Little by Little

As 2020 rushes through its start, you may have found yourselves reflecting on where 2019 went and what you were able to accomplish within that time frame.

Some of your feats may have been grand and obvious, while others were smaller victories, perhaps only really known to yourselves. Maybe you faced some disappointments as well — for the loftier goals that weren’t quite completed.

I’m here to remind you that great things take time, and to bring some love and attention to those smaller victories that continue to pave the way to your dreams.

One of my proudest accomplishments of 2019 was finding a rhythm in slowly and steadily chipping away at my goals. Even though I have these massive projects I haven’t yet accomplished, the only way I’ll do so is by taking tiny steps each day. In 2019 I found peace in scaling back and doing my best, in committing to writing this newsletter weekly, even if that was the only thing I could fully complete. I began to take more accountability for my time; first by challenging myself to work on my passions for 10 hours a week. Eventually, that strategy became obsolete, because working on my projects turned habitual.

Small steps turn into habits. Habits set the tone for your life. And with that, it’s important to mention that when we falter — whether it’s by not “doing enough”, steering off a healthy diet, or making a similar mistake, we must still root for ourselves and keep trying.

Last year I also started a daily work out practice consisting of just 10 minutes a day. Even so, there were times when I was either rushed, exhausted, or sick, and didn’t complete my work out. In the past, it would’ve been so easy to see this as a failure and to quit on the whole thing. But instead, I continued my work outs the next day that I could, even if a week had lapsed by. Removing the self-judgement, and a black and white “success/failure” mentality from the picture gave me the freedom to be imperfect and to continue moving in a positive direction the best way I could.

There is no failure when we keep going, even if it’s little by little, in fact there can sometimes be more pleasure in taking it slow — like an artist finding joy within each brush stroke of their painting.

What’s New?

Video: How to Accomplish Your 2020 Goals

In this video I talk about how you can achieve your goals this year, in 2020. I present some powerful questions you can ponder and invite you to acknowledge what you were able to complete in 2019. Furthermore, I explain how you can break down your goals into smaller, tangible steps using some personal examples, and how these small steps turn into habits that will guide you towards success.

Watch

Balancing Your Ambition for the Future with Appreciation for Your Current Self

Happy November!

I like to celebrate the beginning of months as a fresh start, and as the opportunity to experience some amazing things to come. To me, months are like tiny years. So much can happen in 30–31 days, that it’s good to take a deep breath and think about some of our intentions for this time period. Do you have any goals? What do you hope goes really well in the next month? Also, what was your biggest lesson or accomplishment from October?

As a very goal-oriented individual, I am currently finding my balance between my ambition and drive for the future, and a practice of presence, self-compassion, and encouragement towards the present-day version of myself. I’ve been journaling on recent accomplishments and appreciating the newer, healthy patterns I’ve developed along the way.

Because of this, I was inspired to create a guided meditation which helps you visualize your future-self, five years from now. Afterwards, I guide you through acknowledging, loving, and encouraging yourself as you are today.

I’ve been meditating at the start of my day for some time now, and it’s a game-changer. Dedicating a little time in the morning to connect with myself and higher source is invaluable, and now it’s hard to imagine it not being part of my routine. When my mind is awfully loud, it can be helpful to do guided/visualization meditations, like the one I created. It’s also nice to switch up what types of meditations you do and see what works for you.

If you feel called to, check it out below (it’s on my Youtube and podcast).

And a little disclaimer: the sound quality is poor in a couple parts, which was super annoying, but I decided to put it up anyways, because if I let the perfectionist side of me run the show, I’d probably never share anything 😉

Anyways, have an AMAZING weekend. You deserve it all.

Listen to the meditation on Youtube
Listen on anchor or anywhere podcasts are found

Creative Blocks and Comparison

Hey friends:

I’m back with a topic for my fellow creators and creatives out there who may be feeling blocked or weighed down from the pressure to create.

Recently I experienced a lot of internal pressure to write, to make videos etc. for the sake of consistency, and fueled by comparison. There are people online who I follow and admire that constantly create and it’s so easy to feel like I’m falling short sometimes when I compare myself. My body and mind truly needed rest after working so much, and I was having trouble admitting that some days are better than others when it comes to creativity and productivity and that I have my own process and journey to go through when it comes to creating that can’t be compared.

If you can relate and struggle with some of the same things, I made a video yesterday that covers how we can move through feeling stuck in our creative blocks, embrace the process and honor our own individual methods and ways of creating.

You can check it out here:

I’m happy to report that I’m more inspired and in flow now because I gave myself the time to feel, to introspect and to share the lessons learned without overthinking it.

Hope it’s helpful, I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic!

