Allow Yourself To Grow
Happy Sunday!
Today I have a simple message: Allow Yourself To Grow.
Growth and change and personal development are big themes in my life. I often feel a deep internal struggle. I want to shake things up and overhaul my whole life. And at the same time there is fear and doubt and worry. Then, there is a realistic, more practical side of me that says to slow down, plan, and, think things through. But what if I spend too much time planning? And I’m not doing enough.
These are my current conflicts.
As I work through these issues and adjust my planning and align my hopes, dreams and ideas with my doing, I am being gentle with myself.
And I hope that as you venture on your journey that you too take care to be kind and gentle to yourself while you learn, explore, change and grow.
I wanted to be a writer as a child. Writing and storytelling were my first loves. And I wandered off course a couple of times but now I’m back on track (it would seem).
I shared some of this journey back to writing in one of my earliest My Jamaican Vignettes Sunday essays, Naming The Things I No Longer Believe In. I hope my roundabout journey can help someone else decide to choose to accept their dreams and live their best most authentic life.
Let’s Get To Know Each Other
How are you guys doing? I want to ask a simple question, a get to know each other question.
What did you want to be as child? Are you doing that now? Or did you change your course and start a different journey. Please share in the comments so we can get to know each other better.
Have a loving and caring week. Allow yourself to grow. Choose to be happy.
Chantel
Chantel DaCosta
Chantel DaCosta is a storyteller, editor and lifestyle blogger. She is passionate about mental health awareness and Jamaican women's own-voices stories.
4 Comments
Nadine
This post resonated with me, Chantel. I kept nodding to everything you shared about your writing journey, fears, and dreams.
Thanks for the reminder to be gentle with myself. I think my overhaul needs to start with that first step of self-compassion.
More power to you on your journey.
BTW, I didn’t get this post notification in my inbox. Probably a glitch.
Chantel DaCosta
Nadine,
I am happy that this post was well received by you. It was a rather impromptu post and not what I had scheduled.
Thanks for sharing, I appreciate the support and encouragement.
That notification is still so buggy. Thanks for letting me know. Time to try-out another cron mail and newsletter plugin. I will get this right soon.
Lisa Beauchamp
It’s interesting to read your two questions: What did you want to be as child? Are you doing that now?
Having just turned 50, it has been a time of reflection, looking back at my half century of life and realising how blessed I truly am.
As a child I had wanted to be a fashion designer.
I have always loved clothes, fabrics, jewellery, and I still do to this day! At 19, while studying fashion design, I realised it was such a cut throat business and opted instead to follow my father and grandfather into the newspaper publishing business.
I had initially hoped to become a fashion journalist but my pokey nature caught the attention of the sales manager and suddenly I was selling ad space and enjoying it immensely!
Funny where life takes you.
I left my motherland, moved to Bermuda, learned all aspects of publishing and ended up managing a newspaper.
And now here I am in Cayman focusing on digital publishing.
I wouldn’t change a thing, no regrets, I love my job, and I love where life has taken me.
Chantel DaCosta
Fashion Designer… wow. Lisa, thanks for sharing your journey. And I’m very glad that it has been one that you embraced without any misgivings or regrets. Keep moving and growing.