Hiya,

When I was in late elementary school, I made a life-changing discovery:

If I raised my eyebrows, my eyes looked bigger.

Why was this a "life-changing" discovery?

Well, because 'Teen magazine made it abundantly clear that girls with big eyes—and only girls with big eyes—were beautiful. And as a buck-toothed, frizzy-haired tomboy, I was decidedly not.

This is not self-deprecation, y'all. My own mother has admitted to feeling unsure about how things would turn out with me.

So, I started raising my eyebrows.
Like... all the time.
Which is why my forehead is a relief map of the Mariana Trench.

I'd like to say that's the only time I've made a dumb decision based on someone else's idea of self-improvement.

It's not.

There was the time I went gluten- dairy- meat- caffeine- alcohol- and sugar-free all at once (not-much-atarianism) and landed in the ER (where—true story—I was instructed to go home and eat a bag of gummy worms).

There was the time I took to heart a personal trainer's, "Don't you dare give up! Don't f*cking quit on me! Keep pushing! You've got this! 30 more seconds!" and promptly threw up.

There was the time I bought every book people told me I "had" to read and wound up with more books than I could possibly read before I die. This, of course, is an ongoing problem.

This is just ONE of my to-be-read piles. The smallest one.

And I don't know about you, but I'm currently being bombarded with email subject lines like, "Finish 2022 strong," and "New year, new you" and honestly? I'm allllllll the way over it.

Look, I'm all for growth and change and discovery and whatnot, but I'd like to feel OK with who I am right now first. With my deep wrinkles, extra pounds, and awkward pixie grow-out. With my indecision and lack of systems and processes. With my wee little email list. (Thank you for being here.)

Pep Talk #003: Be OK with who you are. Today.
Then, if you want to change some things about yourself, your life, or your business, go for it. But do it on your own damn terms. Don't let anyone else tell you what you should or shouldn't do, what you can or can't do, what you need or needn't do.

The world doesn't need a new you in the new year. Plain ol' you is plenty fine (and anything but plain).

If you've already set some on-your-own-damn-terms intentions for 2023, I'd love to know about them so I can cheer you on. Of course, I'd also love to know if you're all EFF INTENTIONS I'M OK JUST AS I AM.

You're incredible,
Kell

P.S. I know the word tomboy is problematic now. I didn't know that in the 70s.