30 is the New Confidence

I could start this post many ways, but I’m opting for diving right in. I just had my birthday this past June, and I be lying if I said I didn’t sweat a little bit about turning 30. Leading up to June, I really didn’t give it much thought. I was one of the last ones in my friend group to turn 30 and my husband was already rocking his 40’s, so it didn’t feel that scary. However, in the weeks before the big day, it suddenly felt a little daunting. It was on the day after my birthday that it dawned on me, rather than freight that my 20’s were over,  I could be thankful for this new leaf being turned over instead. After all, my early twenties were more of a learning curve ball then something to truly miss! It was in that moment that I decided to take everything that I learned and to be open to growing. One of the first things I did was let go of comparison, which I guess is more of losing something than gaining. Now that I’m six months into this “letting go,” I have to say that it has truly allowed me to grow in ways I never imagined. This post is my personal little story, but I hope that I can encourage you to do the same in your own life. If you don’t take anything else away from this, just hear me on this-
When I stopped comparing my self to the others around me, and especially on social media and school pick-up, I was able then to be truly satisfied with my reflection in the mirror. I no longer worry about what clothes to wear or buy, and that is just a small example. I now am able to cheer on other moms because I broke down the comparison barrier in my own mind. But better than that, I stopped that terrible little voice in my head that told me I wasn’t good enough! The one that said, if I tried harder, wore more fashionable clothes, made more money, bought more “things,”  or posted perfectly cropped photos- that I would be happier. But when I let the comparison monkey off my back six months ago, it made room for a much better thirty-year-old version!