I’ll Go First

Hi. I’m Taylor, the author of Simply Taylor.

As if that wasn’t pretty darn obvious!

Who are you? Tell me about yourself. How would you describe yourself? Can you?

Have you ever seen Anger Management when Dave (Adam Sandler) goes to the group therapy session? For most of my adult life I have felt just like Dave when therapist Buddy keeps asking “tell us about yourself”. Dave stumbles through answer after answer getting more and more frustrated as he is told those aren’t the right or adequate answers. “By golly just leave him alone!” I would scream at the screen, “Maybe he just doesn’t know!” Doing a particularly fantastic job of what therapists call personalizing. Ironic.

This ridiculous movie tangent is purely to illustrate how I could not really tell you who I am and what makes me… ME, until 2017. Really.

Do you struggle to answer that question as I did? Without just saying a wife‚ a mom‚ a sister, a brother etc? Listing a job title or position‚ a hobby‚ or just shrugging the question off altogether? Not that those things aren’t who we are! They are. But if you can read a little bit between the lines here with me maybe you’ll get where I am going?

What makes you excited? What gets you out of bed in the morning? What motivates you to do all those jobs, those roles, and be in those relationships? How do you do YOU amidst all of that? How do you find joy?

Have you ever wanted to stop wishing you were the people you follow on Instagram and wake up excited to be… YOU? To bridge the gap between the ideal and the real?

Recently- VERY recently- I discovered a secret to figuring out what it means to be Taylor. Discovering my personal core values has led me down a path to a simpler, more purposeful, more fulfilling, more joyful life. Yes, even in this short amount of time. Besides some house decluttering my surroundings have not changed. My house didn’t magically turn into an Instagram dream home. (update: we have moved into a beautiful home and it is still work. We upgraded from our rentals but while finishes turned more instagram worthy life is still life and joy is still a decision) My wardrobe didn’t magically morph from stay at home mom to sassy single business woman. What changed? My mind. How I look at my world and how I decide what comes in and what goes out. How I create and find beauty daily.

How I make sure my personal values are being met.

I am not a super organized person by nature but I do like to be prepared. So when the fireworks began in my brain after my a-ha moments I told myself this change had to be for real. So I created a game-plan. A challenge for myself to make it happen. A way to be held accountable. That was how my 360° in 360 Days Challenge  on Instagram was born and subsequently Simply Taylor.

Everyone deserves to find joy. Everyone deserves to know who they are- AND OWN IT. Everyone deserves to do what they love.

Gracious souls out there shared their experiences and their successes and from them I was able to learn to find myself. That is a priceless gift. One of my 5 Core Values right now is sharing and so here I am. Journalling my journey and letting you know that the ideal IS REAL. You can love yourself AND your life when you align it with what really drives you down deep. No matter your income, your situation, or your self proclaimed “talents” or lack thereof. My way of paying those individuals who have changed my life is to pay it forward. Reach out and hopefully touch someone else. YOU.

I am excited to share my drive and enthusiasm with you! I want you to find YOU too. Take a look around, ask questions, and stay tuned for new challenges. Let’s taylor tailor our lives into our ideal together shall we?! 

The braces are gone now – guess I can post a picture update huh?