Gratitude Grind

There was a time in my life when chaos felt completely normal.

​

I wasn't really in the drivers seat of my own life. I was very anxious, a major people pleaser, and always felt like I was caught in a whirlwind. I lived in what I can only describe as  fight mode- always ready for the next thing, the next problem, the next person that needed something.

​

And for a long time, I genuinely thought that was just how life felt.

​

Until one day, I couldn't do it anymore.

​

That became the beginning of doing some pretty deep work. Understanding why I operated the way I did. Learning what was mine to carry and what wasn't. Paying attention to what actually brought me peace. And slowly, beginning to take the driver's seat of my own life.

​

I am still very much me, and I'm still very much doing the work. My days are not perfectly calm and I don't always get it right. There are still times when I catch myself slipping into old patterns- taking on too much, overthinking, or feeling like I need to keep going.

​

The difference now is that I notice.

​

I am learning to listen to myself, to recognize when something doesn't feel right and to understand that I have a choice in how I move through life.

​

For me, creating a calmer life was never about creating a perfect one- although there was a time I thought being at peace meant having no stress or problems! Life is still going to be life. There will be stress, there will be hard seasons but I now have learned much healthier ways to manage and navigate when life presents these moments. Calm isn't somewhere you finally arrive. It is something you can come back to.

​

-Monica

(your barista bestie!)