[outfit_details] The words, “I’m just tired” have been coming out of my mouth non-stop for just about the last three months. I want to sit down and talk to you guys about ways I find inspiration in life and business during unsure times. If I’m being honest with you all, these past few months have felt like being on a very long episode of Punked, minus the good part of getting to actually meet Ashton Kutcher at the end. To break it down, since December, I’ve been hitting one little bump on the road after another. Normally I’m good at overcoming these hurdles, but three months into it I’ve gotten a little crispy with the whole thing. As always, I’m so grateful for good-health and my TCC Crew, but recently I’ve felt these continuous hiccups are starting to have an effect on my overall happiness.
I mean, our stuff gets stolen in San Francisco, and I’m very good at finding the positive viewpoint in these situations which for me at the time was that, we still have the images. I was okay with the setback because I found an upside, until I get an email two weeks ago from the very talented photographer, apologizing that her hard drive had crashed and all the images were gone. I mean, that’s one example of the bumps I’m talking about, by no means are these serious situations but it just felt like I couldn’t catch a break and that no matter how hard I worked, the TCC Brand and my job just wouldn’t work out. It was these little fires after fires that started to take a tole on me, my job and the TCC brand.
I honestly lost inspiration and almost felt as if the universe had just given up on me. Has anyone else ever felt that way? I mean, if I don’t do my job no one will so it became really hard to manage my crew, respond to emails, publish content on time, respond to friends via text messages whilst dealing with so many setbacks. I wasn’t sure if I wasn’t working hard enough, if I wasn’t good enough or if it just wasn’t meant to be. I was having the hardest time grasping at inspiration when everything around me felt like it was burning down. Through it all, I kept telling Matt, I’m just tired. Obviously running this blog, and expanding it via upcoming projects and new TCC Crew Members is my passion in life. I LOVE what I do, I LOVE connecting with you all, and I LOVE showcasing New England lifestyle; and I’m so thankful for everyone that has helped me over the last couple of months, but through it all I’ve really found a new outlook on our brand, the blogging industry and how to find inspiration in life and business when everything around you is going to s***.
Whether you are a creative (which is what I consider myself), entrepreneur, student, influencer or innovative; we can all find ourselves feeling burnt out or as my sister likes to say DONE. Personally, I believe creativity and inspiration are essential to each other, as without inspiration you wouldn’t create and with out someone else or something else being created you wouldn’t become inspired. Inspiration can come from anywhere, it can come from books, music, nature, ‘signs’, architecture, motion pictures or even sitting in a flower shop. Inspiration is all around us, but when our minds are constantly putting out fires, it can be hard to find our way, so below I’ve listed things I do to get outside of myself and find inspiration when it all seems too much.
+ Go For A Drive: New England is the ideal place for a road trip so whenever I’m feeling stuck, angry, agitated or just overwhelmed; I get in my car and drive around. Whether I end up exploring a new town or visiting the shore, it always seems to bring me clarity. Nothing makes me happier than listening to good music and taking in the spring, summer or fall air through the sunroof. I’ll admit I often end up driving towards the shore like Essex, Old Saybrook or Haddam but sometimes I admit I end up at Friendly’s to get a monster mash ice cream.
+ Listen To Music: Music is a big way I find inspiration, and I’m a huge fan of making playlists to fit each and every mood I have. I have a playlist for just about everything including a creativity playlist and an inspiration playlist. I often need inspiration when it comes to writing blog posts, and I often rely on this playlist to set the mood and calm down my thoughts.
+ Meditating: I often find inspiration by getting outside of myself, but sometimes getting inside yourself works too. Recently I’ve been using the app Headspace to meditate from anywhere between three to ten minutes a day, and it’s really made a difference. I can often get down on myself when I hit all these bumps, thoughts like I should be working longer hours, that I’m not made out for this job, or that I need to be making more money; can become consuming, so giving my mind a break and rewiring my brand to look at the big picture helps me get reinspired about TCC mission.
+ Connect with History: Sometimes I get so sucked into technology with my career, that it’s really good to get perspective and my favorite way of doing that is by connecting with history. I love learning about New England’s history and the incredible people and stories it has to tell. In fact the other day I was doing just that in Durham, and stumbled upon the home of Moses Austin 1761, and after reading up on him, I learned that he was an American businessman with the first land grant to settle Texas. Yup, who would have thought that the original founders of Austin Texas came from, Durham CT, but they did and his colonial home where he made all the plans for the settlement stands today in Durham, CT. I mean, that’s incredible and if that doesn’t give you perspective about instagram followers, I don’t know what will.
+ Travel: My last resort for inspiration is to travel. On average I find New England very inspiring but something about the muddy season of February and March has me urging to explore, so after so many hiccups I decided to plan a spontaneous trip to Charleston with my mom over the last week. It was exactly what the doctor ordered and again was a great way to refuel my inspiration tank and warm up my soul.
+ Signs: I’m a true believer in signs and they are often my prime source of inspiration and perseverance. Whenever I feel like I can’t go on anymore, I often get the best sign or inspiration from the universe; I mean, call it what you want: god, spirit guides, the universe, but I do believe there is something greater out there offering a helping hand to each of us here and there. I mean yesterday I was honestly at my wits end, so tired, so much to do and just stuck on the process to take for an upcoming project; and then out of nowhere I literally bumped into a stranger who specialized in exactly the topic I needed council on whilst I was walking in the park. I mean, what are the odds, especially since I normally never even talk to people in the park. I guess what I’m saying is be open to all sources of inspiration, whether it’s something someone said on the radio or the fortune you got inside your fortune cookie; whatever the sign is if it inspires you in some way run with it!
Okay, I can’t wait to continue to share more images from my recent trip to Charleston and I hope this post helps you find inspiration when your down. Anyway let’s talk about this Eva Franco skirt now, I mean how fitting is it for spring. I paired it with an olive t-shirt, to bring out the green hues in the skirt’s embroidery, and paired it with these Carrie Forbes handwoven sandals. I honestly love love love Eva Franco’s spring skirts, I know a lot of you request me to do a skirt video similar to my winter skirt video seen here, and I bring that to you all as soon as I stock up on some of her new arrivals. From embroidery to feminine tulle, I get giddy whenever I see her new arrivals at Anthropologie.
Anyway, that’s all I have for you guys this Monday. Leave a comment below with how you find inspiration and have a wonderful week.
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Love this Aubrey! It’s hard to remember as a reader that the one inspiring us needs inspiring too! The pictures, travel vlogs, and love you put into everything you do is amazing. I couldn’t agree more that nature is a true inspiration for anyone’s soul. That’s why I run away so much, I run away from being ‘done’ and into nature’s arms which always ground me. Whether it’s a beach, a sunset over a pond, or a pathway in the woods that calls my name it works. Anything to get out of the concrete jungle of overworked, overstressed, tech junkies and into God’s real world. Keep exploring! XOXO
I love going on drives! My boyfriend and I go on drives probably at least once a day. We love winding down at the end of the day
Kate || KATE KOUTURES