Reclaiming My Day Planner and Repossessing Success

Success must be your own.

The biggest competition you have is staring at you in the mirror every morning. 
I’ve always heard that we are our own worst critics but this year taught me how true that was. 
I will always critique myself harder than Simon Cowell would if he was judging my daily performance of completing tasks. 


I’m my own worst enemy when it comes to tearing myself down.

And the worst part?
I never knew it until now.

Through my own self exploration and coming to terms with myself, these last few months opened my eyes to the fact that the only thing holding me back…Is me.
The only thing keeping me from doing what I want to do most is my only lack of belief in, myself.
Obviously, I didn’t recognize this overnight and I haven’t fixed this problem overnight either.


But I can tell you what I have changed and am continuing to work on!
I closed my inner circle of people closest to me.
I only listen to and truly take to heart the opinion of those who have my best interests in mind and truly love me and want the best for me.
Those people are far, few, and in between, sometimes — but I’m blessed that I have a strong circle of those people.
I couldn’t begin focusing on how I would achieve my goals until I stopped listening to the goals others had set for me. 
Too many cooks in the kitchen ruin the broth. Or the rhinestone studded dreams. But I digress.


Over the last year, I evaluated what goals I wanted for myself and what’s best for me.


I reclaimed my life and chose to be selfish with my goals, time, and desires.
You’ll never get what you want out of life by pleasing others and keeping everyone else happy if those actions don’t align with what you want for yourself.

I can only find success in my goals and aspirations when I give those dreams everything I have, without reservation. That begins with making sure nothing holds me back from chasing those dreams with everything I have to give.

The best decision I’ve made in my 22 short years is prioritizing myself, my health, and my own personal beliefs.
I’ve started making decisions - from incredibly minuet, to life-changingly large- and asking how those decisions align with my priorities.
If they add to my own personal happiness and align with the goals I'm working towards, then awesome!
But if they don’t, then there isn’t much of a point.
It’s all about perspective and prioritizing.


I’ve learned the word “no” is a beautiful thing and is to be said often and with conviction.


At the end of the day, you can’t do everything. You’d lose your mind trying.
Becoming selfish with my calendar was LIFE CHANGING! I realized it didn’t matter what everyone wanted to do on Friday night, if it’s not helping me chase my dreams, education, or goals, and I don’t want to…then I’m not going to! 


Success cannot be ours until we have reclaimed our lives and started living proactively again, instead of reactively towards the world around us.
In my own personal life, I’ve found I am at my best, when I become my own priority. 

May we all learn to scream “NO!”  From the mountain tops And reclaim our day planners to benefit ourselves, our mental health, our dreams, our goals, and our families once more,

Love, 

Christine Electra

(Who is probably screaming “MY CALENDAR IS MINE!!!!” from Signal Mountain right now.)

Thanks for listening to my rhinestone studded ramblings, y'all.