8 Quotes That Changed My Life
Inspirational quotes and I have a little bit of a love-hate relationship. There are some that I hear and instantly roll my eyes because they're absolute nonsense and then there are some that really get under my skin, in a good way and have completely changed the way I think. And as I know the online world has a soft spot for an inspirational quote or two I thought I would share the ones that have had a really long-lasting impact on my life.
WE ACCEPT THE LOVE WE THINK WE DESERVE
This is a really famous quote from the book 'Perks of Being A Wallflower', which is hands down one of my all-time favourite books. When I read this line, it was almost like a switch had been flicked on in my brain. In the past, I've really struggled with my self-worth in any type of relationship I had and friendships too. And that definitely lead to some rocky relationships, not knowing your worth and not thinking we're worthy of love is such an awful cycle to be in. Once I realised I was far better by myself than in a foul partnership and really worked on the relationship that I have with myself things changed so much. Now that I know that I mean something to myself it's completely changed the way that I act in my friendships and relationships too.
YOU WILL NEVER INFLUENCE THE WORLD TRYING TO BE LIKE IT
Although the term influencer makes me want to crawl into a hole and never come out. Encouraging people to follow their passions and what they want to do instead of following the crowd is so important. I know how easy it is to fall into the same patterns of other people because they seem comfortable and safe. But when we're all doing that we all end up doing the same thing and is that interesting? I don't think so. You don't have to want to influence the world to forge your own pathway in life but we should want to do things that feel right to us and be able to question age-old traditions when they no longer make any sense.
COMPARISON IS THE THIEF OF JOY
I've spent far too long comparing myself to well, just about everybody I can think of and it really is the biggest waste of time. We all know this but we still spend our precious time sat scrolling through social media wondering why our lives aren't that way and why we aren't living the same way as other people. And of course, the second that I start comparing my life to that of other people then I instantly feel down on myself even though I know I have an incredible life. I don't think it's all that easy to stop comparing yourself but I know how important it is for my mental state which is why I curate my social media feeds so carefully. No-one needs to follow anybody that makes them feel bad or question what they're doing because it doesn't look the same as someones carefully curated Instagram feed.
CREATE BEFORE YOU CONSUME
This was something I heard a good 4 or so years ago now and it's something that I remind myself of daily. I love consuming content, if I didn't consume what other people made then I wouldn't be blogging. But something I try to do is to create my own things before consuming too much of someone else's work. When I find myself really heavily invested in someone else's content I tend to sway to how they create things. I lose my way and I compare myself because my mind makes me believe that someone else obviously knows better than I do. It's very much a big comparison trap for me and of course, comparison is the biggest thief of joy. There's a fine line between letting yourself feeling inspired by what other people do and letting that drive you and then it making you feel really crappy.
INVEST IN THE PEOPLE WHO INVEST IN YOU
I'm sure we've all been there when we've invested a lot of time in a friendship or a relationship and the other person just constantly takes away rather than giving anything back to us. And I'm not talking about physical things, I'm talking about taking away from us mentally. There is no such thing as an equal relationship or friendship but there does always need to be some sort of balance. We've probably all encountered the people who never ask how we are or ask what we've been doing and seemingly just want us to be interested in them and don't want to give anything back. Those are terrible relationships to have and everyone deserves to feel cared about and loved, I've never heard of a one-sided friendship/relationship that ended well.
DON'T LET YESTERDAY TAKE UP TOO MUCH OF TOMORROW
As a chronic worrier and overthinker, this is something that I wish I could get tattooed on my forehead as a daily reminder to stop dwelling on things. Even though I know it's a huge waste of time I can't seem to help it as my brain is convinced that going over the same situation thousands and thousands of times is going to end well. And shocker, it never does. Once a situation has come to an end it doesn't matter how much thinking we do we can't change the outcome which of course is incredibly frustrating as I'm sure we all wish we could change the way certain things have gone but we never can. So it's pointless to let that situation seep into other days and ruin them as well, we can't always live right in the moment as of course, we have to plan for the future but worrying about things that have already happened or haven't is so important.
GIRLS DON'T DRESS FOR BOYS, THEY DRESS FOR THEMSELVES AND OF COURSE, EACH OTHER - BETSEY JOHNSON
This is hands down one of my favourite quotes about style and something that is so, so true. When I get dressed in the morning I obviously go through the thought process of whether or not the outfit is practical or not, if I like it and then my next thought is always, if I'm seeing another female is what she will think. And I don't think that's a bad thing. I've spent far longer choosing an outfit to see my girl friends than I ever have to see my boyfriend. When I get dressed I never, ever think about what a man may think about my outfit. I have the same thought process about wearing makeup too, I want to apply a full face because I enjoy it and then I love that another female may ask about my mascara or eyeshadow.
THE BAD NEWS - NOTHING LASTS FOREVER...THE GOOD NEWS - NOTHING LASTS FOREVER
When you're going through a rough time it can feel like it's going to last forever and there is no end point to the situation. I've found this to be especially true when it comes to mental health. When you're particularly low or really struggling with your mental state it can feel like there is absolutely no way out and we will feel the same way forever but there is always light at the end of the tunnel. And when we're feeling good and happy, that never lasts forever either but I am a big believer that there cannot be good without some bad. We can never appreciate the good moments in life without knowing how hard it can be. It would be ideal if that wasn't the case but that's just not how life works.
