One question I am constantly faced with regarding skin concerns is a timeline on when things will be better. I hate to break it to y’all but putting a timeline on your health is like telling God your plans - it doesn’t work out that way. There are a few things you can do to help create a plan for yourself but when dealing with a live organ that reflects the imbalances of your internal organs, there is only so much you can control. I want to run through a few steps to help you stay on track when things seem to be going nowhere or even feels like you’re taking a few steps backward.

Before I got married I was so fixated that I wanted to look at certain way. I had a goal weight and an idea of what I wanted my body to look like. I can tell you right now that I never hit those goals because the expectation I had of myself silenced two major factors;

1 - I was ignoring major steps needed to achieve said goals and 2 - I wasn’t accepting of myself.

The steps I was ignoring was that I am dealing with endocrine issues that cause me to swell up in my abdomen regardless of diet and exercise. The key is self-care and less work. I ended up working myself more so that I could take off the few days I needed to actually get married. I also didn’t really look at myself and think “do I really need to change?”. If I would have shifted my mindset to “how do I want to feel on my wedding day?” I may have shifted my course of action to include more meditation and self-care instead of a restrictive diet and working out non-stop.

What I’m getting at is that it starts with the right expectation and mindset. Your skin will only benefit from a loving approach towards yourself. As mentioned in the previous post on how to wash your skin with love, intuitive skincare and reassessing our standards, the common theme is to calm all the other thoughts and bring yourself back to what you know is best for you. So if your skin is still struggling to reflect back the love you put into it, consider the following steps:

1 - Just because your skin isn’t perfectly clear that doesn’t mean it isn’t improving. I mention this a lot to clients who are literally doing EVERYTHING they can but the reflection is not quite where they hoped to be. Your system is working from the inside out so it’s important to remember that if the imbalance started from within it has to detox itself from there. The skin is the perfect organ to eliminate those final stages of waste that may have been lingering in your system for a long time. That doesn’t mean things aren’t getting better, it just means that your other organs need to shift first. As a whole, this is a good thing so just continue to stay patient and loving towards yourself.

2 - Timelines don’t consider real-life obstacles. How many times have you said to yourself I’m going to work out every day until I lose this amount of weight and then you roll your ankle or get sick? Your system communicates weakness when it is overstressed all the time. If you overdo your system on anything just to reach a timeline you are quieting the signals that are shifting every day. Set yourself up with a daily goal first so you can insure small successes. This includes small victories like making sure you dry brush, do a mask, drink lots of water or eat more alkaline food. Over time those little daily victories are what makes the biggest difference.

3 - Are you setting up a timeline for a physical change to avoid an emotional tune-up? Why do you really need to achieve this goal by a specific date? Let’s take a common scenario where someone wants their skin to be “perfect” by a huge life event - like wedding or family reunion. Do you really think that the people at those events will look at you with any less love if you have a skin imbalance? People see your essence and will most likely only notice the problem if you amplify it with stress and insecurity. Your skin is working hard for you so just make sure you express your gratitude for it. When I have a breakout I repeat to myself that I am grateful for my skin to be working hard to communicate what it needs. Every time I do this my intuition then chimes in a with a solution such as a switch to a gentle cleanser or drink a gentle immunity-boosting tea. Accepting yourself by expressing gratitude for your journey will help you listen in to the pings that are going to help you the most. Most of the time these signs are going to communicate that you need more self-care and a loving attitude towards yourself. If all else fails, try journaling. A journal post can help shed some underlying issue that is the real reason you aren’t feeling your best.

Setting yourself up with a health goal is a great idea because it means you want to live an optimal life. You don't want to succumb to mediocrity because you know you are deserving of an abundant life. As your therapeutic skin coach, I just want to make sure you remember why you set yourself up with those health goals to begin with. Life is an unpredictable path that will only present you with the same challenges and tests until you learn the lessons you need from them. If your skin is constantly your biggest challenge, what are you truly blocked on? The first step would be to let go of the timeline expectation and know that this is a moment in a lifetime of experience. YOU will be better for going through this because it will help you tune into yourself and your individual health. I hope this resonates for those of you who are struggling with why you are not achieving your goals yet - you just have more to learn about yourself and may need to start accepting yourself for the beautiful being that you are. Until next time, have a lovely first week of October! 

xo - Hayley

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