7 Truths Learned from Aerie Real Talk

Hi! Hope you had a great Monday at work and are now at the comfort of you home, relaxing reading A Hint of Life!

This past weekend, I went to the Create & Cultivate pop-up at the new Aerie store in Lincoln Road, Miami Beach. I have been to 3 of Create & Cultivate’s conferences and they are MY thing so when I heard about them coming to Miami during Art Basel, I knew I had to be there.

First off, Aly Raisman was there (she’s THE Gymnastics Gold Medalist!) and I got a signed copy of her new book, FIERCE. Here’s a picture of a totally star-struck moment after she asked my name and told me she had my same green jacket! haha. Anyway, Aly was one of the panelists and they talked about self-love, loving yourself for who you are and not letting society put you into a category. I loved that Aly referenced her kindness as her favorite attribute. Also, once Aly retires from gymnastics, I’m sure she will be a motivational speaker or an interviewer, or something where she needs a microphone – She’s SO put together and speaks great to the audience.

Every time I go to a conference, I either have a notebook or my phone to takes notes on. Below is the unedited version of my notes. There were 7 things that really hit my heart when I heard them and those are the ones, I want to expand a little bit more on so that YOU can also take advantage of them.

“My biggest obstacle, in creating the life I want, is me.” In my case, I have always been the one that looks confident on the outside but on the inside, I 100% don’t believe in myself or my ability to create the life I want. It’s a tough mind game when it comes to being your biggest critic but I believe the first to becoming your biggest cheerleader is to acknowledge all that you know, accept what you don’t know and ask for help. How do you feel about this?
“Whether you think you can or you cant, you are right.” This was one of Aly’s comments and it brought me back to my volleyball days because my coach ALWAYS said this! Think about when you are walking in really high heels and keep thinking, “I don’t want to fall, I can’t fall, I don’t want to fall” and Puuf!! you… fell. Again, your mind is your biggest ally. If you keep thinking negative thoughts, they will happen. When you catch yourself thinking about things you don’t want to happen, take a second and change it around. Example of a negative thought: I don’t want to be unemployed. Example of a positive thought: I will get that job. By simply changing don’t to will, you are making massive progress.
“What is my happiness? What is my success?” A lot of times we focus on what others image of success looks like. We try to create our path based on what society or your friends or your friends are doing or what they think looks like you are successful or happy person. I’m VERY guilty of this. I often feel like the odd want out because I want different things that the rest of my friends or family members that are around my same age but I have found out, THIS is what makes me happy. I love writing, I love connecting with you, I love learning and sharing. To me, THIS – keeping and growing A Hint of Life is success. Yes, I have an awesome full-time job but finishing work and grabbing my A Hint of Life computer to continue working IS happiness and IS success. My key learning here is to always remember why you started something and not letting outside noise re-direct your path. What’s your happiness? What’s your success?
“See the beauty, say the beauty.” This one was one of my favorites! The question was about how do we grow the conversation about self-love, self confidence and standing up for who we are and this was the response; We cannot wait for someone else to say something nice about you, for you to say something nice about them. You and I should take the initiative: if you like a girl’s pink hair, say it! and mean it. A lot of times we say we like something just to break the ice, this is not the idea. The idea is to really mean the words that come out of our mouths, to create a beautiful moment. So many people are going through really difficult times in their lives and all they need is a little uplift in their day. Maybe your ” I love your red lipstick!”, will make that girl go into her job interview with full-force confidence. Isn’t it nice to know that we can affect someone else’s life?
“No one is focused on what you are insecure about.” A girl in the audience was really strong and spoke up about her feelings about not feeling comfortable about her shirt being too tight. I loved the response from the girls speaking on the panel. NO ONE is focused on what you are insecure about! SOOO true! I learned this recently because I have really greasy scalp. I used to wash my hair every day because I didn’t want anyone to see my greasy hair. I always knew it wasn’t healthy to wash to hair everyday and one day I committed to not doing that, even if had worked out that day. Little by little, I became more comfortable with being outside with my non-washed hair. What was the result? Silence! No one notices anything and if they do… who cares? I wear my greasy hair in a pony tail and it’s less noticeable. Our insecurities are only true through our eyes, the rest of the world has other things to focus on. Thoughts?
“It’s ok to not be ok.” This one is simply but I thought it was important to share with you. I share this personal post a few weeks ago and although I’m a bit better, I haven’t made that much progress and this past Saturday, I felt better about not being ok. Life can take so many unexpected turns and we are never ready for them, we are caught by surprise. Know that it’s ok and it’s ok for you to take your time to adapt to your new life, to your new challenges, your new routine.
“I’m happy where I am, I’m happy about what I’m doing, I’m happy about what I’ve accomplished and… I’m going to do MORE.” Finally, don’t give yourself such a hard time. It’s easy to be self-critical but think about if you would speak to your BFF, the way you speak to yourself. Actively practice to speak, encourage and root for yourself the way you would to your bestie.