let things happen as they may

You know those people who will send you quotes or songs to help uplift or inspire you? Well, hi. I’m Paige. I am one of those people. My best friends are those people, and my Momma is too. I LOVE IT! This past week my bf, Tay, sent me a quote from this book she was rereading. I realized that I had read that same book a long time ago and was inspired by her to reread it too! Best decision I have made this month (you’ll see why below). You know…there are so many things I want to do. So many things I want to be good at. So many things I want to try. I want to be the Martha Stewart of life! It’s a problem. One thing that has been jerking me in every direction is this dang Blog and my Instagram account. Pause there and let me give you a quick rundown….

My full-time job has me on social media everyday. My passion for creating content and styling has me on social media everyday. You know where that will get you with enough time…down in the trenches with all your stupid thoughts about how you’re not good enough, fit enough, pretty enough, smart enough, stylish enough, rich enough, etc. The list literally goes on and on. For me this happens WAY too often. I mean…get this…I have thee most amazing friend, Jessica, who also trying to grow her blog and social platforms. We don’t it for the money. We do it because it is her creative outlet. Our way to express ourselves. Our way to inspire. Our personal image, blog posts, and pretty much anything we create represents just a little slice of us. There are lots of day we are texting each other different image options, and asking which is the best to post on Instagram. We ask, “which image will get the most engagement? What will be the crowd favorite?” We then start to pick out whats wrong with each of our photos. How disgusting is that?! Well…needless to say…we both had a “come to Jesus” moment on Sunday. YES…JUST TWO DAYS AGO. So, remember that book I mentioned up top? This is where it comes into play. I opened up to a random chapter and read this passage:

“Work, chained to its outcome, is misery. Do what you can, do it better than you’re able, and let things happen as they may. The action, not its fruit, is your business. The outcome is not your concern. If God is going to show himself to you in the work that you shoulder, he will only do so if you’ve stopped craving an approving audience and, instead, work out your own salvation.

You’re life is not a movie. It has no audience and it reaches no climax. There is no soundtrack.  There is just YOU and the WORK and the PEOPLE who share the work with you. Love the work for its own sake. Fearless in love, set ambition free.” – Letters to a Young Mormon by Adam S. Miller

And now you all feel inspired huh?! haha just kidding. But really, as I read that, I screenshotted is right away and sent it to Jess! This social media stuff is rough! And a lot of us will lose sight of what is most important. Like you hear some people say…you are not defined by the likes you get on Instagram. You are not loved by how many people follow you. YOU ARE AMAZING because YOU are creating what YOU think is beautiful! If you truly love doing it for YOU, the happier you will be. The quote above can obviously be applied to most anything in life. Relationships. Spirituality. Work life. I don’t know about you, but I vow to stop craving approval. Not just within the social media world, but in every aspect of life. I hope that you will all join me! Life is already hard. This has got to make it ten times easier, right?!
xo,
p

Ps. I shot with the amazing Wesley this weekend. We met via Instagram a couple of weeks ago and he is one amazing human! Go show him some love. See the links to each piece of my look below.

photos by Wesley Aldrich

Jacket: Forever 21 | Shirt: Clad and Cloth | Jeans: Zara (similar here)| Shoes: Aldo (on sale) |Glasses: Aldo (on sale) | Lip Gloss: NYX