the art of reflecting

welcome back to Sunday Goods! (tuesday edition lol)

tomorrow I turn another year older, so let's talk a little bit about the reflection you have leading into the week of your birthday.

there’s something about the week before your birthday that makes you a little dramatic in your own head.

you start auditing your life like it’s a business quarter.

what did I accomplish?

what didn’t I?

why am I not further?

should I have more saved?

should I be more disciplined?

more healed?

more successful?

birthdays have this weird way of making you feel behind… or ahead.

& sometimes both in the same five minutes.

i’ve noticed that right before I age another year, I start looking around.

some years you feel proud, other years you feel behind & sometimes you feel both: proud of how far you’ve come, but frustrated you’re not further.

22 was a year !!!!!

it forced me to grow up in certain areas & soften in others, taught me that mental health isn’t something you “fix” & graduate from.

it’s something you tend to. daily, gently & intentionally.

i didn’t become the most disciplined version of myself this year but i did grow in ways i didn't expect. i didn’t save as much as I wanted to but i traveled & made beautiful memories. i didn’t hit every goal I wrote down last March, but I showed up. i kept building. i kept learning.

i think that’s what birthdays are really for, not self-criticism, not comparison, not panic but reflection.

did I become more honest with myself?
did I grow in the ways that actually matter?
did I treat people well?
did I take care of my mind and show up?

because the truth is, life is not on a universal timeline.

there isn’t a master checklist we’re all secretly behind on.

there’s just your path. your pace. your capacity.

something i frequently try to remind myself, "show up for yourself as you would for others."

if you’re reading this & your birthday makes you spiral a little, I get it.

if you feel behind financially, relationally, physically, spiritually, I get that too.

& if you secretly feel proud but don’t want to say it out loud because you don’t want to sound arrogant, I see that too.

both can exist.

comparison is loud around birthdays, but growth is usually quiet.

it looks like choosing not to react the way you used to.

like setting a boundary you were scared to set.

like starting the thing even though you don’t feel ready. (news flash you'll never feel "ready" for anything, just go for it)

22 taught me that progress isn’t always flashy.

sometimes it’s just consistency.

it’s building something small, brick by brick, when no one is clapping yet.

i’m walking into 23 less obsessed with being ahead & more focused on being aligned.

with my values.
with the kind of mind I want to have.
with the impact I want my businesses to make.
with the life I actually want, not the one that looks impressive on paper.

if you’re in an “end of the year of life” season too, here’s your reminder:

you are not late.
you are not behind.
you are not required to have it all figured out by 23… or 33… or actually ever.

you’re allowed to be becoming.

& honestly? becoming is the whole point.

so here’s to 23.
here’s to another year of building, healing, stretching, & staying.

& here’s to measuring growth by peace instead of comparison.

with love,

elle