SELF STORAGE

 

As I was driving through Atlanta the other day I noticed an adorable building to the right of me, a storage unit full of character, bold in its color. I sat there for a minute waiting for the light to turn green, completely zoned out and exhausted from traffic; I couldn’t quit staring at this building. The words “Self Storage” got me thinking… what is it that we “Self-Store?”

I labeled each door in my mind as the light switched to green, the words memories, failure, talent, and Self Love came to mind, and as I dug a little deeper into these subjects I ultimately came up with one word, Fear. Everything we bottle up internally or emotionally, always comes back to our fears.

We each fear something, probably more than one specific thing…

but we each fear something.

MEMORIES

when we think about our memories we think about our past experiences, where we’ve been, what we’ve gone through, the people who have passed through our lives. these memories can be pleasant, they can be joyful and euphoric, but what about the other memories? the ones we don’t go back too, the ones that we lock away and never want to talk about again?

If an emotional event turns traumatic it can affect our memory negatively, like the loss of a loved one, childhood traumas, memories from war, being bullied, physical or emotional abuse, etc. our brain has the power to block out these experiences and events as a coping mechanism.

Unconscious fear-related memories can remain completely hidden from our conscious mind, but still know how to affect our every day lives and emotions.

hints: PTSD, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, INSOMNIA, etc..

Sooner or later these memories resurface, they come back and they teach us a little bit more about ourselves, because after all, memories are apart of who we are. Its better if we face these past memories head on and find a way to push past them instead of pushing them out of reach, out of the way… Out of distance.

Pull them in, sit them in front of you and have a conversation. Learn about your past, don’t run from it. because even though you think your running in first place.. your memories are right behind you…your past is right behind you.

FAILURE

The fear of failure is something completely led on by our ego.

Have you ever thought about doing something and then started questioning yourself, only to lead your mind into thinking “I can’t?” have you ever wanted to apply for a job but you keep telling yourself you’re not fully qualified, or don’t have the college degree? Have you ever wanted to change career paths but the risk of failure has kept you behind the same desk job for 20 years? Have you ever been in class and known the answer to a question, but you didn’t raise your hand out of the fear of being wrong?

the truth is, were not really afraid of failure, were afraid of not getting things right the first time. were afraid of being told were wrong. were afraid were not going to get the job we so desperately crave, so we don’t even try, we sit back and we watch someone else fill those shoes.

We somehow need to learn how to “unlearn” the fear of failure. we need to put our ego aside and not be afraid of being told no, or not getting the first job we apply for. we need to learn how to come in second place and be proud of ourselves, and more importantly let go of the idea that we “deserve” first place, because even if you deserve it that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to receive it.

Failure is an illusion that we need to break free from, because if you don’t jump you will be standing still, and if you do decide to jump… maybe you fall…but, WHAT IF… you fly?

TALENT

This is the big one... what are you passionate about ?

What hidden talents do you keep self stored?

Most of us go our entire life with our talents hidden within. Maybe after that miserable 9 hour day behind a desk you come home and find happiness in the kitchen.

Maybe you’re the center of attention at every party thanks to your impressive dance moves. Maybe you have the voice of an angel, yet you’ve never sang on a stage.

Perhaps you come home and take out that notebook and write your heart away, then shove it under your bed so no one can find it. maybe its making jewelry, or painting pictures..

What I’ve come to realize is that the things we love, the things we TRULY love… most of the time are the things we do when we are alone. When no one else is watching. When we can tune the rest of the world out for a bit and completely lose ourselves in our passion, our talent, our art, and our happiness.

And for others they might not need to be alone at all. For some people being in a crowd is what drives their passion even more. I have a friend that has a talent of making people smile, no matter the circumstance, no matter the time or the place, he makes people smile. To some that may not seem like a “talent” but to me it is.

Because that’s what we’re given talent for. to spread it across the world in order to brighten the lives of others. To sing songs that someone else desperately needs to hear, or to write words that will encourage others to fight another day. To lift people up when they are down, to raise awareness and promote positivity.

Don’t “Self Store” your talent any longer, we are all out here waiting for you to share it with us.

SELF LOVE

The fear of self love...

How many times a day do you use the word “love?”

“I love that book. I love that movie. I love this song. I love her outfit. I love my children. I love this and I love that.” “I love, I love, I love, I love”

We love people we’ve never met, we love places we’ve never been. we love poetry that’s not about us, we love avocado because its trending. there’s all these things we claim to love.

but tell me something… when is the last time you’ve looked in the mirror and told YOURSELF “I love you?”

Be honest. Have you ever?

We live in a world where we so desperately want what others have, we tell ourselves that what’s in front of us isn’t enough. We tell ourselves that we are not enough.

Were not as skinny as the girl from yoga, were not as beautiful as the filtered images we see on instagram, were not as successful as our peers, were not having children soon enough, were not making the amount of money as our co-worker is making.

There are all these things that we don’t have and that we beat ourselves up over. There are all these bad times and moments that we look down on. we compare ourselves to those who surround us.

We “Self-Store” Self Love

We have a fear of loving ourselves the way we love books and movies and art and people.  We have a fear of loving ourselves because self love promotes self happiness. and to get to that happiness we have to dig within our soul.

We have to unpack.

We have to take everything out of storage and sort through it all.

One by one. Piece by piece.

Start with your memories, push past your failures, find your talent, & promote self love.

Don’t you feel better after sorting through all the clutter? after cleaning the house and putting fresh sheets on the bed?

Think of the mind a lot like a house-

You’ve got a solid roof- A sturdy foundation- A beautiful bright front door-

But no one knows what goes on behind closed doors. No one knows what goes on within your mind either. So lets unpack. lets take the clutter and organize it in a way that we can grow within our mind, body, and spirit.

Lets open the storage unit