There’s a quote by Miles Davis that I think about a lot….

“Man, sometimes it takes you a long time to sound like yourself.”

Something about the simplicity of the quote but the depth of accuracy hits my secretly sensitive (enneagram 5 🤦‍♀️) heart.

And while this directly relates to my field of podcasting when new hosts come to me to create their show for the first time– because a show that you’re proud of doesn’t magically come to life one day —

I really relate to this even moreso within my everyday lifestyle.

Because not only does it take a long time to sound like yourself, it also takes a long time to FEEL and ACT like yourself. 

You don’t just wake up one day and realize you’re living out your values, your mission, and your purpose. You have to WORK intentionally toward that.

And in my opinion, it takes an equal combination of adding things to your life as well as losing things from your life to step into the grounded peace that is specifically shaped for your life and heart.

And today I’d really like to talk about the unique intersection of both. 

The both of: 

ADDING IN THE LOST.

Here’s what I mean:

Adding in the pieces of ourselves back that we felt we may have lost along the way.

Do you ever think to yourself, ‘Sheesh, I MISS that part of me.’ 

• Maybe you lost your joy due to an unhealthy relationship.
• Maybe you lost business vision from too many ‘nos’ along the way.
• Maybe you lost your sense of laugher after enough hurtful comments from others.

Heck, maybe you even feel like you lost your entire personality for a bit.

But the thing about losing pieces of yourself? 

You can always track back and pick up that which was lost.

The joy is still there.

The vision is still there.

The laughter is still there.

You just have to be intentional to go back, find it, and pick it back up. 

• Because that unhealthy relationship? It doesn’t get to define your future.
• The ‘nos’ you received around your vision? It just means that vision wasn’t for them, but was given to you specifically for a reason.
• And the hurtful comments from others? They no longer get to attach in your spirit, and limit your feelings about yourself.

You get to choose, starting today, the values you want to encapsulate and live out 
in your life. 

Because maybe you don’t know your ‘life’s purpose‘ (more on that later) or your 10-year goal for your business or career. But I bet you can list some values you want to live out in your life. 

And THAT is a stronger motivator to living a life, an everyday lifestyle, that feels like YOU.

And doesn’t that sound refreshing? 

No more trying to fit into a space or identity that isn’t yours.

No more contorting ourselves to fit into the mold that wasn’t created for us.

No more giving away our joy based on someone else’s comments.

The things we feel like we ‘lost’ can indeed be found again.

And as I’ve been thinking about this concept, I decided to put some more words to it. Because I think the reason we ‘lose’ our most important pieces is because we give them away to people that don’t care for them the way we do or that they should. 

Those pieces of ourselves should be protected and stewarded, so that we can give them generously to those who are desperately seeking the healing we can provide to them through relationship, business, and laughter.

And the words that kept coming to my mind with this were:

KEEP YOUR PIECES.

Keep the joy. Keep the vision. Keep the laughter.

Protect it. So that you can then give it away generously.

You can’t give generously from what you don’t have.

So go back. Start on the path to find the pieces of yourself that you miss. That you dropped along the way. Because they are there waiting for you to pick them back up.

Because when the pieces are protected and stewarded, they soon will not be affected by the unhealthy relationship, the ‘no’, or the hurtful comments. 

Because they will belong to you no matter the obstacles that arise. 

And that’s when, the unique giftings you were given, become unstoppable toward your values, mission, and purpose that will be uncovered.

So, for now, keep the pieces.

Keep the pieces that make you YOU. 

And fiercely protect them.

So you can one soon day, generously give them.

Because, man, sometimes it takes you a long time to sound and feel like yourself.