There are two camps when it comes to New Year's Resolutions. Either you love making them, or you don't.. I’m here to say, I LOVE resolutions. It doesn’t matter if we start making them at the beginning of the year or on a random Wednesday. Call me a hopeless optimist, but it takes courage to acknowledge a struggle and then try to change it.
I haven’t written anything personal in a while. Instead, I’ve been doing a lot of processing. Here are few things I’ve learned this year:
Success will come and go: In 2016 my business experienced some high highs and some mediocre lows. What I learned through it all is to be better about setting expectations with clients, never stop pitching, and stay true to your gut. I had to remind myself that if the client’s strategy isn’t going to work well, I need to hold my ground and fight for the campaigns I know will be a success.
We teach people how to treat us: I spent the last 6 months in and out of an incredibly unhealthy romance. This surprised me, because I swore in my early 20’s I would never again let someone take advantage of my giving nature. Yet, years later, I found myself making the same mistake. I’ve had a string of micro-relationships since my serious break-up post Pittsburgh, and I have to remember, I cannot love anyone until I love myself. Only when two people are both confident and healthy can they give and receive love.
Spend time nurturing relationships that bring great things into your life: I’ve been through a lot of friend break-ups in my life. As I move forward and meet new people, it becomes more and more apparent to me who wants to be in my life, wants only the best for me, and who are negative influences. There is no reason to fight for one-sided or unhealthy friendships.
Take time for yourself: When Dom first moved in with me, everyone told me to take time for myself. I’m not sure I fully understood what that meant, but I’ve come to learn that baths are holy, going to the movies by yourself is refreshing, and we could all use a little a more meditation in our life.
Moving forward doesn’t mean you’ve quit: So, If you’ve been following my blog for a while you’ll notice some changes… We’ve dropped the #ShopLu tweets, aren’t chatting about fashion as much, and have re-focused back to art. Why? It’s not that I don’t love fashion because I do, but I’m more of a minimalist and hate how lifestyle blogging can quickly become a “keeping up with the Jones’s” game. I have no interest in competing to be the coolest, best-looking blog on the block. Firstly, I don’t have the resources and secondly, I’m too old and just not that cool anymore. The blog’s title is Lu Curates, because I believe that we can curate everything in our lives to transform the world we live in into something beautiful and unique.
Art has always been the love of my life and while it’s taken me awhile to get back to it, it will always be my deepest passion and interest.
So what can you look forward to this year on Lu Curates? Well, I’ll be spending a lot more time writing and blogging about personal branding, San Francisco Artventures and a lot more travelling has yet to come! Did I mention I’m turning 30 this year and going to Morocco?!
Lastly, thank you for following my journey in 2016! I’m incredibly gracious to have such an amazing following and I can’t wait to wander into 2017 together.