tell myself the below.

I wrote this on my Instagram and received the nicest comments. Life is short, continue to open doors, push doors and enter doors with open arms. I am a big believer in being open to any opportunities, but don’t dwell on the lost ones.  I’ve been pleasantly surprised by this year (for my job) and what has come. It has been amazing and there is still 4 months left in the year.  I will try to open as many doors as possible, but the focus is on the open ones, not the ones that won’t budge.

My shoes here with other options 

Trust is a tough thing for me after my family breaking up. Trusting my gut, trusting my decisions, and trusting in that I made the right path. As the year has gone by, I’m much more aware of what is said to me, who to surround myself around, and who is really my friend for the right reason. It took me a long time to figure out that certain people in my life weren’t wishing me the best. And the timing of my struggle and not having some support made me realize I didn’t need to be close to so many but to keep my circle tight. More so than ever, right now, I trust in the timing of my life.

I love and live by this quote. I make my own choices, I can take a chance and I can make changes. If something isn’t working or I’m not feeling good about something, I have the choice to either change my perspective or do something about it. Too many times this year, I’ve been blamed for things that are not in my control (work, dinners, invites, friendships, gossip) and I do get caught up, but I have also learned to get over it quicker. I can only make choices under my control.  Taking this mantra has been the best perspective this year and enabled me to see things clearly through difficult times.

The #1 thing I’ve been doing lately. As with making choices, changes and chances, focusing on myself has enabled me to be more motivated in work and life choices. This quote was in my last post and although it’s really hard not to get caught up by the Facebook and Instagram posts going on, remember that life in photos and stories are only less than 5 min of a 24 hour day. Personally, I don’t show when I’m struggling, when I’m upset or talk about the process of having my kids 50% of the time. I do share when I have a bad day, but the struggle is so personal that I can’t share all the details. Just know that what I show is 100% me, but not 100% of what’s going on.

My kids inspire me to do better, be better, and to look out for myself. I see life so differently than even a year ago and I continue to be hopeful, positive and happy.  I’m giving love and energy to those that surround me with the same and focusing on myself and my kids. The negative words that have been used to describe me and that have been thrown at me no longer affect me. I have learned that my energy is better spent on all the good that has come. If you are at a tough spot in life, look at these quotes above, surround yourself with positivity, friends that lift you up, and end the day with thinking about or talking about what the best thing about the day was.  My kids and I do this every night.  What was tough and what was the best part about the day… change the perspective in your head and it will do wonders.

I hope this post inspires you somehow and through my struggle, I have hope and myself.

Another post you might love is 20 things that inspire me or this post that explains more about me.

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