Hi everyone! I hope you're doing great. I'm counting down the days to the holidays.

I'm looking forward to these days off because we booked a nice hotel for Christmas to relax and reconnect. Then I'm flying back home to spend some quality time with my parents for the NYE. How awesome, I'm so excited! 

Last week, I thought about my journey to become the best version of myself. So, I want to share some of the highlights with you. 

It's been over a year since I touched the lowest stage of my life. My birthday in 2020 set the starting point for me because that's when I realized how miserable I was. I remember I blew up the candles on my birthday cake and made the wish to be healthy and happy again. 

This year, I celebrated my birthday and did so many cute things. Then, in the afternoon, I blew up the candles, and I realized that my wish had come true. So, after my birthday in 2020, I decided to start a journey to become the best version of myself. So, 2021 is my glow-up year. 

I dare to say that I'm in a better place, and I can't wait to see what's coming in 2022. But, I want to share that it takes a village to glow up; the inner strength isn't enough. You need to ask for help from somebody to exit the dark path. So, I started with a therapist. It was the most challenging decision of my life, but now I wish I had started earlier. I feel like a new person, more confident and aware. I made peace with lots of my dark sides and forgave myself for other choices. Today, I know there is much more to do, but I feel thrilled and not afraid. It's the best gift I could give to myself. 

The second most important thing I'm doing in this journey is allowing myself to rest. In the beginning, I swear I was planning the rest time during the day every single day. Now, I enjoy quality time with myself, just relaxing and unwinding. This permission I gave to myself made me discover that I love making candles at home, playing with puzzles, writing. I have more hobbies now that I work full-time than when I was a child. I feel so fulfilled that I love my relaxing time. 

Last but not least, selection. It may be sound brutal. But, since I got healed from everything, I promised myself that I would cut off all the negative people, relationships, energies in my life. It's scary, I know, but I feel newborn after this decision. I still struggle sometimes because I feel guilty, but it's like a vow I made. I'm open to everything that brings me joy, love, fulfillment, positivity, brightness. I don't allow anything else in my life. It's like a drastic choice, but it made me more aware of stressful times. I know what hurts me and what lifts me up. I decided to spend my life only with people and things that lifted me up. 

If you're starting a new journey to become the best version of yourself, all of these things above may sound so weird and complicated. So, here are three simple and practical things I can suggest to you.

Vision board

I'm not sure I believe in manifestation. But I wanted to have a visual reminder of the best version of myself I like. So, I created a vision board for my desktop wallpaper to watch every time. It's so fun and creative.

Just collect all the images that give you the vibe of your main goals. I used Pinterest to find them. The pictures of this post are part of my vision board!

Then, I went to Canva and created a collage with all the images, words, quotes. It's all free, fun, and creative. You can do it with your friends, alone, digitally, or with printed pictures. The only thing that matters is that you can watch it every time you want. 

Good things note

You know I love journaling. So I also made a dedicated post to tell you how good it's for me and my mental health. 

Unfortunately, I can't journal on the go. I need to sit and focus my energies to do it properly. But it happened that I had anxiety, bad mood swings, or panic on the go. When I live these moments, I can heal myself by changing my perspective. If I focus on the good things, even the smallest ones, my anxiety gets better until it's gone. So, I created a note on my iPhone where I write all the good things that pop into my mind to read them when I'm in a bad mood. And I read them over and over until I felt better. 

Ask for help

It took me a lot to understand that I'm not invincible and not alone. I'm an only child, so I grow up knowing that I have to make it all by myself. One of the milestones I'm proud of the most is accepting that I can ask for help, I can rest, I can say no. I'm allowed to share the heaviness with my people. 

And you know what? I managed to deepen my relationships, especially the bond with my boyfriend. Nowadays, I can tell you that we are stronger, more connected, and I feel invincible with him. Of course, I can still do everything on my own, but I know that I can share the good and the bad with him no matter what. 

That's it for now! If you are interested in more content like this, tell me in the comments or Instagram profile. I'll be happy to tell you more about this topic! Have a great weekend, everyone!