Stopping Is Starting

"The direction you choose to face determines whether you're standing at the end or the beginning of a road." - Richelle E. Goodrich

 

Song Recommendation Based On Blog Post:
it's time to go ~ Taylor Swift

624 days. 42 blog posts. 1 idiot. *

 

(*Or, I guess, technically 43 blog posts if you include this one. 😂)

When I was growing up, you were always congratulated on continuing on with something no matter what. No matter whether it was too difficult, or if it wasn't turning out the way you hoped or expected, you were supposed to just keep on with it. Don't get me wrong, persevering and continuously trying and to "keep on keeping on" is a great and beneficial skill to have - to not give up, to keep showing up, to try no matter the odds, it's something you definitely need to be able to do in life. It's something that I'm glad got instilled in me whilst growing up but yet, I'm not.

Everyone likes to promote the concept of always trying, to always keep going with something no matter what's going on or what’s coming from it but no one teaches the importance of deciding on stopping something. To look around at where you are, what you're doing, and what you're working on and say, "Huh. You know what? This isn't going the way I planned, and I don't want to do this anymore." Stopping something you're doing or have been working on when you know in your heart of hearts that it's not going the way you want or it's not what you want anymore is something that I've been learning about myself. It's something that was never talked about enough when I was growing up. Whilst instilling the perseverance, no one ever added on though that giving up and stopping something, is also a beneficial skill to have in life.

I was taught that to give up on something or to stop working on something is "failing", is "wrong", or means you're "weak", "lazy", or that you're "undisciplined" (one of the 2 words I hate the most! 😡😂) I've decided that I want to amend that original statement, that life skill/lesson I was taught, to: Never give up, unless it's best. And what's great about it is that it has 2 meanings in one! 1) Never give up until what you're working on is the best, but it can also mean 2) Never give up unless it's the best for you!

Giving up on something doesn't mean that you "failed", that you "wasted" your time, energy or resources on trying to achieve what you had initially set out to. It's never wasted or failed if you’ve learnt something from it, or if you’ve gained something from it, even if it was nothing but a hobby or something that, to the outside eye, that nothing came from it, if you enjoyed working on it, if it made you happy, if it gave you some peace, then it never failed. You never failed. You are not a failure. 💜

Standing back and looking at everything, realising that you don't want to do something anymore, for whatever reason, is okay to say, it's okay to stop doing it. It's brave to do so because you're able to listen and respect yourself enough to say, "I don't want to do this anymore. This isn't for me." To go against what you "think" you should be doing from either the expectations you've put on yourself or been put on by others, or the mindset that giving up on something means you and it "failed" is really difficult to do. But don't stay with something that's not working out for you anymore when you've tried and tried again, and it's now no longer for you or what you want. As long as you tried (and maybe even tried again) and it still doesn’t feel like it's what you want anymore, it's okay to put it away. It's okay to say, "Thank you but no more."

As long as you've tried, you've never failed because you can turn around and say, "Yep, I tried something! I worked on it, I enjoyed it/didn't enjoy it and, yeah, it didn't work out the way I may've wanted it to but at least I tried. And I'm grateful for what I did do with it!"

Sometimes, it's also better to stop working on something when there are so many other things that need your attention and are taking your energy. You need to look after yourself (and others if the case may be) and that's okay. You're human and need to make sure you're dividing up your energy in and for what's best for you. 💜

Stopping something means you can start on something new. If you continue to force yourself to stick with something that you don't feel like is for you anymore, what is that going to achieve? But taking that time and energy you would've spent on continuing something you don't want anymore and putting it towards something new that you do want, can make a ton of difference - to your mood, your hope in life, and your energy!

I wanted to share my favourite outlook when it comes to figuring things out in life, I’ve explained this before (and better 😂) in a previous blog post called, "Does Anyone Know How To Figure This Out?". I saw it originally on Instagram and it was a post explaining how life is like stepping stones, where each stone leads you on to another one, gradually building a path to where you want to be/go. For example, for me, I was in a bad place and wanted to find a way to make connections and to give myself something else to focus on besides my health so I started this blog (one stone), through being the author of this blog, it's reignited my love for writing again, allowing me to evolve my ability and that’s led me to another stone, the reason for this blog post . . .

