It’s Time To Glow Up

Yes, you read it correctly. I said glow up, not grow up. We have our parents and the adults in our lives already telling us that every chance they get.

Reinventing yourself is a must in 2019. Most of us are either on our way to college, already there, or trying to survive life afterwards. Moving forward in life is the only option that we have, so why not do it with a different mindset?

What The Heck is a Glow Up?

I knew you were asking that question, but honestly, you’ve probably already come across the phrase “Glow-up” while scrolling through Instagram or maybe even just browsing the interwebs that has been so graciously bestowed upon us. Despite the phrase being around for a while, its usage in social media has increased in recent years. But what exactly is the meaning of glow-up and how would you go about it?

An Incorrect Though “Low-key” Correct Definition

According to Urban Dictionary, the top definition for glow up is “When you go from ugly to stunning”. In all of history, it has been politically incorrect to say that someone is ugly and honestly, I don’t think anyone is ugly. But there are some people, *cough cough* including myself, that are not necessarily the most attractive human beings walking this earth. We are all beautiful individuals (some more than others), but some of us have not found that “thing” that makes us glow and stand out from others. I believe the best method of searching for that “thing” is to embark on a journey called “Glowing Up”. Basically, this means to go from looking how you have always looked and transform into someone who is more appealing and attractive. This transformation process can happen in as little as a few hours, according to the latest Youtube trend, or happen over the course of a few years.

Some people may describe a glow up transformation as:

Beating Your Face To The gods With Makeup…

Slaying Your Hair…

Or Maybe Even By Dressing Up…

Though these things may be included, a more in-depth glow up will take a little more effort and patience. The more time and effort that you invest in yourself throughout the process, the better your results will be at the end.

My Attempt to Use an Analogy:

If an old house was sitting around for year and years without any work being done, you wouldn’t merely fix up the outside and keep the inside stank and looking the same. You would probably spend more time and money on making the inside more comfortable and enjoyable since that is where you will be most of the time. It’s the same with ourselves. We first need to tend to our internal issues, because once all that makeup comes off and its you all by yourself, who’s gonna be there for you? The answer for me is: Nobody but me and God.

In other words, there are levels to this -ish. There are many things that you can improve during your glow up journey. You could chose to improve your mental health, spiritual life, physical appearance, overall health, eating habits, etc. Your physical appearance is just the tip of the iceberg.

Wanna Know How to Jump-start Your Glow Up?

It’s simple! Essentially there are two parts to a glow up.:

1) Creating a Plan: Knowing what you want

2) Execution: Getting -ish done

Like most things in life, everything starts with a plan. It’s hard trying to get somewhere if you don’t know where you want to go or how you want to get there. This is usually the easy part. Doing what you plan to do is where things tend to get more difficult, but we’ll worry about this later.

Creating a plan is ultimate first step on getting started.The only thing you will need is a pen, a journal, and yourself. With a journal, you are able to keep everything dealing with your glow up and progress in one place, which will ultimately make you more success in your journey. I also recommend doing weekly self reflections. Self reflection is a tool used by many people to track their growth and to also get a better understanding of themselves. Through this process, you will learn things about yourself and a journal is a great way of keeping up with all of this.

Before you start writing in your journal, go to a quiet area and a place that you will be comfortable and safe. Give yourself a few minutes to visualize the person you dream to be. With this person in mind, answer these 5 questions.

1. What does my day look like from morning to night?

2. Where do I work or do for a living?

3. What do I see and how do I feel when I look into the mirror?

4. What are my eating and fitness habits?

5. Where do I live?

Now that you have a visualization of the life that you want to live, its time to put it down on paper. Write down word for word exactly what you want your life to be like. Don’t worry about spelling mistakes or sentence structure. Just freely write down everything that pops up in mind. Don’t be afraid to go to the extreme and remember that nothing is impossible.

The next step is to create your plan. What exactly are your goals and how do you plan on accomplishing those goals? If you want to read more, how do you plan on rearranging your schedule so that you will have time to do that? If you want to live a more healthy lifestyle, analyze how your current eating and fitness habits are. How do you plan on eating better and spending more time being active? Everything starts with a goal. These goals are then accomplished by creating small daily habits or by breaking each goal down in into a group of mini goals that will help your get to the finish line. Challenge yourself and see how many days you can go without skipping, and if possible, get your friends and family involved. If you allow the people in your life to become knowledgeable of your goals and your objective, you will be more likely to complete them simply because you are accountable and expected to succeed. This can be extremely motivating  and if you have the right kind of people in your life, this could be a major step in you coming closer to achieving your goals.

**A Small Side Note: If the people in your life are toxic and malignant creatures, informing them of your goals could become destructive in your journey. We all know people like this. They see the bad in everything and will try to tell you every reason why you won’t succeed. These types of people need to be put to the side and moved as far away from our view as possible. Don’t give them the fuel that they need to break you down. (And that’s the end of that rant lol)***

After creating your plan, its time to take action. There are thousands of articles and videos out there in the clouds of the internet that teach you how to accomplish your goals. You could read every article and watch every video, but If you don’t put in the work and take action with your plan, you won’t get anywhere. Its like getting ready for a road trip. You can plan everything out and know exactly where you are going, but if you don’t get in the car and put the pedal to the metal you won’t get there. (Terrible analogy but you get the point.) This is the part that causes delay in most people’s glow up journey, including mine. I have re-written my plan over and over again hoping for some motivation to get up and do it. But the truth is, if you want it bad enough then you’ll do it. With classes, work, and preparing to go to college, taking time to focus on my journey has been tough. These last two semesters have been the most stressful periods of my life and my journey has come to a halt. I was so motivated in the beginning and was excited about the progress that I was making. Now I am struggling with getting back into the process, which is another point that I want to make. If at anytime during your journey you feel as if you have failed or if you stop completely as I did, don’t let it discourage you from getting up and trying again.

This journey is your own. Others may move at a faster pace than you, and that is absolutely okay. Comparing ourselves to others is detrimental to our journey as well as to our self-esteem, and social media doesn’t make this challenge any easier. When you see someone in life winning, be happy for that person. Don’t hate on them instead give them a compliment and let it be motivation for you to keep moving along in your journey. For we are all on one and it is called life. Whether you are aware of it or not, every choice you make caters to you either improving yourself or doing the complete opposite. Some choose to let their situation hold them back and make excuses for staying in the same place. According to Miss Lauryn Hill, “Anything that is not growing is dead.” We should all make a conscious decision to move forward in life and to better ourselves everyday even if it is as simple as trying to wake up 15 minutes earlier. Your glow up journey is one that your future self will be proud of and making the decision to accept the challenge will be the best thing you ever did. Peace.