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"Where do you see yourself in 10 years?" . . Ever been asked that question and then broken out in a cold sweat trying to come up with the perfect answer? That's because deep down, it's an insane question to ask someone. We have the best intentions and we think we're doing ourselves a favor by looking and ahead and thinking big, but what we often do instead is freak out trying to come up with the most perfect life possible that will somehow magically appear into existence over a decade. . . I was sitting with my husband this weekend celebrating our anniversary and I said, "Could you have ever imagined we'd be where we are now when we got married 12 years ago?" Big fat no. . . Our newlywed selves could never have envisioned the life we have now. My 23 year old self could never have dreamt up a life where I would get to put my talents and skills to use to empower mothers around the world and y'all, Instagram didn't even exist back then. There is so much that exists in this world now that didn't ten years ago, so imagine where we will all be ten years from now? . . What we did realize as we were reminiscing was the power of our small, short-term goals. The goals we set for ourselves along the way that inched us closer and closer to an ideal life was the concrete slab we built our life on. The goals you set for yourself everyday, ever week, every month and every year become the foundation of your life, which is why when I see moms refusing to set goals for themselves, I get super sad. . . Here's some truth: you don't need a 10 year plan, especially if you don't have a 1 year plan yet. Stop buying into the bro-goal mentality where you have to "go big or go home." Start 1 year at a time. Good grief, start 1 week at a time. . . If you want to shift away from herd and stop waiting for January every year to change your life, we want you inside the Goal For It challenge: 3 days to jumpstart your goals without waiting for the new year. It's free, it's starting June 24 and all it's missing is you. Your life is waiting, start creating it the way you want it to look. -- link in profile . . Tell me, what would your ten-year-ago self think of the life you’ve made possible? 👇
12 THINGS I STILL LOVE ABOUT MY HUSBAND AFTER 12 YEARS OF MARRIAGE . . It's our 12 year anniversary today and I thought it would be nice to reflect on all the things I still love about my husband after all this time. There's a lot of husband-bashing happening on the interwebs these days. A lot of "he doesn't take the garbage out" and "he never listens to me" but I refuse to succumb to that. . . He's not perfect, but neither am I. Our marriage isn't perfect, but we work at it, everyday, some days harder than others. . . 1. He's kind to strangers and always, ALWAYS holds doors open for people. 2. He supports me in my business and always has, even when I was making $0 and had no idea what I was doing. He is my biggest fan. 3. He's the sick-kid whisperer. I may be a nurturing mother, but Adam is by far the one the kids gravitate toward when they are sick. He's comforting in a way I don't think I am. 4. He still thinks I'm sexy and takes every opportunity to remind me of that (even at what some would call inappropriate times...) 5. He's a really chill and laid back dude, and I love having someone by my side that repels and dislikes drama. 6. He has never once raised his voice to me, or mine to him. It's just not something we do. 7. He pretends to like movies I like (usually something in the dumb horror genre) even if he thinks it's garbage. 8. On that note, he will sit and tolerate me watching horrid TLC reality shows, even though I can see it is physically painful for him to absorb that stuff. 9. He is kind, but firm with our children. It's pretty amazing to have a husband who is comforting and cuddly with the kids without being a pushover. 10. Our family comes first to him, always. 11. He is openminded when it counts, but can't have his values bought off by what's trendy or popular in the moment. 12. He's my partner, not just my husband. We're in this together. We're a team. We don't view the other as inferior or superior. It's us. . Day-to-day life makes it easier to give into the complaining and forget about the traits that make our significant others significant. Make your own list today, mamas. . . And a very happy anniversary to my main squeeze. ❤️❤️
This is me, unfiltered, with half a face of makeup and half washed off. . . I adore makeup. I love wearing it. I love having it put on me. I love experimenting with it. But I don’t need it. No one needs it. . . But more importantly, I also don’t need to be told I’m “pretty without makeup” I know I’m pretty. At 35, I can say that, without feeling braggy or self-centered after decades of feeling like I shouldn’t. I love myself. I love the wrinkles. I love the random adult redness I now have. I love it all, because this is who I am. Commenting on how I don’t “need makeup” is an insult to my sister/makeup artist and all makeup artists out there that work tirelessly and with passion to create works of art as faces for canvases. . . Telling a woman she needs makeup to be pretty or that she shouldn’t wear makeup because she’s already pretty is just two sides of the same coin. Makeup may make a woman feel beautiful on a day she woke up feeling gross and unworthy. Makeup may make another woman feel uncomfortable in her own skin. The choices we make about how we express our beauty are ours and ours alone. . . I don’t put on makeup for photo shoots because I think it’s what I’m “supposed” to do. I do it because I feel more like myself with it on, meaning I show up with a bigger smile, a brighter energy and can serve better. Makeup is another accessory to me, like a dangly pair of earrings I’d use to accent my t-shirt and jeans. . . Wear your faces proudly, moms. Wear it with makeup or without. Full-on coverage or a dab of tinted chapstick. Your beauty comes from your confidence and you (and you alone!) get to decide where that confidence comes from. I’m gonna celebrate you no matter how you wear your face, as long as you’re wearing it proudly. ❤️ 💄by @by_shanglam
