As I reflect on the past few months I feel a little sad to put this blog to sleep. I had so many wonderful learnings and felt more alive than I have in a long time. That being said, I know that like all good things, it’s time for it to come to an end.

Thanks to a combination of Before Twenty Five, action taking and hustling, 2016 is turning into one wicked year. I can’t wait to see what the rest of it brings. If the first half was any indication, it’s going to be pretty unbeatable.

A BHAG is a BIG (maybe even your biggest) goal designed to push you towards your ideal future. They usually aren’t the little “goals” like “drink eight glasses of water a day”but instead the game changers. Think: your ultimate career, the adventure of a life time, being a professional athlete. BIG, wonderful, crazy, make-your-skin-crawl-with-excitement goals. BHAGs are the stuff dreams are made of, but unlike dreams, BHAGs are about taking action and making incredible things happen.

I am going to take the leap and I will be launching l.dot designs within the next couple months (EEK!). I’m going to conquer my self doubt and put myself into a place of vulnerability. Because you know what? I am good enough. Here’s to beating self doubt, and putting myself out there. I dare you to do the same. Let’s jump in that icy lake together ♥

I LOVE giving presents. It’s not just the giving part I love. I love the creation. I love the thought. I want people to open a gift from me and feel the love oozing out of it. I want the love I put into people’s gifts to be apparent and palpable.

Have you ever done a BIG clean? I’m talking about a clean sweep, a massive purge, the kind of clean that leaves you feeling light and free of clutter. These cleans often happen when someone moves, renovates or is forced to by some unforeseen circumstance. Other times, they are done because a need to eradicate the unnecessary sets in. This need festers into an itch that can only be scratched by eliminating anything that isn’t needed. I have been feeling this itch for a long time.

I hope you will continue to follow along for the rest of this challenge as I break all my rules and finish this challenge running. You can find me here, repeating the mantra “I will not quit.”

For Week Eleven I participated in a super cool show called Theatre Under the Gun with a local dance company I’m part of called Broken Rhythms. As for a summary of the weekend we were in the studio for over 30 hours, exhausted but so excited and proud of what was created. Inside jokes were created, exhausted laughing fits occurred, and like overtired school girls we shared story after story. Also, even though we were exhausted no one killed anyone, so that’s pretty great. Who needs sleep anyways?

What is more relaxing than getting in touch with nature and enjoying a technology free weekend? Let me answer that for you: Nothing. Week 11 turned out being a (semi) spur of the moment getaway for Matt and I to one of our favourite places. We had been talking about going for a while and finally bit the bullet and booked it a couple days before we left.

These findings made me really consider WHY I wanted to do the cleanse in the first place. I realized it was purely for the wrong reasons. Juicing is trendy and everywhere. In my face like a young child begging for attention. Beautiful juice bars are popping up all over town. I was seeing celebrities and yogis and friends and co-workers juicing. Gorgeous ads, beautiful photos, and the idea of healthy bliss were all idealism drawing me in. I was being marketed to and I realized it was about looking good not being healthy.

Because talking about body image shouldn’t make my stomach turn so much it’s taken me three weeks to write this post. Because I want you to know you’re far from alone. We’re all in this together.

SO: What is primal? Like the paleo diet, it has a strong focus on eating like cavemen. Unlike paleo, it’s a little less strict, has a little bit more of a whole life/ way of living aspect, and overall has a more positive feel. It focuses on questions like What would our ancestors have eaten? How would have they have lived their life? What would they have had to do to get the food they ate?

In the end, by setting my fear aside I had so much fun at this workshop. It felt like I was a kid again and I learnt a lot. I also experienced another reminder of the benefits to facing fear and doing something that scares you. Have fun. Play. Try new things. Learn. Grow. and Don’t let fear hold you back.

Week five: kind of a bust. But it’s OK. As I said in the beginning, I am mostly doing this for a learning experience. When you’re learning you’re bound to make “mistakes.” I’m actually a little proud I didn’t complete week five because you learn more from failure than you do from success. So, here’s my BIGGEST LEARNING from not completing Week five: If you fail to plan you’re planning to fail .

These fear causing stories hold us back from being our incredible selves. They stop us from having fun and living our best life. By pushing these stories to the back of our head, we empower ourselves, allowing us to conquer our demons, and maybe even have a killer time in the process. So laugh at yourself, do things that make your stomach turn, fight your stories, and have fun with your imperfections.

Like life, this journey has its ebbs and flows. There are days I wake up and I’m SO excited to get my thoughts down into words. Days where I’m walking down the street and have to stop and write down ideas because something has inspired me. The days I am so grateful that I created this challenge for myself and I’m filled with excited butterflies as I share it with my world.

Why is it that we put off the things that mean the most to us? I LOVE dance. As soon as I get going, I feel like my most alive self. Still, everyday when it comes to heading to the studio my mind tells me no thank you. We all do it. We put ourselves off for less important things. We make excuses and allow the couch to call our name. Our mind plays tricks on us. It tells us we want one thing, drawing us in like a mouse trap full of cheese. We KNOW we’ll be happier if we don’t take the cheese but oh is it tempting.

As children we’re basically fearless. I think it’s a defense mechanism. We consistently do, learn, and try new things, taking or leaving them based on our interests. Then we get older and learning gets tougher. The fear sets in as we discover the repercussions and possibilities of what could happen. Practicality makes us forget the fun of trying something new. Instead we worry about how we’ll look or what COULD potentially happen. In turn, we forget how to play. So, this week I pushed that fear to the back of my brain where it belongs and learnt something new… I learnt how to rock climb…..and IT. WAS. AWESOME.

This week for the #beforetwentyfive challenge I’m taking a stand and launching an imperfect website (GULP). It’s an exercise in breaking this habit and instead sharing me, raw and uncut. I’m not going to let perfectionism hold me back any longer. Instead, here I am, sharing me.

I want to break this habit.

I want to have fun.

I want to live for those beautiful, little, magical moments that happen when you’re living authentically you.

and I want to inspire you to do the same.