Back in mid-February, while sitting in a coffee shop on the Upper East Side, I randomly applied for a spot in Donald Trump’s Miss New York pageant. I entered my information, wrote a short essay and sent in a couple modeling pictures that I had. After hitting submit, I didn’t give it a second thought; I have never done pageants before and I only applied because I thought it might be a cool way to spread my message and speak to audiences. Shortly after I got home from NYC I got a call from the people at the pageant telling me I had been chosen as a finalist to compete for the Miss New York pageant this fall.  I still had to go in for an interview before I officially had a spot on the stage, but still, I was pretty excited… and in shock.

The obvious problem with this situation is that I no longer lived in NYC, so Miss New York was a no-go. Although I was very surprised that I even received the call I was more surprised that I actually cared that I couldn’t participate.I mean,  I’ve never been the “beauty queen”. Sure, I’m kind of fortunate looking and some might consider me pretty or hot or some other word for physical attractiveness; but pageant girl pretty– nah. I’ve been caught with chipped nails and flat hair more times than I care to admit and as much as I consider myself a graceful person, I frequently run into walls and trip over my own unpainted toes. But still, with all this in mind, I was disappointed that this opportunity would be passing me by. Well a gal like me doesn’t stay down for long, I did some research and found out there were still positions open for this year’s Miss Oklahoma USA pageant. Once again I submitted info, essays and pictures, hit submit and let it go. Three weeks later, I got a call– I was accepted.

Now for someone who went out of their way to fill out the application, you’d think I’d be a bit more excited to have been accepted. Instead, my mind filled with fears and self-doubt took over any desire I had to be in the pageant. Thoughts like, You’ve never even done a pageant before, Katie. Those girls have been doing this stuff since day one and Where are you going to get that kind of money? You’re a broke college student again, remember? filled my head as I threw my acceptance letter and booklet into the trash. A few days went by, and for some reason, I could not shake the idea of the pageant. After several nights of dreaming about what a platform like that could give me, I decided to start giving this thing some more thought. 

I prayed, I meditated, I researched and I analyzed. I asked around and gave it a lot of thought. I ran in circles with the idea until one conversation with a co-worker/friend helped me put things into perspective:

“I’m thinking about doing the Miss Oklahoma USA pageant, but I don’t know.” I told her.

“Oh my gosh, you should so do it! What’s the worst that could happen? That would be a great experience!” 

…She was right. In my head I was so scared that I wouldn’t be good enough or have enough and all the other bull crap fear tells us, but when her simple comment, “what’s the worst that could happen?” cleared the smoke surrounding my fear, the benefits became so clear. Yes, I would have to work hard to get in shape and I’d have to raise money, but if it earned me a chance to speak in public, get in great shape, meet amazing women and the possibility of spreading my message, why the heck not? Later that night, with a prayer and wish, I decided it’s on… I’m competing for Miss Oklahoma USA!

So… what in the world does all of this pageant stuff have to do with you? Glad you asked. We all have those opportunities, moments and dreams that in our hearts we truly want to seize but for one reason or another, we sell ourselves short. We let fear convince us that we are too old, too young, to inexperienced or too “not-that-type” to go after something new.

Well people, That’s BS! Our fear does not tell the truth, the truth is…

With work, vision and passion, at any given moment we are capable of making ourselves whomever it is we want to be. We are not defined by our past and we are not confined to the roles others place us in, we are only limited by what we allow ourselves to go after. It’s in allowing ourselves to follow our hearts that we become unstoppable.

Last month I wrote about the importance of having a vision for our lives. As I have explained many times before, the vision I have for myself is too be a voice for my generation and spread a message of healing and inspiration to everyone around me. it is also my goal to carry myself with grace, confidence and beauty. My head has it’s own ideas of how this vision would become a reality (graduate from school, work my way up in my career, etc.) but the universe works in mysterious ways. This pageant is now going to be part of my journey, and whether I win or not it will play a vital role furthering my message. My point is, we don’t always know what opportunities the universe will send us to help us reach our destiny, but as long as we are willing to say yes, take chances and ask “what’s the worst that could happen?” we will always be learning growing and most importantly, truly living. 

I’m learning more and more that the only way to fail is too not try. In every failure there is a lesson– an experience; something else too put on our resume of life. The chances we take, the opportunities we seize and the trials we overcome each contribute to the beautiful stories we are creating. This week I ask you all too join me in seizing the moment. Is there something you haven’t done because you feel too old, too young, not good enough or you just never have before? Is fear holding you back from going after something your heart is telling you to do? Do yourself a favor and go for it anyway! You ARE good enough to do exactly what your heart is telling you. One of my favorite quotes is, “In twenty years you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do than the things you did…” I believe this with all my heart (barring a few obvious exceptions) So take a deep breath, put your fear in it’s place and take that step. Seize the moment and live it too the fullest, you are so worth it.

 

YOLO! (Had too say it),

Katie Hoffman 

 

PS: What is the dream you’ve been holding back from? Please feel free to share with me! I’m always here to support you in following your heart! I believe in you and will help you believe in you too Email me: info@iamkatiehoffman.com.