Hi guys! As we get closer to my favorite half of the year (because of the holidays but really, I’m just super excited about October/Halloween) I’m realizing more and more how important it is that I continue to busy myself doing the things that I love.
I think it’s important that being busy consists of doing things that are fulfilling to me because it will always be the number one motivator to keep going. I don’t know about you but I can get discouraged very easily. When that happens, I will usually bail on whatever plans or projects I have in the works all because I have lost my confidence in being able to manifest it into something great. This year I’ve really been working hard on not bailing, on not losing confidence in my dreams, my abilities, or my goals, all in hopes that everything I envision for myself will be manifested into the world someday.
That manifestation starts with keeping myself busy doing things that fulfill me. More importantly these are things that I envision as part of my future, so there’s an accountability factor to continue to move forward when I become stagnant.
Before I dive a little deeper into why it’s important to busy yourself doing the things that you love, I have a story that I want to share with you.
This past week I had a major revelation.
As some of you may or may not know, I’ve been working on a very special project these past two months. It’s a huge passion project for me, something I have actually wanted to do for years, and am now finally getting the courage to be able to do so. This past week I had my second to last photoshoot for this project and I realized something very important. For the first time in my life I was actually taking the necessary steps towards making a dream of mines a reality.
Now I can easily argue this and say that I’ve been doing that for the past 6 years, but the truth is that I haven’t. Yes, I’ve been actively participating in things that will strengthen my craft as an actress by taking acting classes and participating in student films, and stage plays every so often. If you follow my blog then you know that I have even been attending exclusive acting competitions for the past three years, where I have been given the opportunity to meet agents and talent managers, and even current working actors/actresses at these competitions, but I haven’t really been doing anything to really shift this dream out of park and into drive.
For the longest time I’ve just been playing it safe and doing things that will make my acting resume look good, but not really doing things that will show my commitment and dedication to this craft. I’m talking about just packing up my bags and moving out to LA. Realizing that I’ve never actually put one foot in front of the other on a consistent basis to make this dream a reality, made me take a second look at where my priorities are in life. I’ve spent countless days and years beating myself up about my inability to break into the entertainment industry, so I’m not going to do that right now.
Instead, I’m going to share a piece of advice with you that I had to remind myself of this past week.
I’ve always thought that my heart and head was in the right place, but my thoughts and actions didn’t always match it equally. While I really do love acting and it will always be a part of my life, I can’t deny that there are other things happening in my life right now that is more of a priority for me. That’s school, completing this passion project of mines, and finding my comfort zone outside of my comfort zone. Basically, doing and committing to the things that are in my control without any hesitation, instead of trying to control things that are outside of my power.
Getting my PsyD., seeing this passion project of mines through, and just really building a solid foundation for myself outside of my wildest dreams are all priorities in my life right now. I have complete control over them and because of that I know that I can’t just throw them away, or make them any less of a priority just to ensure that my lifelong dreams and goals comes true.
So as painful as it was, and as painful as it still can be when I think about all the amazing opportunities I had presented to me for creating a career in the entertainment industry, I made the decision at the beginning of the year to put my dreams of becoming an actress on hold. I made this decision so that I can dedicate 100% of myself to the priorities in my life right now because if there is one thing I absolutely try to avoid doing in my life, it’s living with regret.
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With that being said this past week I realized that for the first time in my life I was taking the necessary steps to making my dreams a reality. These dreams that I am currently working on may not be the dreams that I have had for a very long time, but they most certainly are dreams that can developed a very personal and important meaning to me over the past couple of years of my life. Having this realization has left me feeling very blessed and grateful for where I currently am on my journey.
I may not be where I want to be, but I know I am where I’m supposed to be, and that makes me really happy.
It makes me happy because I’m filling my time doing things that I genuinely love. These are things that are meaningful to me. Things that are of importance to me even if they aren’t of importance to others. These are things that motivate me to get out of bed in the morning simply because I genuinely look forward to a day where I am actively working towards making these things a reality for me.
