Category: Fitness

This category focuses on a healthy, strong body and how to optimize our physical health.

How to uncover what makes you uniquely beautiful

sarahcrewsbeautyLeave a comment

When it comes to looking and feeling beautiful, both inside and out, every one of us is working with a different box of tools.

To watch or listen to me read this post instead, click here. https://youtu.be/1xLpshgIUzY

Some of us were born with certain tools that others don’t have which give us an advantage in certain areas. We can use our one-of a-kind collection of tools to create beauty that no one else can duplicate because they don’t have our exact set of tools.

On the flip-side, all of us are missing at least a few tools that we wish we had been given. 

While it is possible to acquire many types of tools, some are inherent  and cannot be changed. And this can cause us to sit and look at our toolbox with all kinds of negative emotions about it. These negative emotions usually come about because we either compare our tool box to someone else’s whom we deem more valuable in some way, or we have experienced or witnessed negative feedback about ours or similar types of tool boxes. 

I believe that this is true for pretty much everyone. 

However, the difference between the beauty that some people cultivate and use to help themselves become happier and more successful compared to some others, lies in the way in which they view and use the valuable tools they have been given. 

Perception is everything. It is actually reality. 

I have come to see that every single one of us has a wealth of beauty and happiness potential inside of our toolboxes. But the key to the kingdom is in the way we view it.

I hope that your brain is making correlations on this analogy to look at your own set of “tools” with fresh eyes. 

I imagine being in the garage, looking at my husband’s big red Sears tool cabinet which was his dad’s from back in the day. I see all the screwdrivers, saw-like-thingys, hammers, wrenches, nails, screws, etc. I also see some rusted doo-dads, tools I don’t really recognize, duplicates of the same type of tools and also a lack of the just-right-tools that we’ve sometimes needed for certain projects. My husband can sometimes feel frustrated or even angry because he has loaned something to someone to use only to not have it returned. Sometimes, he can’t even remember who took it from him. But there is a void there and a need for that tool. 

What is opening up for you now when you think of your own tool box? What do you see in there? How can you use your unique set of tools to go a step further and elevate your life? Really methodically take  inventory of the tools you have. Take pen to paper and truly evaluate the tools you have at your disposal. What value can you find in those tools? Think of your tools as assets, skills or characteristics.  Take time and get innovative with looking at all the uses and ways to create beauty with what you have. You can take a look at what you still might need to acquire in order to maximize the tools you already. And you can start to discover what you have that could help equip or improve someone else’s tool box or make a difference to others. 

I would encourage you to allow yourself time to journal about this. Take some time to sit and write. Let your thoughts flow up and see where it takes you. I believe you will make discoveries in this exercise that will open your eyes to possibilities you never considered before. I believe this type of exercise is deeply therapeutic and motivating. It has been for me. 

Practices like this show you your unique worth and reinforce your beauty inside and out so that You can look at it and remember all the ways you are breathtakingly beautiful and equipped in the world. Let the words flow out on paper and see what comes up. You will teach yourself. You will make discoveries you never stopped to make before. And I promise you, this type of practice will help you find direction, purpose, motivation and inspiration. It’s a great reset for when you feel defeated and tired. It is a great way to find renewed energy. Just the act of listening to yourself in this way, blocking out the rest of the world’s noise for a little while, can have a great impact. Comment here to let me know what comes up for you. I would love to know what you discover. 

XO,
Sarah

Facilitating a class

Your Next Chapter

sarahcrewsbeautyLeave a comment

The second half of life can be your best… if you know how to create it.

Up early to head out to Grand Rapids today to teach another bridal class for Kérastase.

I don’t go out to teach as many classes anymore like I did just a few years ago. It’s a new season of life. Things are different now and it seems like the brand education season is on the back burner, at least for right now.

Years ago, I wanted all the experiences the beauty industry had to offer. I wanted to make a name. I wanted to be on the scene. And I did.

Years of travel and amazing opportunities were exhausting but I chased it all anyway. National Educator for the luxury haircare brand Kérastase. New York Fashion Week, Celebrity collabs, industry leader recognition, video and production work. Coast to coast I have taught to hairstylists in almost every single state. I have mentored countless beauty pros both locally and online. And I am grateful for every single connection I made and every experience I’ve had.

Now I am feeling a shift. I turned 50 last year.
And I will tell you, I seriously feel more confident, beautiful, healthy and strong than I ever have. Mind you, I have done a ton of work on my growth and development, which has been exhilarating, humbling, joyful and painful (physically, mentally and emotionally). And hear me when I say I have a loooonnnnggg way to go. But I am proud of where I am and who I am. And damn, I wish I could go back and tell my younger self how great we are going to be at an age I used to consider literally ancient.

But if you are in a transition or “dead’ phase yourself, you know it can be scary not knowing the exact direction your life and/or career are headed. No real concrete plan or strategy. But the great thing is that at any point in our lives, we can actually learn to slow down, listen to ourselves and embrace a discovery period like this so that everything can come together as it should. 

And it will. It always does. As long as we keep checking in with our compass

So, what is your compass and how can it lead to everything “coming together?”

For me, the compass is truly knowing what is most important in life.
What makes you happy? What brings joy? What unique talents do you have? In what ways can you use what makes you unique to make a difference? Picture a true dream life for yourself. It’s different for everyone. But it should go beyond the next vacation or career goal you have. I find it has more to do with a real purpose and how our passions and unique talents can be leveraged to help start the journey towards an exciting new chapter and creating the kind of life you truly want to live. Have you thought about what that looks like?

I have actually been in my discovery phase for a few years now. Admittedly, growth and my personal definition of success have come more slowly than I would have liked, so if yours has too, don’t feel alone.  I have still learned more about myself in the last couple of years than I did over the last 20 years at least. And that is valuable info because with self-realization comes different action in the world. With action comes new opportunities and experiences which ultimately lead to the exact right path. So trust the process and try to enjoy the journey.
Let me say that again. Slow down, be present to fully experience your life to the fullest as it is now and enjoy the journey to where you are headed.

I have found that discovering yourself again and finding your next direction can happen at any age. Also, it can change throughout your life and you may go through quite a few re-invention phases. Of course, I am not a therapist (although I have provided many, many hours of informal counsel and encouragement to my clients over the last 30 years) but I do know my own experience and I am pretty certain I am not a unicorn.

I want to to encourage you, no matter where you are in your life, age-wise, career-wise, chapter-wise, it is perfectly normal to not know your next direction, or what you actually want. Just trust that if you keep asking yourself questions about what is most important for you in your life, you will naturally start to have clarity about what your upcoming best-chapter-yet will look like and your will begin to create your own path toward it. Only you clear your path and only you can walk it. And this is what sets you a part from everyone else. Your path, your story. That’s YOUR secret sauce. So what will you do with it and how will you use it to live into your purpose in this next chapter?

Years ago, I dreamed of being a brand educator in the hair industry, I wanted to travel and teach and do cool things that most other stylists never get to.

Now, after achieving the very career I had dreamed of, I am looking to the next chapter, just like you. Meanwhile, I am teaching only a few classes a year and am open to my “what’s next.” Maybe this brand and this experience follows me into the next phase. Maybe not. But the beauty industry is my passion so I will now once again reinvent how I participate in it.

For today though, I get on a plane to Grand Rapids to teach in a salon team about bridal styling. What I know is that connection and sharing with other salon professionals is something that still lights me up. 

Think about what truly lights you up. What shape could that take on in order to put you on your path to your next dream-life experience?

Leave a comment or reach out on social to share your feelings on this and let me know what your next chapter will be. I’d love to hear from you.

XO,

Sarah