Get Out Of Your Own Damn Way

No looking back, you hear me?

Forward. Just keep moving forward.

I think as we read the words, “keep moving forward “we all picture ourselves in a different scenario. When we shut our eyes and play that movie in our head, “forward” looks different for all of us.

I envision myself on one of those moving walkways, like the kind you see in an airport. The kind of walkway that mimics an escalator, but at ground level.

Real question…have you ever tried to run/walk backwards on one of those things?

Okay, so I’ll admit that I have (once or twice) BUT I’m here to confirm it’s more or less impossible to actually run backwards on one of those things! Don’t believe me? Try it the next time you have a minute between connecting flights!

Moving forward, I’d say in the last year I have learned more about myself than any other time in my life.

For some time, a phrase stayed stuck in my head. I was hearing it so loudly that I reached a point I could no longer stand it.

“Stop trying to fix yourself!”

Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in my head flashing words like on an old marquee. These words flooded my heart and mind.

“Stop trying to fix yourself!”

I knew that in order to move forward in the direction I wanted, I had to leave the habit of “fixing myself” in the past.

Somewhere along the way, I became someone who cared more about how others viewed me rather than how I viewed myself. I am here to confirm this is as unhealthy as a bologna sandwich!

Kids, don’t try this at home.

What I realized was that the only person holding me back was someone I saw every day. She stared back at me each time I looked in the mirror.

That person was me.

As I normally do, I gave myself a pep talk and what popped into my mind was this…

“Jessica, you are someone’s best friend, daughter, cousin, niece, granddaughter and role model and they love you just the way you are. So, who are you trying to fix yourself for?”

You are trying to fix yourself for people who are not in your circle. You are trying to conform to outsider’s perspectives of who you should be.

So I am here to tell you this….

No looking back, you hear me? Forward. Just keep moving forward (even if it’s in your cozy coupe) forward is forward, right?!

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