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02.26.2018

Real Talk Tuesday: 10 Daily Struggles I Deal With

In a world that is becoming increasingly curated and rosy, I hope to remain someone you can count on to keep it real.
I’m a very optimistic, positive person. I see the glass half full. I look for the silver lining. That’s just who I am and how I choose to live my life.
I just feel like there’s so much darkness and depression in today’s world that it can becomes\ your reality unless you actively pursue the positive. I live my life intentionally, looking for the good and counting my blessings.
There is a thin line between optimism and fantasy. While I choose to live my life putting my positive foot forward, I’ve got to keep it real at the same time.
I think one of the most beautiful things in life is connection. I’ve found the deepest connection when the “real stuff” is what’s shared.
Yes, it’s wonderful to have friends and family who will celebrate your greatest accomplishments, but what about when life hits you like a brick wall? That’s where I’ve had some of my greatest moments with people, and that’s exactly why I wanted to begin this new blog series.

present over perfect book on a nightstand
REAL TALK TUESDAY
Welcome to real talk Tuesday. On Tuesdays, you can find me here dishing on anything and everything. Sharing my no BS point of view. Getting raw and real.
To be frank, I get so sick of following people who are overly curated. I am a big time blogger lover… I read blogs every day. I follow ladies I love on Instagram. I enjoy YouTubers more than movie stars.
BUT, I lose connection when there is nothing but “business” and “perfectly edited images/videos” shared. I’ve just had enough of all that and the only way to promote something else is to become that.
To kick off this blog series, I am going to share 10 everyday struggles I deal with! Maybe some you’ll relate to. Maybe not. The point is to show a side of me that doesn’t always make it to social media.
book present over perfect in lauren gleisberg's bedroom
10 DAILY STRUGGLES:
1. LETTING DOWN THOSE I CARE ABOUT & PLEASING THOSE I DON’T
I read Present Over Perfect last year and a few of the passages really stuck with me. I’ll paraphrase one that talks about the people in your life in relation to you. Imagine this… you’re a dot on a piece of paper. Draw a small circle around you. That’s your immediate family. Draw another circle around that. Those are your close friends and family; these are people you talk to on a daily basis. Draw one more circle… that’s everyone else, including those you may even consider friends but also co-workers, acquaintances, neighbors, etc.
When you let someone down, aim to let down those on the outer circle  and focus on prioritizing the circle/people closest to you. Most of the world (including me!) does the opposite. I get frustrated with myself because I’ll say yes to going to lunch with someone I truly like yet I haven’t had lunch with my mom or husband in what feels like forever. I certainly struggle with trying to please people that really aren’t all the important in my life.

2. NOT BEING ENOUGH
You are enough. You are enough. No matter how many times you repeat that, it doesn’t always stick. I’m constantly feeling like I could have done more or been more. I own a business. I’m a wife. I’m a mom. I feel pulled in so many directions in a day and I struggle, feeling like I don’t do anything at 100%. Or, if I think I gave 100% to work one day, I feel like I wasn’t a good enough mom or I wasn’t really there for my husband when he needed me. You know what I mean?
3. SPACE SPACE SPACE
I really like my personal space. I love alone time. I feel like that’s hard to get and it’s hard for people to understand. Actually, sometimes it’s hard for me to understand and embrace haha. I was just talking to my girlfriend and she will be telling me her weekend plans (which was more than I do in a month). Half of me was like “oh that sounds fun. I want to do that too!” and the other half of me was screaming “but that’s not you.”
I honestly don’t enjoy going from one activity to the next. I like a chill day or night. I like to watch TV alone or run to the store by myself. It’s like I need to remind myself that it’s okay to enjoy that… that I don’t need to have a bazillion plans just because everyone else does that.
4. COMPARISON
If someone tells you they don’t struggle with this, do not trust anything else that comes out of their mouth haha. Kidding. Sort of?! Just like most everyone I know, I get sucked into the comparison game.
We all know we shouldn’t compare, but I feel like it’s sometimes inevitable. When I work with brands, I’m constantly being compared to others who do what I do; I’m sure it happens in your work and life too. If you’re not confident in yourself, it can really wear on you. Heck… even if you are confident in yourself, it can still wear you down. Whenever I catch myself comparing, I mentally list 3 things I love about my life – mood shifter!
5. LOSING MY PATIENCE
This one is really real lately. I’ve described myself before as a firecracker. If left alone, I’m completely harmless and that’s the case 99% of the time. But oh baby… light me up and I’ll put on a show.

Perhaps I’m not letting go of little stuff as it happens lately, but I feel like I hold things in and then BANG * insert firecracker sound effect* I lose my patience. Then 12 seconds later, I’m more upset that I lost my patience and acted like someone I don’t want to be. I think I need to get back to yoga haha.
6. NOT TEXTING/COMMUNICATING
Literally, I am the world’s worst communicator via text. Ask my best friends… they’ll tell you that you can reach me via email quicker than you can through a text message. My family calls my husband to reach me most days lol. When I first had Leo, I was introduced to the miraculous iPhone “do not disturb” feature. I set my phone so that the only notifications I get are calls from those on my favorites list (which includes 3 or maybe 4 now that I think of it people lol)
What I like about this: I’m more present. I would be the most disengaged mom/wife/friend if I responded to all the texts I get in real time. And, I work on a screen all day long. The last thing I want to do in my free time is text and be on my phone.
Where I struggle: I feel like I don’t stay in as good of communication with those who mean a lot to me as I should. I know I let my friends down when I get a “hey, I’m at work… can you text? I’m so upset” text. I feel shitty about that to be honest and I struggle with the balance of staying in touch and unplugging.
7. OVERTHINKING
I overthink so many things! When I finally get back to texting someone (LOL!), I say something then I worry that they took it in a different way than I intended. I’ll go ask my husband how it comes off. He gives me the same response: “babe, don’t worry.” If only it were that easy!
8. A TO DO LIST THAT IS NEVER COMPLETED
I live and die by my to-do list. I make one every day. In fact, I make multiple per day. I have a weekly target list and I make my daily to-dos based off that. I have work, social media, home and family subsections. Sounds like I really have my stuff together, huh? haha. Well, I never hit all my boxes on that to-do list. I really feel like I add more to that list than I do check things off. Constant struggle!

9. RUSHING THROUGH LIFE
These days are fast paced. You need to be here. Then, approximately 2.43 minutes later, you to be over there. On the way, you need to respond to 6 emails. While you’re doing that, you need to be thinking about what to make for dinner. I actually enjoy the day-to-day grind quite a bit, but I struggle with rushing through stuff. Even if it’s a simple drive or a few minutes of downtime in between calls, I want to better appreciate each moment and not feel rushed to what is next.
10. NOT GIVING AN F
Ugh, do I wish I was better at this! My husband is #GOALS when it comes to giving no f***** as you may already know haha. Truly, I think I’ve actually improved a lot in not caring so much about the little stuff. Yet, it’s a daily struggle for me to let go of the unimportant (cleaning up my house) and really focus on what matters (spending that time as a family). So what do you think… did I pick up or have an extra long story time with the family tonight?! haha you can see here
Alright, loves… those are some things and thoughts I struggle with on a regular basis. I look forward to sharing more posts like this with you!
Until next time,
Lauren
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