I think all the time of the best advice I can give to my clients, the best words of wisdom I can share. Reflecting on this lately, it comes down to this. Focus on yourself. Simple as that. Difficult as that.
I’ll use my personal story as an example. I competed for the title of Miss Minnesota International not once, not twice, not three times... but four! And what made year four different? I largely contribute my win to my shift in focus. It was “team Mary” all day, everyday. No one, nothing, was getting in my way. Years prior, I could have told you exactly who would win. Because I focused on THEM. Throwing away precious energy that I could have put into bettering myself.
That fourth year, I was DETERMINED- I didn’t care if Miss USA and Miss America and Oprah Winfrey herself showed up to compete- this was my year and it didn’t matter who else was there. I put my blinders on and kept a narrow focus on myself and my goals. Every time my mind strayed, which it absolutely did- it’s human nature- I would intentionally shift my focus. I would intentionally repeat a positive affirmation to myself, I would go exercise, I would look up articles related to my platform, I would edit my website, I would listen to Pageant Talk Radio (shout out to Valerie Hayes) ;), I would set up a volunteer opportunity, I would do something PRODUCTIVE. I was not going to self-sabotage and give my precious energy to things that wouldn’t further my goals. This steam train was coming through, baby!! Either hop on board, or get out of the way. On that note, if someone didn’t get my goals or get my mission- I would swiftly exit stage right and move on my merry way!
Focus on yourself. Put your energy and focus on your goals. Don’t waste your time searching fellow competitors on Facebook and Instagram, don’t waste your time figuring out if so and so is coming back this year, don’t waste your time worrying about who placed what last year, don’t waste your time on what other people are wearing, don’t waste your time on pointless message boards or Facebook groups or text groups- under the guise of “friendship” when we know it’s a tool to spy and worry about other people. Disconnect, disengage from anything related to gossip or negativity.
Do make friends with good people- you’ll know who they are. Do practice. Do prepare. Do develop your best self. Do learn, change, evolve, grow.
Stay in your lane peeps- it’s all about YOU! Just a (few) of my favorite quotes relating to the "best advice ever" below... ;)