Lauren Jarvis-Gibson

Anxiety doesn’t care about how happy we are or what is going on in our lives. It is always there. No matter what we do, no matter where we are, and no matter who we are with, it can happen at any moment. The fear. The shaking. The images that cross our mind at lightning speed. The panic. The twirling of our hair. The need for more oxygen. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Success doesn’t come easily. Happiness doesn’t come easily. Loving your life doesn’t happen in a day, or in a year. That’s why life was meant to be a coin toss. To shake you around until you finally find your place. To show you that failure will one day lead you to your destiny. And to show you that hard work, the dirty and exhausting work you are doing right now, will one day be all worth it.

Sometimes love is not enough to keep a relationship together. Do not let this make you become bitter.

Don’t shrink your brightness for a man. Don’t downsize your light. Don’t turn off your happiness for anyone. Be your own kind of beautiful. And be the kind of woman that you are proud of.

The only thing stopping you, is you. The only person pushing you to not do it, is you. The only person stopping you from accomplishing your goals, is you. So stop disappointing yourself. And do it.

I am done wearing myself down. I am done giving people my all, when I get nothing in return. I am done giving away my whole heart, when all I get back, is my soul torn to shreds.

Let 2017 be the year you surprise yourself. Let it be the year you put one step forward instead of taking three steps back. Let it be the year you sprint instead of stumble. And let it be the year you go for your goals instead of turning your head away from them. Let it be the year you get up off of your ass, and start putting your life back together.

Here is to all that you haven’t discovered yet. Here’s to the beginnings that haven’t begun. Here’s to the endings that will break you and here’s to the beginnings that will build you right back up again.