Motivation Monday

Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a fashion designer. Later on in life, I decided to follow my dreams and graduated from FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising) with my degree in fashion design! School was challenging enough as is, but to me it seemed nearly impossible because I was incredibly sick the entire time. I fought hard to finish school, and my health definitely suffered.

I started working as a fashion designer for a company that I loved. I had known the owners for years, and it felt like the right fit. Over time, I became more and more sick, and was working incredibly long hours. I loved who I worked with, so my coworkers made it worth it to show up everyday. I’m a perfectionist and over achiever, so I didn’t leave any projects half-done, and I put everything I had into the work that I created. This is much of the reason why I became so sick.

Over time, I started to realize that there was something bigger out there for me. I was confused and scared, because I’d spent my entire life thinking fashion was what I was supposed to be doing. I’d worked so hard and gave up much of my health just to finish school, so it didn’t make sense to do something else. Being a fashion designer was all that I knew, and switching careers wasn’t something that made sense.

I battled with these feelings for a while, but I stayed working crazy long hours, and continued to make my health even worse. I decided to just stick it out, because back then, I didn’t know what else to do.

During the summer of 2010, I was in and out of work because I was so sick. I had just come back from taking the previous week off, and I stepped into work and realized that something was very wrong. I called my doctor to tell her my symptoms, and she immediately told me that I couldn’t work anymore, and that I needed to go to the ER. I left work for the day, not knowing that I’d never be back. At the time, I didn’t realize just how sick I had become.

You see, my intuition had been telling me for months and months, that I needed to leave this job. I ignored these feelings, because I couldn’t see my life any other way. I then became so sick, that I was forced to leave.

Please, please, please, do not let this happen to you.

Don’t spend time hating where you’re at in life. Do something, anything, in order to begin to change your circumstances. Don’t let excuses get in the way.

I realize that I’m a different case, just as we all are. I may have an autoimmune disease, but don’t ever underestimate what stress can do to your body, even if you are fairly well.

If you don’t like where you’re at in life, take steps to change that. Even if the steps are tiny, at least you’re moving forward. Don’t deny what your destiny is in this world, and what you are meant to do while you are here.

It’s taken me many years to finally understand why everything happened to me the way that it did. I now LOVE what I do. Today, I’m here to share my journey, and my mistakes, so that others can learn and grow. Fashion does still play a big role in my life, and I know that I’ll bring it back into my business at some point in the future.

I’ve learned to do what feels right, and simply follow my heart. Do what you LOVE!

Consider this lesson that I learned the hard way: life is too short to not do what you absolutely love!

 

I leave you with this challenge for the week ahead:

If you don’t absolutely love your life, make a change in something you’re doing this week. Even if that change seems minor or hardly noticeable, it’s a step in the right direction!

 

I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

Are you doing what you love?

Have you ever been in a place where you felt stuck, like there was no way out?

What’s the best job you’ve ever had?