Good morning! 7 am and I am back on track! New book on my kindle, warm and yummy coffee in my hand, snuggled up on the couch with my two giant monster snuggle pups and there’s a crazy fog outside reminding me there is time to relax. I’ve spent the past month or so waking up at 7 am to get stuff done instead of do what I set out to do: allow myself ME time. I’m back to focusing on ME. This new book I am reading called ‘I AM THAT GIRL’ is perfect for this season I am in to focus on myself.
The beginning starts with a Manifesto to be read every day, and while this book is written towards women, who I admit need it the MOST, it could be directed towards anyone needing to amplify their confidence. Technically you could change she to he, her to him and so forth. She calls us the secret weapon. She says, “This book is a reminder that you matter, that what you think is important, what you say is powerful, and who you choose to be is sacred.” That gives me chills just reading it. Over the last 3 years, people have become afraid to voice their opinions over fear of being labeled as racist, sexist, anti-whatever. It’s ridiculous. Us women have spent generations being silenced and told we are only good for one thing- procreating, and yet now men are trying to take that away too. We are in a generation of softies. Everyone is offended, only the uneducated are speaking up bravely (and stupidly) for what they “believe” in. So now here we are again, being pushed to the bottom, being told we don’t matter again. I AM THAT GIRL says, “If ever there were a time for our generation to step up to the plate, to carry the torch of the WOMEN who came before us, to wreak havoc, to ask ourselves, “Why not us?” It’s now.” So below I have added her THAT GIRL MANIFESTO to this blog post to help inspire you the same way she has inspired me. May you read this every morning the same way I do to jumpstart your day and allow it to head in the direction of your dreams. May it motivate you to speak your truth and overcome your battles.
I am enough. I have enough. I do enough.
I am me. Everyday. Not who I think others expect me to be, but the REAL, unedited, beauty-full, perfectly flawed version.
I choose to think for myself. I speak my truth and wrestle with life’s tough questions over and over again. I daydream about a better world and strive to make it my reality.
My purpose drives me and I give it the freedom to change and evolve. I breathe life to my dreams and to the dreams of others. I believe in magic. I look for it everywhere. I make an adventure of ordinary things. Create, imagine, reinvent, and get lost.
I do things that inspire me. I defy the odds, raise my hand, sit at the table and lean in. I refuse to give up. I pursue my passion at all costs. I do things that terrify me. My head dances among the stars, and my feet remain on Mother Earth.
I am willing to ask the hard questions, to take chances, to love with my whole heart. My mistakes and failures make me stronger. I do not ascribe my worth to external validation, but to my character.
I surround myself with phenomenal people, especially ones who don’t always agree with me. I choose authenticity over perfection. I appreciate the small details that tend to go unnoticed by others. My worth is innate and immeasurable. I try to remind myself that, daily.
I exercise patience as often as possible, stay vulnerable even when I want to close my heart and practice coexisting with things that make me uncomfortable. I set boundaries, work to honor them, and am willing to edit people out of my life who don’t.
I walk more than a mile on other people’s shoes, and suspend judgement as long as humanly possible. I remember to laugh more, stress less, forgive often, and inject love everywhere I can.
I do my best to relinquish every ounce of control because it is futile. I throw my hands up, close my eyes, and revel in life’s awesome and mysterious ride. My emotions are fleeting, they do not define me. My choices do, and I do my best to make good ones.
I feed my body good, whole foods , but don’t punish myself for the occasional indulgence. I move my body every day. I stretch, challenge, and honor her. I rest when I need to.
I don’t accept every invitation that comes my way. I practice saying “no.” Show myself kindness, compassion, and unconditional love. I am my best friend, I am proud of me.
I share my life’s lessons with others, even the not so shiny ones. I hold nothing back. Cry when I need to, but also recognize when I need to buck up. I remember to breathe and in that space, I find my calm among the chaos. I owe it to myself to be remarkable, so I am.
BOOM! Mic drop. Every morning. How powerful are those words?! Just reading that just now, do you feel your confidence lifted? Imagine what reading that every morning would do for you? Imagine what passing that along to your friends and family would do for you? Seriously, everyone needs to buy and read and pass along this book- I AM THAT GIRL. She says, “There will be a time in history when the world recalls this moment, the moment that a generation of girls stepped up to the plate, believed in themselves, took a leap of faith, and the world was never the same again. This is our chance.”
She ends the first chapter with, “ Two words come to mind: GAME ON.”
So I will too. For myself, for passing it along to anyone who needs to hear it, for building that army of girls who are willing to DO what it takes to change the world, for the next generations, for my daughters, for their future daughters, for the Lord.
GAME ON.
The REAL me, Audra
Against the Grain 