Growing with Gratitude

Nicole
Sep 17, 2021
7 min read

Holy moly, it’s been a hot minute but let me fill yas in on what’s been up to over the last few months. I was totally uninspired and I hated it. The dreaded 2020-2021 school year finally ended, summer came, I decompressed at Sandbridge Beach for a week, one of my besties got married, I turned 29 (last year in my twenty’s- woot woot), I spent my first summer in my new house, I decorated / unpacked, I read a lot, I worked out, I got ready for a new school year and I officially started the 2021-2022 school year. whew, that was a lot … and that’s only the highlights, so many other exciting things happened in between.

^^ okkk so that makes it seems like life is great and perfect ya know the “rainbows and butterflies feeling” but I’m all about being honest, real, and raw with you so here it is … it was a tough summer. Turning 29 is great. I’ve accomplished so much in my 29 years on this earth- I have two college degrees, I am enrolled in grad school, I have a job I love and a side business that's growing, I own my own house (all by my damn self), and I have amazing family & friends. However, I was struggling with not being where I thought I’d be at this point in my life. I know I’m not the only one who thinks that, or has ever thought that.. am I right?! I took some time to discover the woman I am and the woman I’m gradually becoming. Through some self-discovery and self-love, I realized I’m right where I’m supposed to be. This realization didn't come lightly though. I took a trip with some of my favorite people to Atlanta, Georgia for our annual work Conference: MONATions. That's exactly where this post was started, it’s where I sat down and really realized who I was currently and who I was meant to be.

A little back story before I dive into the real content. Back in the fall of 2018, my friend partnered with a company I had never heard of. She reached out and asked if I wanted to give the products a try. I wanted to support her and try the products, so I did. That’s where the obsession began lol. Fast forward to February 2020 … my long-time relationship had just ended, and I was in a spot in my life that I honestly never saw coming. That relationship, I thought, would be the one that lasted forever. It’s been tough and continues to be tough, BUT that same friend reached out to me and offered me an opportunity (shout out to Kelli for changing my path & giving me something I never knew I needed). It wasn’t the first time she had mentioned it, but this time was the time I needed it most. I didn’t even have to think about it, I said yes. That ”yes” changed everything for me. I was handed an opportunity that was about to help me through life and change ME as a whole.

—> So… MONAT I know you’re all thinking, there’s no way a silly side business can change you, but that’s where you’re wrong. So many amazing things have come from my simple “yes” and this post is going to talk about a few of them.

P.S. unfamiliar with Monat? Curious about more? Want samples? --> head here and reach out https://experiencemonat.com/nicolekoenig

—> SELF-CONFIDENCE AND GROWTH

Okay, so this is something I’ve always struggled with. Right and like most people, I had very little self-confidence. It’s unfortunate but the world we live in doesn’t really promote self-confidence. People are mean. But most times it’s yourself who is the meanest. You could be the nicest person in the world to everyone you meet and then be the meanest person to yourself behind closed doors. It’s a scary thing but getting stuck in the comparison trap is inevitable. I’m not totally out of it, and to be completely honest, I’m not sure if I ever will be but I’m making steps towards it. So what is the comparison trap?

Once you find yourself in the trap, it’s like quicksand and you have trouble getting out of it. But it’s what’s going to kill any and all confidence you may have. There are many steps and life changes that need to happen to build back up confidence. Every single one of them starts with YOU. I mentioned that my Monat journey started in February of 2020, and that’s also where my self-love and self-confidence journey began. I didn’t even realize it but I had “let myself go.” Right, I got comfortable where I was, with who I was, and honestly didn’t think anything of it because it’s who and what I had always been or done- so to me, it was ok and how I felt or was feeling was fine, even if I wasn't happy. I was the heaviest I had ever been in my life and to be honest, didn’t even realize how heavy I had gotten (side note- weight does not define happiness by any means, however, it can and does affect mental and emotional health, which is exactly what it was doing to me). It made me feel like I wasn't good enough or unworthy of things. In comes Monat (and a break up lol, but mostly Monat). I knew what the possibilities this business had to offer, but I knew that in order to fully immerse myself in those possibilities I needed to work on myself first. In comes growth...

