Feeling Discouraged

In a previous post, I talked about how after reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, I discovered what my personal legend was, what my life’s purpose was. My mission while here on Earth is to inspire and create, but what happens when you’re feeling discouraged? Let’s talk about it!

There are times when I am amped and ready to spend a few hours out of my day creating: filming and editing content, brainstorming blog ideas, reaching out to brands, updating my website, repining on Pinterest and so on. Then there are days when I’m just over it, like completely over it. I don’t want to post, I don’t want to write, update my website nothing. During those days my energy is usually low, and I like to listen to my body. If it’s telling me to rest, then I will rest, BUT It’s also a challenge for me to not do NOTHING: to spend a day just not doing anything at all. I think it’s because like some of you, I’m accustomed to “hustling,” “grinding,” whatever you want to call it. But no one really talks about the importance of resting. There’s beauty in just allowing yourself to be in the present whether that is reading a book, taking a nap, sitting in the park, or just simply lying in bed not doing anything.

Lately, I have been feeling a little discouraged. Although there’s been some “Yes’s,” there’s been a multitude of “No’s.” I know that rejection is just redirection, but it’s like ok, where am I being redirected to? Instead of just accepting the redirection, I sometimes tend to focus on the where I’m being redirected to, which is far from the point of the process.

Aside from feeling discouraged, I have also been in a funk. Literally everything has been irritating me and I know exactly why: it's time for something new, the old ways, my old ways, the energies are no longer serving me. This is definitely an end of a cycle for me and because of this, there's been days when I haven't been in the mood to create. I would literally set up my equipment to record, and then realize that I’m not in the space (mentality) to show up for you guys. Again, I listen to my body, so if it’s telling me to rest, I will rest. Luckily, I somewhat batch create, so I also have content just waiting to be posted. The reason why I even decided to write about this post is because a few days ago, a friend of mine sent an influencer’s story on Instagram and guess whose face was on it? Mine lol. The girl had posted my bun tutorial that I posted both on TikTok and Instagram last year saying that she was attempting the hairstyle. I’m so glad this story was sent to me because like I said, I’ve been in a funk and this was a reminder for me to keep going and sometimes that's all we need, is a reminder. A few people responded explaining how they felt the same way and others encouraged me to keep posting.

Honestly my advice to myself and to anyone else on this journey is to keep posting BUT take breaks if and when you need to. Batch create, so on those days when you’re in one of your moods, you can post content that you already have. Try not to worry about the likes, the shares, the exposure because the right people are seeing your work! You were called to create, so create. Just remember, whenever you’re feeling discouraged, take time to yourself, replenish yourself, pour back into yourself and when you’re ready to start creating again, your supporters will be there!

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