Life Chats

Let's chat, shall we?  It's been a few weeks since my last Life Chats post.  Things have been really crazy lately both with work and my personal life, but I've been doing my best to create the right balance of everything. It's always a constant struggle though.  I get so consumed with the things that I need to do that I often forget about what's going on around me and I need to stop doing that.  Making more time for friends and family is extremely important, so that's something that I have been trying to get better at.  It's also another one of the reasons why I have not been posting as often on the blog and social.  Sometimes it's just good to take little steps back and be more in the moment.  I also used to be so focused on the quantity of my posts, like I had to post to the blog 5 times a week and to Instagram 3-4 times a day.  And I did that, for quite some time and it was just too much.  Consistency is important, especially when you are trying to build something, but what I learned was that by focusing so much on the quantity made me take away my focus on the quality.  I feel like I've touched on this a little before and it still holds true today.  Quality WINS over quantity every single time.  So if for whatever reason I am not in the mood to create an outfit or to produce content, then I just will not force it.  I only want to post the things that I really love so half assing something just to have another post is a no no for me. So now when I post frequently it's because I want to and not because I feel like I have to.  I think it's important to differentiate the two.  
Speaking of quality and quantity, this holds true for the number of followers you have on social media too.  Something I've really learned, especially over these last several months with all of the Instagram changes, is that a number is really just that.  It's a number.  Don't get too caught up in it.  Of course constantly growing is an essential part of this industry, but if you have a lower following and most of those people are engaging with you, then that is amazing.  My engagement has dropped significantly and my growth has somewhat plateaued over the past few months.  I can't lie it sucks because engaging with everyone has always been one of my favorite aspects of what I do.  It's never really been about the actual number for me, but more so about having more people to share my content and passions with.  I work hard to continuously create new content so when there's a lack of engagement or growth it can be discouraging at times.  However, this is another reason why I am trying to focus more on quality and to keep engaging with those who interact with me and my posts.  It's also important to show love and support to others on social media too because they are creating new content just like you are in the hopes to reach others with it.  I've been so much more mindful of this.  If used the right way, platforms like Instagram can truly create the most amazing and inspiring online communities.  Either way I will keep sharing the things that I love with all of you!  Before this blog turned into a business, that was the foundation of everything and it always will be. 
Switching gears for a moment, if you check out my snaps on Snapchat [natymichele] then you know I'm back to doing the 21Day Fix workouts & meal plan.  Today marks two weeks and I am still going strong.  Some days are more of a struggle than others, but my mindset is that I will not give up no matter what.  The last day of this round is the day that I fly out to Charleston, so I'm going to allow myself to enjoy those four days away, but when I get back it's straight back to round 2.  I really want this to be my new lifestyle.  I am already seeing progress and more importantly I feel good.  Staying consistent with workouts and eating right has forever been a back and forth battle for me as most of you know since I've expressed it here on the blog before.  I don't know what happened recently, but something just snapped inside of me and I was like THAT'S IT.  Ever since then I've been going full force and don't plan on stopping or slowing down anytime soon.  I'm more determined than ever to hit my goals this time.  It's also really inspiring me to start doing fitness posts.  Last summer I mentioned doing this after trying 21Day Fix and I never did because I didn't keep up with the workouts and meal plan.  Once I've got two rounds under my belt I really do want to share my results and more about my new fitness journey with all of you.  Now that it's getting so much nicer out I can start going running again too and I just recently tried SoulCycle, which was a killer!  It just feels really good to have my motivation back.  So trust me when I tell you that if you have lost yours, you most certainly can find it and get it back again. 
These were the things that were on my heart when I woke up this morning, so as always I thank you for taking the time to read these posts and for allowing me to share these pieces of me with all of you.  Happy weekend loves! <3