,
Once we know what the dream is we want to pursue, no matter how small or large, getting
started is fueled by immense adrenaline and excitement. Throughout the duration of the pursuit, we might have moments of doubt, but so long as we know in our hearts what we are doing is sincere and a true passion, the doubts soon subside.
As we near the destination of completion, the doubt that danced occasionally into our lives seems to grab on with more force, more
seriousness with it’s a ttempts to invoke fear.
The fear that what we have spent so much time and energy doing was not worth it, will not work out as we had hoped or will be received far differently and negatively than we could have imagined becomes a moment to calm ourselves and remind ourselves of all that we have done and why we have done
it.
There will be critics, there always will be, but we need not be one of them. After all, often it is the critic that is harshest that is responding from a place or instance of pain in their own lives that we have triggered by what we have succeeded in doing. They may not know this themselves at the time, but it can be hard to believe their criticism most likely has nothing to
do with us.
The critiques to take and consider are the ones from those we trust, those who have the full understanding of what we are trying to accomplish and who we are innately. And even then, we must trust ourselves, as we are the best guide of what brings us joy and ultimately, contentment.
Once we have found contentment, it becomes less likely we will be rocked from our calm seat of quiet confidence. We may remain open, we may adjust and we are always in motion to some degree, but the critics are less likely to inflict real pain.
We follow dreams because a good life is made up of living
with curiosity, pursuing the unknown and the opportunity to do what we love. If we are following our dreams, we are living a dream of a life that is our reality, and how sweet is that? Critics will come and attempt to inflict a wound or two, but we have armor to protect ourselves, and that armor is self-knowledge of who we are, what we are doing and why we are doing it. Yes, the applause would be wonderful, but to please everyone is often a situation in which we lose ourselves. Be authentic, be
yourself and in so doing those who connect with you and your journey will step forward. After all, when others see you igniting, it's hard not to inspire others to find what ignites them as well.
In this week's newsletter, you'll find articles on Parisian living, Style Takeaways from Claire Underwood, the arrival of my newly retinned teapot (before and after pictures are
included), a new recipe and much more.
This week is the penultimate week to the official launch of TSLL's 2nd book. On Monday, I will be appearing live on Portland's AMNorthwest with Helen Raptis. You can watch live at katu.com/watch at 9 am Monday morning (pacific). As well, on Tuesday, the official book release date, I will be on Afternoon Live at 3pm and you can also watch via the live link shared above. A few other things to note - Inslee will be my guest on Monday's podcast, and later in the week,
I will be a guest on Jennifer L. Scott's vlog - The Daily Connoisseur - which I was thrilled to be invited to join. Sitting down with Jennifer over cups of tea was a treat even if we were hundred of miles apart as the topic of choosing our own path for true contentment and dismissing what society implores we should do was the focus of part of our
conversation. :)
If you have preordered a copy of TSLL's new book, they should be arriving shortly as last weekend my parents joined me to package and ship all of the copies ordered through the first of November. If you placed your order on November 2nd or later, they are coming, but they may be a few days after November 13th. Be sure to take a look on Instagram where readers are already sharing peeks of their own copy which just arrived here in the states and around the globe. I look forward to sharing more images in the coming days, so keep tagging me (@thesimplyluxuriouslife), as during
the last week of December, all TSLL book pics shared on IG will be included in a full, detailed post.
Thank you for subscribing to TSLL's weekly newsletter, and have a wonderful weekend. Until next week, I'll see you on the blog!
