You are doing just fine.

Let me start off by informing all of you that I was very hesitant to write todays blog post, but I keep getting the feeling that I needed to share. Maybe it’s not something I would jump to be open about, but as I’ve felt inclined and prompted to share, so hopefully this post can somehow inspire you.

I’m just going to get straight to the point. From this last September up until about two months ago I was really struggling with attending church every week. Granted I had some medical conditions that made sitting through three hours of church physically hard and my jobs have often required me to work Sundays-both of which my bishop knew about and understood, but in all honesty, those excuses aren’t exactly justified in my own head. Although I had the desire to go, my desire wasn’t strong enough for a few months. It kills me to even think about that. Because I am hard on myself, especially when it comes to things within the gospel that I fought so hard to have become a part of my life. My testimony has not changed, in fact it’s become stronger because I’ve had to rely so heavily on Heavenly Fathers guidance in the past few months. But yet it is something I had struggled with.

All of that aside, I want to talk about something of a different topic. We are not perfect. We are human beings. We are going to have endless struggles throughout our lives. Sometimes I feel as though we hold such high standards for ourselves that we become burnt out or unmotivated. It’s hard not to be your own worst critic, but it’s something that is unfortunately common amongst ourselves.

My friend Kelsi shared a quote the other day on her social media that read, “Rather than being judgmental and critical of each other, may we have the pure love of Christ for our fellow travelers in this journey through life.” -Thomas S. Monson. When I saw this I knew that I needed to share my thoughts.

It reminded me not only to be mindful of how we think of others but also to be mindful of how we think of ourselves.

It’s okay to hold yourself to high standards but it’s even more okay to take a step back and recognize that you are doing quite alright. We need to remember to love ourselves the way in which Christ loves us. I often forget about all of the progress I’ve made, not only in the church, but simply growing and learning in life, navigating all the curve balls it tends to throw. We are all traveling through life attempting to figure things out, which includes making mistakes, picking yourself up and trying again. Every single person will have a different journey, different trials and a different path-no life story will be the same. No matter what you are doing in life, as long as you are trying and giving it your best effort, that’s all that counts. When you stop trying that’s when it’d become acceptable to be critical and judgmental of yourself. Because when you stop trying you stop progressing. Every single day we should be striving to better ourselves, it could be in a religious aspect, a personal growth aspect or so many other areas. As we strive to better ourselves than naturally we will begin to recognize more of our own progress.

Don’t stop trying, because your efforts mean something. Give yourself a little friendly reminder you are doing just fine.

Outfit deets below!