Bethany Elstone

Don’t waste your time, make every second count with Versus Versace. 


Welcome back you lovely lot! 

Its been about a month or so since my last post where I spoke about veering away from iPhone photos on Instagram, since then I've maintained my distance by switching my phone for a watch to tell the time. I've had a bit of an extended break on my blog over the festive & new year period – but if you ever find me going radio silent on here the chances are I'm still active over on my IG.  So, with the formalities out of the way,  I hope you've all had an amazing start to 2018!

I know a lot of people tend to hate January but it's my birthday month so as soon as the NY celebrations have wound down, I jump on the birthday train. This does normally result in me slowing down any resolutions, I never really throw myself in to the new year until we start nearing February.  This is because I think when we take a mammoth leap in to our fresh start, we task ourselves with so many changes and goals that we inevitably fail within the first few weeks. I see January as the month of progressive change, I take my resolutions slowly and then find they have more chance at sticking when we hit Feb.  

With that being said, I have my own goals and areas I want to work on for myself this year, including making every second count, but there's also been a lot of things I've been thinking that we should all be doing collectively 


The VERSUS Versace Logo watch I’m wearing is a constant reminder that the seconds are ticking away, and I want to make the most of each one. 


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L E A V I N G  B E H I N D  W H A T ' S   N O T   G O O D   F O R   Y O U 

Ah, that one. Most of us probably have this on our list in one form or another, such as... 

...not picking up the phone, you know he's only calling cos he's drunk and alone. Thank you Dua Lipa for being the voice we all needed when it comes to men.

But what about the not so obvious things that aren't good for you... 

1)  Clinging on to smaller clothes from years ago in the hope that you'll be able to wear them again.  

You're beautiful as you are, right now. Get rid of that dress hanging in your closet, girl. Size means nothing, it's a scale inflicted on us by society to measure our worth, its total BS. It's negative energy that's not wanted or needed. Donate it to charity, continue your glow up and stop reaching for the past.  

2) Holding on to friendships that bring you nothing, out of fear.  

Having damaging people in your life is far more dangerous than simply being alone. You'll find your crowd and you'll know when you do.  

3) Regret. I hate the saying "you shouldn't have regrets because at that time, it's what you wanted",  again, BS. There are plenty of times we all screw up and wish we hadn't done things but live and let go my loves because once it's done, there's no going back and there's no way in hell that a genie is going to appear out of your bedside lamp and grant you three wishes. Life isn't that kind, but you know what you can do to be kind to yourself?  let  it go. I know how much time you can spend dwelling and what it can do to you. We all deserve more than rerunning our past mistakes, we live, we learn, and we hopefully don't bloody do it again. 


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D E D I C A T I N G   M O R E   T I M E   T O   W H A T   W E   L O V E  

It's far too easy to get lost in the day to day routine of life, we invest so much time and energy during the week that when we get to the weekend, we've hit burnout stage. It really only occurred to me where my time was going when I started properly paying attention to it.

I haven't really used watches for telling time in my adult life simply because I'm always on my phone and the time is  right  there. But it's just a passing glance when you look at the numbers on your phone, there's no real moment for it to set in. When I started to wear a watch again, it really sank in how quickly the hours in the day were passing and how I often felt I hadn't necessarily achieved anything that made me incredibly happy 

The Versus Versace watch I'm wearing from H Samuel brought about this realisation, although I must admit, it was how it looks that bought about the love at first sight notion. It comes in a variety of colourways,  I chose the rose gold bracelet style ( of course ) as I love wearing nudes and muted colours. It's beautifully simple and elegant which means I can pretty much style it with any outfit. Plus, rose gold is not going anywhere so it creates a timeless feel.   

This year I want to be able to organise my time better, start cutting out things that don't really bring me joy anymore and instead pouring my heart in to something that brings me happiness. I believe we sometimes lose sight of the things that we once loved doing, not because we fell out of love, simply because we ran out of time. It's inevitable as we grow up as we take on so much more, don't let life take control of  you, take control of  it. 

I don't ever want to be at a stage in life where I look back and see wasted hours, days and months.  

I remember reading a quote along the lines of 'there's a difference between simply being alive, and living'. 

It's a mantra I want to live by as much as I possibly can this year. 


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E D U C A T I N G   O U R S E L V E S  

When we left school, we were so ready. We knew everything there was to know, of course we did, why else did we spend so many years sitting in a classroom learning about sodding equations. But do you know what? I've learnt more in the past year about socially relevant issues than I could have ever been taught during school hours.  

Education didn't stop when we stepped outside the school gates for the last time. There is so much that we never heard a teacher even speak a word about during our school years. There are so many conversations taking place today, from gender and race inequality to the corruption of politics (that's not new though really, is it.). The education system gave us all so much but also let us down on some of the most pivotal issues in society, we have a duty to ourselves and everyone around us to keep the conversation going and to continue learning every day.  


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S U P P O R T I N G   O T H E R S 

If you're not supporting your friends and family, what are you doing? I'm calling time on this attitude of people only clapping when they're trying to encourage you but going silent when you make it. 

It's weak & I'm fed up of it. 

I tell everyone I possibly can about the Keeping It Candid podcast by Millie (@millie_cotton) & Sophie (@sophiemilner_fs) and I'm always quizzing Millie about the next one when I see her.  If I read an amazing blog post you better believe I'm telling whoever I see the next day about it, I think people are sick of me declaring my undying love for every word published on Chloe Plumstead's blog.

I comment on my friends work.
 I shout about peoples talents.
 I suggest my fave photographers in emails to brands. 
@michaelatphotos, @mabdulle and more recently discovered @dazhaneleahphotos )
 I tell PR's about people that I think would be perfect for projects.  

Why? 

BECAUSE THEY'RE KILLING IT & THEY DESERVE THE RECOGNITION. 

Their grind, their achievements, their success.  

If you're feeling lesser or put down in a situation where your friend has done something great, you need to acknowledge that it's only yourself making you feel that way. 

You should only ever measure yourself against your own worth, don't try to be better than someone else, simply be a better you than you were yesterday. 

Up your grind, invest an extra hour in to that side venture, push yourself.  

Never measure your own path next to someone else's, nothing good will ever  come of it. 

Be a good friend, daughter, brother, sister. 

Clap when you see someone you love doing well, celebrate  with  them.  



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It's a bit of a heavy post for my first one in 2018, but I wanted to lay my cards on the table.

 I want this year to be about progression and growth, for everyone. 

Let's stop calling each other’s bluffs and start being real.  

Leave behind what's causing you grief. 
Educate yourself and those around you.
Shout for your friends & make the world seem them in the same light you do. 


Dictate your own story, don't let time tell you what you can do.




*this post was sponsored by Versus Versace but all words, opinions and feelings are as always entirely my own.  
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