It’s that time again folks!

And look at me already late to the game.

To be honest, I don’t really subscribe to new years resolutions. I think NOW is the best time to start making your life better.

However, I do totally believe in choosing a word (or mantra for my year. Last year I picked perseverance. It’s really hard for me to not be a people pleaser. So one of my goals for  2018 was to step out of my comfort zone not only professionally but personally as well. And while there is always room for improvement I’m really really proud of all the things I accomplished.

This brings me to 2019. For this year, I really really want to focus on balance.

Balance professionally, personally, mentally, physically…all of it. Over the last year, I’ve come to recognize that I need some boundaries. Boundaries for everything. And I’m willing to take a wild guess and say that you do too.

Have you ever heard of imposter syndrome? It’s something I struggle with daily. Somedays are better than other days. But it’s always there like a nagging little voice in the back of my head. And honestly, it’s just the fear talking and I know it is. Fear of what though? Failure? Because that’s just silly.

Failure leads to growth.

Failure means you tried. Failure is actually a success because I’m here to tell you that you’ll learn far more from failing then you ever will from your successes.  The only time you ever really fail is if you never give yourself the chance to fail in the first place.

And if you are sitting here saying, “Yeah yeah yeah Ashley that’s easier said then done…” well then you’d be preaching to the choir. Because I totally 1000% know this. But guess what, you can’t do better if you don’t know better. And I can say with certainty that if you would have said this to me a year ago I would have rolled my eyes and said, “You just don’t get it.”

Oh, but I do.

I get the debilitating fear. The fear that leaves you with nothing but tears and an empty heart. Because you know you can do better. You know you have it in you to do the things you’ve always desired to do. But somewhere along the line, you let someone trample those dreams. You let them convince you they were silly. You could never be an artist, a dancer, a musician, a dreamer. You could never make the world a better place. And you let them convince you in your core that you shouldn’t even try because you were bound to fail.

And pardon my language but that’s fucking stupid.

So here’s to a new year full of balance.

To letting toxic people and thoughts go. To less comparison. To more joy, more friends, more family, and more time spent getting to know the real me. To a year spent making the world a better place just because I know I can.