Your fear of failure is a super convenient mask for your fear of success. No one challenges your fear of failure. It’s socially acceptable. So we’re all just running around claiming we don’t want to fail. . . I don’t buy it. Sorry not sorry. . . The truth is, failing is really easy. It happens everyday. People fail constantly. Failure is arbitrary, but failure is inevitable. It isn’t hard to fail, but it’s easy not to try because you’re afraid of it happening. . . What if what you’re really afraid of is success? Success feels way scarier than failure. Success requires more from us and the mindset you’ll need to step into to achieve it and maintain it is miles away from the fear-based garbage that is keeping you from trying right now. . . Can you imagine if babies acted the way we do? “I know everyone else is walking and it seems amazing to have that kind of mobility and freedom, but I don’t know. I don’t think I’m really worthy of it. It’s not really the perfect time. What if I fall? What if people judge me for falling? Nah. I’m good. And don’t even get me started on talking. I might babble and then sound dumb! Plus, I’m an introvert, so...” . . The next time you say you’re afraid of failing, take a good, long look at whether you actually care about failing or are really petrified of succeeding.
A 6 year old’s version of home making. Get it. Cause he’s making castles. Castles are homes. Never mind. #momjokes
“What other people think about you has nothing to do with you and everything to do with them.” - @jensincero . . Say it. Repeat it. Take it in. Remember it everyday. We’re all just projecting our own happiness, sadness, fear, anger, pain, despair, joy, love onto others and we’re all just receiving that back from each other. It has NOTHING to do with you. . . Today, give this question some serious thinkin’: “What goals would I set for myself if I wasn’t so damn worried about what other people thought of me? What would I decide I could do? What effort would I put in? How audacious would I get? How would I stop sabotaging myself?” . . People aren’t judging you nearly as much as you’re judging yourself. Stop making decisions about your future based on the possible, could-be, maybe thoughts of people whose opinions you don’t even care about. The harsh truth is that you wouldn’t care so much what people thought of you if you realize how little they think about you. . . So, what would you do if you stopped living your life based on the thoughts of others? 👇🏼
The best thing about best friends is they always laugh at your jokes, even if they aren’t funny. . . Tag yo’ bestie today and tell me why she’s the bees knees. Besties deserve a shout out and recognition for always having our backs. . . This here is one of my favorite people in the world, @erikatebbensconsulting who is one of the kindest, sweetest and wittiest women I know. She also shares my love for waffles and crime shows. True love.
I mistakingly wore my daughter's sneakers for an entire day. . . My 12 year old and I have the same size foot now. During a trip to Target a few months ago, we both fell in love with a cute pair of pink sneakers. She got a size bigger, feeling like it fit her a little better. . . We came home and marked the inside so we didn't accidentally steal the other's pair. For 2 months, we didn't have an issue. . . Yesterday, I slipped on my sneaks and we headed out the door for a day of errands. And I wasn't 5 minutes into our first stop before I could feel something was off. Sure, the shoes fit fine, but I didn't feel at home in them. It felt....wrong. . . I kept squirming in them, wondering why my shoes felt weird. Did I have a pebble in there? Was there a hole in my sock? Why couldn't I put my foot (pun intended) on why a felt weird wearing my sneakers. . . Then I got home, stepped into my office and noticed MY sneakers sitting by my desk. I hadn't been wearing my sneakers. I had been wearing hers. . . I was certain they were mine the entire day, not even thinking that I grabbed the wrong pair. They were right where I usually left them in the mudroom. She was wearing her boots, so I assumed her sneakers were in her room or backpack. I spent hours feeling weird, just slightly off, and excusing it away. . . Why does this story matter? Because THIS is exactly what it's like to live your life through the lens of someone else's priorities. . . When you aren't running your home, parenting your children, enjoying your life, saying yes to the things you want because of the way that someone ELSE feels about it, it's like walking around all day with the wrong shoes on. . . Sure, it fits, but not well. Sure, it looks similar, but not exact. Sure, you can walk just fine in them, but you're overcome with the wrongness of it all. It consumes your attention. It takes all of your energy. . . So today, friend, check your shoes. Are you wearing your own, or have you slipped on a pair that someone else left out, wondering all day why your life feels off?
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