Release yourself from the version of you, you created in order to survive.

I saw this post today and it hit me right in the gut. I mean, how many of us created a version of ourselves in order to get a job, keep a job or create a job? Especially over the past few years. Side hustle culture, hobbies turned into full time commitments, switching fields to make ends meat...the list goes on.

I'm here to say that I've finally realized it's ok to release myself from who I was when my industry was down. I am thankful for the brand I built, the money I was able to make and of course the memories I have that will last a lifetime but now I sit wondering what the hell I'm supposed to do to keep up with that when I'm back in NYC or on a contract that doesn't really travel anywhere.

In reality, nothing is holding us to anything. It's our choices to stay where we are based on comfort, flexibility and/or security but in the back of our minds I think we all know it's pride that sometimes keeps us somewhere. Pride in what we built, pride in what we have to show and pride in the attention we get from what we do and share on social media. What happens when that app is no longer relevant? What happens when the spark you once had dies under the pressure to be successful. What will you have at the end of the day when no one else shows up for you...will you show up for yourself?

It's time we start showing up for ourselves. Today and every day. It's time to remember who we truly are or were before the world practically stopped. It's time to just start being yourself and sprinkling your personality and lifestyle into everything you do. Don't be afraid to ride your bike to work just because you started to work in an office that makes you feel like you need to drive a car. Don't be afraid to pick up a medium and make art even if it will never see anything but the canvas it's made on. Don't be afraid to go back to your roots just because you built a brand on something you did just to pass the time.

Now is the time to release ourselves from the version of us we created in order to survive.