Singing "ayyy level up, level up...level up level up level up!" Well If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I've been participating in the Aurelia Michael Living monthly challenges. If you don't follow me...no worries you can follow me HERE! LOL
Last month I committed to 31days of content and choreography and though it was not the easiest challenge, but I finished. Here are my top reasons why I'm glad I participated in last month's challenge and why I'm looking forward to continuing every month from here on out!
Stepping out of Comfort
I was so excited about receiving my Master's in Dance Education and realized that maybe 40% of my Instagram family have actually witnessed me dancing. Look, I'll perform in front of a live audience (like real bodies not IG live) ALL DAY, every day, if the opportunity presents itself. Because of fear, I have trouble being vulnerable and sharing my creative side on social media. What can I say... in the words of Erykah Badu "I'm an artist and I'm sensitive about my ish" (she doesn't say "ish" but you get the drift). This challenge really pushed my limits and forced me to share my gifts openly with the most opiniated people on the planet: Instagram followers. Aurelia, who I mentioned in Women Influencers who Keep Me on My Toes, said something last month that really hit home for me. "You can't be a secret and a success" Darryl disagreed and made a few examples of people who are secret successes (rolls eyes) in which I responded that he was missing the point (LOL). Even if you're not "famous” there still has to be someone who knows what you have to offer in order to succeed. Like you… the lovely person reading this. This blog and website would be pointless if I didn't have you to share my journey with and if I haven't told you, please know that I appreciate you!
Being Accountable to a Community
I’ve known for are while the importance of building community with like-minded individuals or like some may call it, having a tribe. Everyone in the challenge was broken into groups and during the last two weeks join into one. Honey, the rules of these challenges are no joke and taken very seriously. Challengers have a 3-day grace period at the beginning the month of inconsistent posting to the group and on IG stories. After the grace period if you miss a day, you’re out! Better luck next month! Some nights I was racing to the clock and thanking God that the deadline was 12 am PST and not EST! There were days that I felt like throwing in towel and just apologizing to the group before getting kicked out. Then I realized the time I was wasting saying what I couldn’t do instead of just getting up and dancing! I didn’t want to let my group down which was filled with extraordinary individuals challenging themselves to all sorts of things from mediations to singing to learning new languages and so much more. Most importantly, I didn’t want to let myself down. It’s a lot easier to be accountable to others at times than it is yourself. The community was one of my favorite aspects about this challenge and one of the main reasons I chose to continue this month. Pictured below are a couple of the awards that I received from last month's challenge! (I WAS BEAMING WITH JOY!)
Making Time for Myself
I mentioned in Self Care Practices and other posts as well, that one of the most important things we can do is be intentional in setting aside time for ourselves. It doesn't matter if you're a mom, married or none of the above... your physical being, and inner tranquility is essential. Even though my challenge wasn't specifically 30 days of self-care, carving out time devoted to my creativity was beneficial and uplifting for my spirit. It showed me what all can happen when I stop overthinking and putting myself in a box. It’s crazy the fierceness and fire that can be hidden sometimes behind titles like mom, wife, employee, etc. I shared with a sister cousin that if you’re not tapping into “that thing” –the one idea or aspiration that makes you feel a little nauseated because it makes you so anxious, you’re not walking in the fullness of who you really are. The challenge allowed me to create space for myself to just be Alex with whatever I had in me and whatever I chose to give.
At the end of August, those who completed our challenges celebrated with a virtual party of testimonials and awards! This month I’ve committed to 30 days of Enjoyment, I really want to bring in this birth year with gratitude and celebrations. I hope you’ll follow my challenge journey on IG and join me in October! For more info about the challenge you can visit HERE! And I’ll make sure to let you know how September goes!
Love ya,
Alex