Why Showing Up Matters More Than Being Perfect
- Lynsey Hess
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
Hi, lovely people!
I’ve been a little busy again… shocker, right? Between trying to finish everything before Thanksgiving, prioritizing my well-being, navigating senior year (and all the emotional chaos that comes with it), and planning for my future, things get pushed to the back burner. But they are never forgotten, especially when it comes to the conversations I love having with all of you. So let’s talk about showing up for yourself!
Yesterday, I went to my first-ever barre class and holy smokes… it was HARD like “every muscle shaking and trying not to scream” hard. But it was also such an incredible reminder of what it means to show up for myself.
Nothing starts easy. Even yoga, which now feels like home to me, was once brand new. Barre introduced me to a completely different style of movement: slow, consistent, controlled, every muscle activated. And even though it was late, even though my friends were on the couch, and even though I felt tired… I showed up. And I left feeling proud. Proud that I walked into a new studio. Proud that I tried something that intimidated me. Proud that I kept going when it got challenging. Proud that I didn’t let the couch win. And it made me think about all the other times in life when showing up felt scary, too. When I walked into my first day of Yoga Teacher Training, I didn’t know the people, the space, or what I was getting myself into. But showing up again and again transformed the unknown into something familiar. That’s how it always works; everything is new at one point. Every class, every room, every first day.
Showing up for yourself doesn’t have to look like committing to a 200-hour yoga training in NYC. Most of the time, it looks like the small, everyday things:
Waking up when you said you would
Doing the tasks you promised yourself you’d do
Protecting your peace
Trying a new workout
Walking into that cute spot in town, you always pass
Making your bed
Doing your laundry
Washing the dishes (even when we all desperately wish they would clean themselves)
These small tasks are not just to-dos. They are acts of self-respect. They are proof that you take care of your body, your mind, your space, and your future self. They are little promises kept, and they matter.
So yes, this entire train of thought started because I went to a barre class. But that one class reminded me how powerful it is to show up for yourself, even when it’s uncomfortable, even when you’re tired, even when you don’t feel like it. If you needed a reminder today: Show up.
Show up for the person you are now, and for the person you’re growing into.
xoxo,
Lynsey
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