Love,

Gabriela

What is Self-Care?

I am so happy to be writing from home! These past couple weeks have been insane with “summer flying.” I’d been warned about how busy the airline industry could get during the summer but I was not mentally prepared for all the reroutes and fast pace of things.

It’s so good to finally have moments to sit back and breathe. To enjoy the comforts of home (particularly the couch) and to check in with myself. I am intently focused on self-care during these few days of rest.

Yesterday my partner and I melted into the couch and today I have a little spa day planned. Not only that, but I also booked a psychic reading with someone I found through a podcast.

This got me thinking about self-care and what that really means. Self-care usually connotes images of women in face masks or getting massages, but there are so many other fun and creative ways that we can check in and take care of ourselves—physically, mentally, spiritually.

For me, today it means getting a psychic reading because it’s fun and it gives me spiritual direction.

Self-care could also mean taking the time out of the day to face time with good friends, getting lost in laughter and conversation, or driving to a random town for the hell of it.

Sometimes it’s not exciting per se, but it could be exactly what you need, like eating ice cream in the bath tub, or spending an entire day watching TV, letting your body fully relax and my mind drift for a while.

Sometimes it is more cliche for me— like getting my eyebrows and nails done so I can feel amazing on the inside and outside. (Personally, I’ve found a strong correlation between how I look and how I feel).

My point is: you get to decide what self care looks like for you and it’s important to take note of when you’re in dire need of it. Better yet, to recognize when you could use some lovin’ before you’re in serious need of it, and to incorporate it into some sort of routine. I know I need some attention when my body starts aching, my patience thins, and my mind falls down a negative spiral. It’s then that I know I have to make the time for myself and replenish.

What are your self-care methods? I would love to know! Respond back to this email or connect on instagram @gabrielammelgar

Love,

Gabriela

PS-

Last week I made a Youtube video titled “Surrender to a Bigger Plan.” It was inspired by reading “The Universe Has Your Back” & talks about how “surrendering” has created more peace and happiness in my life.

You can check it out here

I’m getting in the groove of creating weekly videos. If you’d like to subscribe, head to my youtube channel.

Beginner’s Mindset

Hey guys!

I recently felt inspired and made a Youtube video for the first time in 9 months.

I started a Youtube channel three years ago, while I was still living in Vietnam. At the time I was close to finishing my teaching contract and was unsure of what my next step in life would be, but was considering teaching in another country.

As part of my research I watched tons of videos about people’s experiences abroad to give me an idea of what living in other places might be like. It was then that I realized I had something to offer: my very own experience of Vietnam.

I didn’t have a proper camera, or a mic. I simply recorded on my laptop and spoke. Back then I didn’t even know how to edit videos, so I when I messed up the first couple minutes I had to start over again. After that I didn’t over think it, and just spoke about my experience. That video ended up being the most popular on my channel by far, with over 100k views to date.

Once I started to learn how to edit videos I got fancier with the quality and more demanding with myself about how they should look. Although I definitely had some fun creating them, they eventually started to feel like work. When I went back to basics, just me in front of the camera speaking my truth, I felt like it wasn’t good enough. I had so many mixed emotions about making videos. On one hand I had some success gaining viewers and subscribers and if felt rewarding to connect with others and create a video from start to finish. Yet, I was overly critical of myself which led me to “giving up” for some time. I figured if I I didn’t have the energy or will to do it near perfectly and consistently, I minus well not do it at all.

I happened to check on my channel the other day and noticed I had gained a number of new subscribers during my hiatus. It’s funny because I wasn’t trying to grow my channel, just as I had gone into my first video with zero expectation. I was inspired to go back to my beginner’s mindset and start over in a sense, without demanding too much of myself and having fun.

I was nervous at first, over thinking my words and stumbling over them. My perfectionist mind kept wanting to sound eloquent and hit all the points I was trying to make. It wasn’t polished but it came together after some editing. It was a step in the right direction because I finally put myself out there again in an imperfect way and with acceptance of that imperfection. I simply felt like sharing insights without demanding it look a certain way.

The video is titled “Goal Setting and Self Compassion” and hits on themes I’ve talked about in the last few Weekly Motivations, just expressed differently. If you’d like to check it out and/or subscribe to my channel head here.

What I’d like for you to take away from this is that if you feel like sharing something, making something or being something but are feeling stuck due to perfectionism and over thinking, bring back the curiosity and playfulness of doing it for the first time. Let go of your own demands and need for it to look a certain way, and trust the process. Focus on having fun and let the chips fall where they may. If you stumble like I did, take a deep breath and remind yourself that the world doesn’t need any more “perfect,” it needs more You, doing what you love.