Pinterest and a Pandemic, are probably not the kind of words that get thrown together in a sentence, but this is how these two things, helped me transform my life. My journey of using Pinterest (with the help of the pandemic) helped me discover my own identity and follow my bliss of helping others.
My aim from the start has been to inspire others to realise that life-changing transformation, can be achieved, even in challenging and uncertain times. It can lead us down a path of self-discovery through establishing our own identity, where changes we make to our environment, can even impact the biology of our body (hence the double helix image below).
We all know what a pandemic is by now, that we can be certain of. But contrary to popular belief, Pinterest is a visual search engine, not a form of social media. It’s a place where vision boards are created that can literally transform lives. And it certainly did that for me. Cheers Pinterest!
The Infographic below pretty much sums up how this year has helped me discover who I am, what I want, and what I want to do. Despite obstacles, challenges, and of course, the curveballs that life throws at us, I never gave up. I’m submitting this Pin to the Pinterest Wildcard Category, and in true ADHD fashion, I’ve left it to the very last minute – but I work way better when I’m getting close to a deadline.
Looking inward for answers is key
In order to transform our lives, and to really understand our true potential, we need to look inward for answers. It can help us answer the questions we may have been asking ourselves for years. By doing this, I’ve been able to grow as an individual even when the uncertainty of change has been scary.
But I figured, if I could achieve what I’ve done so far, under a pandemic of all things, then I’m certainly capable of achieving anything. Coupled with the fact I have Coeliac Disease, ADHD, and when building my Brand GUTidentity I had the worst technology, I just kept at it and I’m still going. But the reality is, it doesn’t matter what’s going on in our lives at the time, but it does matter WHERE it’s going on – LOOK inward for answers to the questions we ask ourselves.
change helps us grow and transform
Change isn’t easy but when we start to do things differently, it begins to transform the world around us. When our lives become routine, it limits our opportunity to grow. By doing different things, like starting a daily online exercise class as I did, I began to change my routine which then transformed my usual fitness regime of just walking.
It gave me the opportunity to do something I absolutely hated, which was being on screen in front of others. But I put myself out there with the help of the pandemic, because virtual online fitness classes are all the rage now 😉 If we do different stuff, it helps us to transform and develop in different ways.
Visualising the Future we want
Many people are coming to the realisation that material goods and lots of things, just aren’t bringing the kinda joy we’ve been accustomed to believe. People want new ways of doing things and that includes me. They’re jumping on Pinterest to create the way they see their lives in the future, and they’re doing this in the form of vision boards. Start creating your own vision boards on Pinterest to design your own future. Then you can see what you want, and start making the necessary changes to make it happen.
believe that we can transform
When we realise we are a tiny speck in the scheme of things, transformation really begins to happen. Pinterest users come from all across the globe, and they’re coming now in droves. When I first started really getting into “pinning” as it’s coined, there were around 300 million users. In the short time I’ve been “pinning”, there’s now over 400 million.
Having the belief that my audience would grow, and that I am inspiring others to transform their lives, keeps me going. My audience growth on Pinterest has never been about how many monthly unique visitors I’ve got or the amount of followers, but it has helped spur me on to keep creating for them through believing I can deal with my own challenges.
I’ve never doubted myself which was a really weird concept to me at first, but I kept believing. You could say I’m a firm believer in the saying “it’s meant to be” and I definitely know the Universe has been helping me out along the way. Thank you, Universe! Just do what I did, and believe in yourself. Believe that you are capable of achieving your own identity and just go with it!
Surrendering our limits
Life isn’t always easy and probably the hardest thing we have to master, is changing our perception of the world around us and surrendering to just going with the flow of things. Taking the first step in understanding this, is a step towards unlimited possibilities. Our perception isn’t just going to change and appear at the door one day. We have to make the changes ourselves, or at least, that’s how I perceive it.
learn from the past to create the future
We all have a past and we can all learn stuff from it. The lesson that comes from it though, is whether we keep repeating the same patterns of behaviour, or we break out of those and try something new from the knowledge we’ve gained. Breaking free of old routines is REALLY hard because it’s comfortable, and what we’ve learned to feel safe with.
The only thing about the past, is even though it may have sucked at times, it’s familiar, so it draws us back because it’s comforting in a weird way. Making new routines and doing new things can feel strange and awkward, but it’s the only way to use past information to then master (or make attempts toward), the creation of new patterns of thinking and doing.
We all have Potential
I was a complete novice (and still am) but Pinterest has helped me find what I was good at and something I enjoyed. Along with the help of the quietness of the pandemic, creating for Pinterest has given me the time, motivation, and courage to step outside my comfort zone and do something I never dreamed was possible.
Getting out of my comfort zone helped me uncover my hidden potential that I never had taken the time to do because I kept myself “busy” with life and the crap it threw at me. As Pinterest has grown since the pandemic, I’ve grown along with it (thank you again Pinterest). From someone who felt uncomfortable in their own skin, to a person who now believes ANYTHING is possible through believing it can happen.
our potential is limitless
Discovering who we are and establishing our own identity, is LIMITLESS. We are only defined by the limits we place on ourselves. If we believe we can achieve something, we just have to keep trying to reach that limit, and then push repeat to achieve the next and the next.
In the current world as we see it, taking the time to just stop and take a breath, has been made possible by the pandemic. It’s helped people to reflect on their lives, take time to do things they may not have done before. This opportunity has given me the time to reevaluate what’s important in life and to realise that my potential for growth, is a never-ending story and that I’m the author.
We are capable of unlimited possibilities when we take time, stop, and think. I thought my journey had begun when I established GUTidentity, but I realise now, I’m only just getting started again, on the upward spiral of that thing we call – LIFE!
