The Importance Of Getting Clarity On Our Dreams

Welcome to another edition of my Weekly Journal! If you're new to grace + hudson, I use this space to share about my journey from lawyer to jewelry business owner. This week's journal entry is a continuation from last week's where I wrote about the sacrifices that are required when you start your own business. So many of you tell me that you want your own business someday but, at the end of the day, very few are willing to do what it takes to make that dream a reality. It can be scary, uncertain, and risky to take real steps towards your dream. It also can require a lot of work, a lot of long nights, a lot of discipline, and a lot of sacrifice. In writing about this topic and sharing with you what it's really like to pursue a big dream, I hope you can get honest with yourself. Am I willing to do these things? Or am I comfortable where I am and want to stay here? There is no right or wrong answer - it depends on you, your current circumstances, and what you want to prioritize both right now and in the future. But what I do want to offer in this journal entry is the encouragement to get CLARITY on what you really want and what you're willing to do.

Why is this important? Well, if you've had a strong desire to start your own business, I bet that you've had a running conversation in your head about the pros and cons, the shoulds and shouldn'ts. This conversation probably takes up a LOT of your mental head space...and therefore your time and energy as well. Am I right? I thought so. Getting clarity gets you out of this space where lots of energy is expended but literally nothing gets done. It's all in your head at this point, and if you've been in this space long enough you know how exhausting it eventually gets. Striving for clarity on what you really want and what you're willing to do to get there allows you to free up this mental space so that you can either (a) start taking the first baby steps towards building your own business or (b) start enjoying life a little more right where you are, in the here in now! In other words, you can admit to yourself this just isn't going to happen (at least right now) and you can use all that energy for other things or, dare I say it, nothing at all and just have more downtime for enjoying life or resting.

Don't get caught in the "should I or shouldn't I?" space for too long. I know people who've been talking about starting their own business for years and years. And I mean really talking about it - down to logo colors, spaces to lease, etc. Do you know how much mental energy that has robbed them of? They are always living in the "what ifs" of life. It robs them of the present time, the here and now. At some point, you have to get down to it and really decide - yes or no? If no, then embrace that and own that decision so you can enjoy other parts of your life. And - most importantly - let your dream go so that a NEW dream can come. Does that make sense? When you're stuck in "maybe" you're not realizing your current dream and you're also blocking new dreams from coming to fruition. Maybe the next dream will be better - maybe it will be one that you ARE willing to make sacrifices for. You see my point? Wishing you clarity as you mull over your dreams this week! 

If you'd like my Weekly Journal sent straight to your inbox every week, click here to subscribe. I hope you're able to learn something valuable from my business journey and my experiences!

P.S. Are you on Pinterest? I created a Weekly Journal board so you can easily navigate all of my journal entries. You can view and follow the board by clicking here. I've written so much about quitting my lawyer job to start g+h and I want to make it easier for you to access and read the entries that resonate most!

xoxo,

Stacy