we all know that last week i was in kind of a mood. some weeks feel uninspiring, or you want to keep beating yourself down, or you’re just plain busy. last week was all of the above. i recall one of the days when i was in a rush, trying to get out the door for work, and i’m searching for my keys amidst the pieces of junk mail scattered on my kitchen table that never made it to the trashcan and on my desk which is littered with notecards and study materials for wine class, among other things, and then – THERE ARE THE KEYS – so i grab them, turn around, and proceed to trip over my not-yet-unpacked suitcase from the weekend, almost knocking over my laundry rack which is still sporting clothes that dried two days ago. ugggggghhhhaaaaaa. i jump up, cursing, scolding myself for being such a mess. and when i get in my car, i pause for just one second, staring through my windshield at nothing, feeling strangely sad all of a sudden, and think, wow, i really used to think i was the type of person who has their sh** together.
my self-improvement list these days is as long as santa’s naughty and nice list, seriously. what happened to the girl who cooked all the time at home and ate really healthy and always emptied the dishwasher as soon as it was done and never procrastinated or missed a workout or left junk mail on the kitchen table? she’s nowhere to be found, of that i can be certain.
but. there’s always a but. i was fortunate to attend PMA’s women’s fresh perspectives conference in phoenix this week, and i came back inspired and rejuvenated. being around so many strong, capable women who had paved their own way in the produce industry and hearing about their backgrounds, their tips for success, their life stories inspired me to want to grow as a person, both personally and professionally. i had a little revelation on one of the days as i thought back to that very moment the week before. not something profound, but it still felt like a lightbulb went off in my head. because all of my imperfections and shortcomings are human, and every woman in the world experiences them, no matter how successful they are or how “perfect” their life seems. the frustrating, gritty, unfun realities of my life are part of being an adult and having responsibilities and a job and a personal life and a home of your own. no one can balance all of those things perfectly, even when they’re single, and maybe it’s actually a good thing to have a “to-improve” list, a sign that you’re making efforts in that direction. which gave me an idea. what if i choose an area of my life that needs improvement every single week – just one – and spend that week trying to improve that one thing?
this is how i came up with the idea of selfie sunday. selfie – which in this case stands for self-improvement – sunday will be the day that i post a new personal and/or professional challenge for the upcoming week that will help better me as an individual. it might be something broad and abstract, like “try to be more assertive,” or specific and concrete, like “fold and put away all my laundry immediately.” i would love it if you guys took the opportunity to follow along on my journey and challenge yourselves each week as well, whether it’s with the same challenge that i post or something different that you want to work on. then, just to keep things fun, i will post a selfie of myself along with the post, because duh, posts without pictures are boring [like this one, ha!], and it will serve as a reminder that even though it’s good to constantly be improving yourself, it’s still important to love yourself. cheesy but true.
i promise i’m not turning into some kind of self-help blog, but i think this new project will be beneficial and fun, too. my mom has always said, “who are we to judge others? if we all spent less time pointing fingers at others and more time focusing on bettering ourselves, can you imagine how different our world would be?” she’s a wise woman, and i’m taking her cue and starting this sunday. 52 weeks of self-improvement [and some accompanying selfies, hehe], here we come!
xoxo