I think that’s how everyone should live their life, and it’s the one way I’ve been trying to live my entire life now. No regrets, no should of, could of, would of. Just do it. it will be scary, it’s a big leap of faith, but in the end, I promise you will always thank yourself for having the courage to actively work towards it. Someone wise once said “everything you want is on the other side of fear”, so what the hell are we all waiting for?
It may have taken me a while, but I’m finally here. All I want to do is appreciate the fact that I’m living a life doing things that are meaningful and fulfilling to me. I want to continue to make the commitment of intentionally living present in every moment, because I never want to go back to the days of doing things that don’t fulfill me simply because I need to keep busy.
All of this just to say to you that there is power to be found, and happiness to be discovered when we chose to spend our time doing things that we love. If you’re not currently doing this, you need to start doing this now because the time is now!
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Here are 5 reasons why it’s important to busy yourself doing the things that you love:
- You will be happy
I honestly couldn’t stress this enough. I truly do believe that when I surround myself with people who support my vision, and are actively doing everything in their power to ensure that I never lose sight of that vision, I’m happy. I once told a long-lost friend of mines that I was happiest when I was with him, and I truly meant that. I meant it because he was supportive of my dreams of becoming an actress, and sometimes he even envisioned levels of success for me that I was too scared to envision for myself at the time. Having that kind of support group will motivate you all the more to just commit to doing the things in life that make you happy. As a result of it you will genuinely be a happier person.
- You will always look forward to being busy
The other reason that I couldn’t stress enough is that you will actually look forward to having a jammed packed day. We all know someone who doesn’t like their job, they constantly complain about it but still get up everyday and go to work because they have bills to pay. Hell, that person may even be you! If we busy ourselves doing things that are enjoyable for us, things that fulfill us, and things that we don’t have any motivation to complain about, we are going to look forward to those days where we’re “at work” all day. I say “at work” because I also genuinely believe that when we are spending our time doing things that we love we aren’t working, we’re simply just living our life.
- There will be no limit to your creativity
You will always, always, always have ideas about how to take your ideas to the next level. You will always have these ideas because only you will understand what needs to be done in order to continue to perfect your craft, whatever your craft may be. We all gravitate towards something for a reason. Whether it’s because you see areas of improvements, or things that can be created to better something, or maybe you just truly feel like it’s something the world is missing, you have an eye and a heart for something that no one else does. Only you know the ways in which you can help others by committing to doing the things that really matter most to you, and because of that you will never lost sight of how that idea can continue to be improved.
- You will inspire others to do the same
Perhaps my favorite reason to do the things that you love is because it inspires others to do the same. For a long time, I kept my dreams of becoming an actress a secret simply because no one around me was into the whole acting thing. They didn’t get it and I didn’t see the point in wasting my energy sharing that dream of mines with them. I was foolish. Don’t be like me, share your dreams with people that you trust because they will be the support team that you are going to need in order to stay the path of seeing those dreams through. In addition to that, seeing you actively work towards those dreams with so much passion will inspire them to re-evaluate the things that they are doing with their life, and they may even surprise you by putting their dreams into action as well.
- You’re working towards your purpose in life
I know this may sound cheesy but it’s a good kind of cheesy. I believe that we are all placed on this Earth for a reason. We may not know what that reason is early on in our life, but eventually we get to a point in our lives where we discover what we are and are not good at. If we allow ourselves to shamelessly and fearlessly put those skills and abilities of ours into action, we open up doors for ourselves that we may have never otherwise had the opportunity to open. We begin to create opportunities for ourselves and eventually those opportunities will turn into something bigger than us. That’s call our purpose, and you will know when you have discovered yours.
So, you see life is one big scary, crazy, sometimes enjoyable and sometimes not so enjoyable rollercoaster of dreams, passions, and emotions. There are going to be many days when we doubt ourselves, but we will have more days when we believe in ourselves. I want you to always choose to believe in yourself and in your power and ability to manifest your truths, dreams, and passions in this world.
Everything you want is on the other side of fear so wait no longer. The time is now.
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-Xo
Kimora