{a particularly} thankful thursday.

Today I am thankful for…

This day. The opportunity to spend time relaxing, reflecting, and celebrating with my family.

How many incredible and unexpected things have happened since this time last year.

The fact that New York City is my home.

…but that I don’t have to brave it during the parade today ;)

Slowly but surely crossing things off my holiday bucket list.

(Santa and I had a heart-to-heart, clearly)

Movember. Not only does it hit close to home this year, but I’m just a fan of facial hair in general.

Pre-Thanksgiving feasts.

(honey-baked ham, eggs, spinach, avocado, classy paper plate)

Marshall Eriksen.

That feeling that exciting things are about to happen.

Faux fur.

The troubles I don’t have.

Tattoos.

That it’s never too late to start over.

“Selfie” named word of the year by the Oxford Dictionary. I COULDN’T AGREE MORE.

The fact that I have never once shopped on Black Friday.

…and probably never will.

“Ordinary” moments.

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What are you thankful for today?

the thing about striving.

Confession time. For most of today, I found myself in a constant state of striving too much. I spent hours wracking my brain for how I can make things in my life better – GML, FreelyBe, my apartment, my relationships, dream endeavors, my finances…

…yeah. It was exhausting.

Naturally all of that striving led to comparing myself to others, and before I knew it I had make-believe competitions going on in my head. I know, I’m crazy. I told you this was a confession!

I don’t know about you, but this is something I struggle with way more than I’d like to, and way more than I should. I often just accept over-striving as normal a part of life, and I let it run its course until it goes away. But today, I remembered this image I repinned this very morning:

And then it hit me. Everything I was striving for – the things consuming my mind –was driven by negativity. As much as I thought these were positive things that would improve my life, what I was believing wasn’t even based on the truth. Instead it was based on speculation, fear, and worry. The thing about over-striving is that it rarely gets you what you actually want. And if it does, you’ll probably be too bruised and beaten to actually enjoy it.

I’m not saying that all striving is bad. I think it’s crucial to have goals and dreams and to work for them. In fact, none of the things I was striving for today were necessarily bad in and of themselves. But I think that it’s important to pay attention to our intentions behind those desires, as they can become quite unhealthy without even realizing it.

So what did I do with my weary mind, full of over-striving buildup? I decided to let it go, and instead grasp onto the truth. I let myself rest. I let my mind rest. I’m trusting that all of those “important” things will get figured out in their due time, and all I have to do is keep putting one foot in front of the other.

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Can you relate to this? What is the truth behind what you are striving for?

thankful thursday.

Today I’m thankful for…

Thanksgiving being one week away.

Loving what I do.

Caring less and less about what people think.

Free coffee every morning.

Grocery shopping. One of life’s simple pleasures.

Discovering KIND Healthy Grain Bars.

Second chances. Giving and getting.

Boots and scarves and sweaters and beanies and gloves and *takes breath* all things cozy.

All of this to look forward to.

Growing friendships.

The motivation that only an early morning workout gives.

Low key weeks followed by not-so-low key weekends.

Life. The straight and the crooked.

What are you thankful for today?