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A recurring theme in my life has almost always been one of continual growth. Whether it was in the classroom, in my personal life, or on this entrepreneurial adventure, it’s always been there. Sometimes that meant figuring out ways to do something better, sometimes that meant learning something new, and sometimes that meant starting over. Because it’s how I approach my life, it came naturally when I was trying to figure out how to apply it to the areas of our lives that impact our confidence. If you haven’t heard me say it before, I believe that when we are our most confident selves, we can conquer the world. And when I say confident, I don’t mean egotistical. I mean when we are living our most authentic lives being sure of who we are, what we want, and being committed to finding a way to get where we’ve set our sights. That’s where the theme for this week comes from. This week is going to take a deeper dive into my signature method, Shab to Chic, which is just another way of saying, I want to take where I’m at and level up. So, how does one go from Shab to Chic? Buy implementing 3 simple steps: editing, rebuilding, and reflecting. I’ll be looking through the lense of how we look, feel, and think, but I truly believe these principles can be applied to any area of your life that you are looking to improve in.
The Edit
I don’t know why, but this is probably my favorite part of the process. I love to get rid of things. Actual things, habits, clothes, pantry items that have been sitting around you name it, and I probably like to purge it! So, let’s break this down by confidence category.
In Your Closet: I have some hard and fast rules for what stays and what goes in your wardrobe. I know it can be a TASK to tackle your closet, but I also know that it’s the only way to get things to a more streamlined place. So, here are my rules: If you didn’t wear it last season, it goes. If it’s ALL you’ve worn that season, it needs to go or be put away for the time being. If it doesn’t fit you, it goes. That one is a HARD line because the messages ill fitting clothes send you aren’t nice and no single piece of clothing deserves that much power. Period. Make piles using these rules for what stays and what goes and then organize what’s left.
In your Kitchen: Because what we put in our bodies is one of the biggest factors in how we feel, it makes sense to do a full edit in your kitchen. Essentially, you need to clear out the stuff that isn’t serving you. If you aren’t sure what those things are, start paying really close attention to how you feel after eating it. Or, if there is a guilty pleasure lurking in your pantry or freezer that you are indulging in more than you should, it’s probably time to go. I’ll be sharing ideas about how to replace them in the next section.
In your mind: This one is where you’ll get the most bang for you buck, but it takes a decent amount of work. Let’s face it, many of us have thoughts running through our minds on the regular that are NOT serving us in a positive way. And getting rid of them is no small feat. Recognizing them when they pop up is the first step, deciding what camp they fall in (+, -), and then getting rid of them if needed. Here’s an example: my kids were sick for the last 10 days. I would find myself envisioning all the worst case scenarios, especially at night and my whole body would panic as if they were actually happening. So, I had to stop, recognize they weren’t real, and choose a different thought. And my body could relax. It takes time, but boy does it make a difference!
The Rebuild
Now that you’ve gotten rid of the stuff that you know isn’t serving you, it’s time to start adding in new things to replace them with! This part can be really fun. But it’s important to put some thought behind it to help build new habits, items, and foods that will help you get closer to where you want to be. Here are some ideas to get you headed in that direction.
In your Closet: Once you have organized the items you decided are worth keeping, you likely noticed some patterns and gaps. Maybe you have a ton of one type of top which means you need to add in some variety. Maybe you noticed you don’t have a single pair of real pants outside of your leggings. That can be easily fixed! Maybe you have a bunch of black. Time for some color! You get the picture. I’m shared some ideas on the blog last week if you want some help in that category.
In the kitchen: Now that you have removed some items, or even just limited them, it’s time to stock up on things that will actually serve you. Meal planning will help and so will planning for your snacks. This might sound a bit overwhelming at first. So my advice is to start small. Pick one item you want to work on adding in. A healthier snack, one or two healthy meals planned each week. If you try to overhaul everything at once, it will feel like too much. I am also really big on finding things that taste really good. You can use this link for some ideas to build simple snacks and this post also has some ideas that might be helpful for you too.
In your mind: My favorite way to start rewiring the thoughts that run through my mind is to start fueling it differently. When you sit back and take stock of the input it’s receiving, you may start to see some connections on how that is having a pretty major impact on the thoughts that pop in. Changing the input can change the output in a big way. It’s really no different than the food we eat and how that impacts our performance and how we feel. If you start listening to podcasts, reading books, and following people who inspire you, on a consistent basis, the thoughts will start to follow suit. It’s pretty amazing once that begins to happen!
The Reflection:
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