Which is that I'll be leaving this stepping stone that I've been on with this blog and moving forwards onto a new one. I'm no longer going to be frequently, or maybe even at all, writing and posting for this blog. It's something that's been going around my mind for a couple of months now and I've decided that it's time to say goodbye.

I've been sharing my life and recovery from OCD, which has been really helpful in my healing. I've discovered and learnt things about myself and life that have completely changed me and my mindset and for that, I'm incredibly grateful. Recently, life has been very trying and is needing more of my time and, more importantly, my energy to keep getting through it. With recovering and dealing with my OCD day in and day out, alongside my Autism, plus life in general, I've found myself not wanting to write about what I'm going through because I'm so busy living it. I've got so many things going on, that I need to take a step back to move forward, which is why I'm ending this blog. I may write and share a post here and there with things I want to share but it's not going to be frequent uploads like it has been - I don't want to pressure myself and feel like I have to post. I need to do what's best for me. I need to stop to start. The best way I can explain how I feel is the saying, "It's okay to do less when you're dealing with more." And that's what I'm going through.

For those who may be wanting to know, I'm still in recovery and trying my best with healing and getting my life back from OCD. I'm finding that I've been feeling somewhat vulnerable and I want to focus and regroup myself with how I feel. I briefly explained it in a recent Instagram post about how I feel like a deer in headlights when it comes to talking about my OCD and recovery. It's probably because it's so raw, and something I'm still constantly having to go through in my life, that I want a break from it so writing about it isn’t something I want to do.

I've been (and to be honest, I still am) overwhelmed with life so I'm proud of myself for stopping and not forcing myself to do something when I'm not able to give it the time I would like to spend on it and when I would also like something else for myself.
🫂💜

I'm still going to give updates and healing lessons I've learnt over on my Instagram and TikTok, and to continue to shed light on the true reality of how damaging and horrible Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is. The main content I'll be posting over on there, though, will be like my place for sharing hope and realistic positivity, just trying to brighten and/or ease someone's life even just for a single post. ✨️

This blog stepping stone that I've been on has helped me find new interests and learn new skills like making/editing photos and videos. I'm going to carry on with that and continue creating and sharing quotes and sayings so if there's any you want me to make and upload on Instagram, let me know! This blog has also helped me to work on my writing techniques which I will continue do by working on a new project, a new stepping stone, something I've wanted to do since I was a kid and that's writing a book! I'm so excited to work on this! 💜

I have so much gratitude for having this space to create, to bring me back to my love for writing like when I was younger! As well as giving me a space to spend time on something else other than the OCD.

And saying "goodbye" for now, doesn't always mean "goodbye" forever. Who knows what's in store? Maybe I'll come back to this space and decide that it's something I want to work on again or maybe I won't. To be honest, I don't really know, and it's scary! But it's okay to not know.

But I do know that I am so incredibly appreciative and grateful for you. To those who have read along with my posts from the beginning, to those who've come and gone between posts, to someone reading this blog for the first time, thank you. Thank you for allowing me to talk about my journey and my recovery, thank you for giving me your time as you read along, thank you for allowing me to create a space for myself (and maybe even others) to simply just be. Thank you for following me on Instagram and TikTok, and like I said, I'll still be posting on those accounts so if you want to make sure you stay connected then please follow me on my socials which are tagged below! 💜🌌

624 days. 42 blog posts. 1 idiot.

Whether it's 42 blog posts or 43, we can agree that there have been many posts; all of which I've loved writing, sharing, and growing with and now I get to say, "goodbye" . . . Because giving up and stopping something isn't a bad thing, it's not failing, it's important to be able to know what's best for you and to change what you're doing so that you don't stay stuck feeling like, "Hey Universe, Did You Forget About Me?"

Thank you so much for reading . . . For this post and all of the others! I appreciate it and you! 💜

Please feel free to comment, share, and follow me on my socials below! 💜🌌

All the good vibes and all the best always!

Emily 🌌

FOLLOW ME ON:
Instagram: @heyuniverseblog
TikTok: @emily_heyuniverse

©️ Hey Universe, Did You Forget About Me?, 2024, all rights reserved. 


Comments