I made a bunch of changes to who I was and what I was doing. The pandemic had just “begun” and I was ready to take back my life. I refused to allow myself to be okay with the "quarantine 15" so I started working out more consistently, changed my diet (a few times lol), started reading more, begun diving into more trainings and calls, I started gratitude & affirmations daily, I started house hunting, and I started my self-love journey. It was SO FREAKING HARD to do and it still is but when I look back to where I was and where I am now, I’m a totally different version of myself. Since the day I said yes, I have lost about 25 pounds, I feel better overall, my mental health is in such a better place and I am happier than ever. Wanna know why?! Because I love myself, I love my journey and I love my life.

—> GRATITUDE

I’ve always been a grateful person. Grateful for my family. Grateful for friends. Grateful for my health. Grateful for the things I have. Grateful for it all, but gratitude hits different when it becomes a way of life. Living with gratitude simply means that you are “taking time each day to relish the gifts in your life. Giving thanks for the good in your life – and sometimes, even the bad – is good for your health and well-being.” John Maxwell gave me a chance to take a step back and realize just how important gratitude is. It is something that needs to be practiced daily and constantly.

"If you spend your life valuing people, in time you will find yourself surrounded by those people"

-John Maxwell

Some of the most successful people in the world live their life centered around gratitude. Here are six reasons why living a life of gratitude is crucial to changing your life.

Gratitude shifts your focus
Gratitude improves your quality of life
Being grateful makes you feel happier
Having gratitude helps quiet your innermost feelings
Gratitude gives you peace of mind
Gratitude helps you find and reach your goals

My favorite way to practice gratitude is by using a Gratitude Journal. Every morning, I wake up, and before starting my day I write down things I am grateful for. This allows me to start my day on a positive note and to remember that no matter what I am going through in life, I have many things to be grateful for.

—> HOW

I’ve shared this many times, even have a whole other blog post about it [HERE] but I can share some of it again.

Positive Affirmations
Do More Things You Love
Kill the Comparison Train
Celebrate Your Wins
Practice Healthy Habits
Change Your Mindset

Life is all about making choices and I hope that you know that you deserve to choose yourself 100% of the time. This may seem like something so little and insignificant but I promise you, learning how to love yourself first and choose yourself, will set you up for such an amazing life. This past summer some of those things, I forgot about. I stopped doing some of the very things I try to preach to other people and look where it leads me ... uninspired and stuck in a rut. I can't wait to see where life takes me from here. I am 29 and have my ENTIRE life ahead of me and I am so excited for it all.

—> WHY

So what’s the point of all this? I know you’re thinking it lol. Like why is Nicole telling me all of this?! Because YOU need to hear it. You may not think you need to hear it, but believe me, you do. At some point during this post, I hope that you could resonate with me and realize that you may be in a similar position that I was- knowingly or unknowingly. The point of being vulnerable and open with you is in hopes of connecting to you and showing you that your feelings are valid and real. You have so many opportunities in life and you are always “one decision away from a different life” - thanks Mel Robbins.

Some homework for you, because the teacher in me needs to come out a little bit haha. Write down 5 things you absolutely love about yourself, or more. Then write 5 things you are grateful for, again or more. Then write 5 things that make you who you are, and again or more. Do this every day, make it part of your morning routine. Share them on socials & tag me -- IG @nicolekoe_ or FB Nicole Koenig -- Be so damn proud of yourself that others opinions don’t matter. Let that little voice in your head be silent for once. Guys this is your one life, you don’t have another one for a do-over, you only got this one, so please do yourself a favor and live it to the friggin fullest! You deserve it! You owe it to yourself to be the best you can be!