The Ariel Smith

I think it's time for a new challenge, what yall think? Should I do the same $1k in 14 days or should I aim for higher 🥴?

Life has been doing what it does best, and I've been rolling with the punches. This season God has been teaching me how to rest without feeling guilty and sit down without feeling like I'm a failure by not doing something productive.

I've been experiencing new levels of burnout trying to creep in, and in not gone lie, a part of me doesn't want to fight it with productivity anymore.

Moments like this, you have to remember how far you've come and trust that you've done your best every step of the way. This is the moment where we start to focus on all of the good things we've done for the past 6 months, even the little things.

I've been taking care of my body in more ways than one.

I just complete two Faith-Based YouTube series called The Pruning Season, where I posted daily for 31 days, and The Waiting Season, where I started my Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday posting rhythm. Including my shorts/reels, this made well-over 300 pieces of content in a 4 month time span. 😮‍💨 But the point is - I finished! AND I've given myself the green light to REST.

I've gained over 500 new subscribers in this timeframe as well and I couldn't have done alone, so thank you, God! 🙌🏾

And though my life and my finances still don't look like how I imagined them to, this summer is still going to be the best one yet! I have to trust God in that and hold Him to it. Because the more impossible it looks on the outside looking in, that's where God does His best work. So I'm going to let Him cook! 🤏🏾🙂‍↕️🙌🏾

Baby, keep your foot on the gas!

In the Bible they say "Do not grow weary in doing good" - keep applying pressure. Keep serving. Keep giving to the ones who need help. Set those boundaries for the ones who don't know how to appreciate your help. Keep a distance from those who choose harm from their words to their actions. And don't forget to keep shxt moving.

I've been WORKING and God has been telling me to REST. I've been in a space where I feel like my efforts aren't enough (aka me being on my computer for 12 hours a day for 6 months 😮‍💨). And I've noticed I feel like that because the results haven't showed up yet - but they are on the way to me, so what do I look like letting all of that go to waste???

I wanted to come on here and celebrate 🥳 though my bank account AI said it's headed towards $0 🤭🥴, I STILL believe that random "I don't even know where this came from" direct deposit is going to hit.

A win: I received my Creative Strategist certificate for completing Motion's 8-week bootcamp and that was HUGE! I haven't locked in like that for a test in a WHILE. So shout out to God on that one!

A win: I'm still losing weight, still been in the gym, still been enjoying life and eating good food and dranking good dranks in the process 🤭 lol. PLUS, I feel like my facial structure is changing it's like 👀🔎 "I see a bad bih" 😂😂🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

A win: My YouTube is going UP! I have gained well over 500 subscribers in about 5 months and I've been consistent for almost 2 years straight posting monthly (with some depression exceptions 😕🤷🏾‍♀️).

Moral of the story is: I'm in my bag, I'm in my own space, I'm in my own element, and I'm creating my own world. This is not isolation - I'm just moving different and loving on people who love me back, and I love that for me. 😘💙

Because in this season, life is all about balance!

✅️ Health & Wellness events to keep my body aligned with where I'm headed

✅️ Celebrating Small Wins like gaining over 400 subscribers in the last 3 months on my YouTube Channel that I had since September 2024. 🥹

✅️ Quotes and a complete Mindset Shift to remind myself that I'm exactly who I think I am.

✅️ A healthy balance between going outside to catch some sun, staying inside to lock in on my goals, and catching some 💤😴.

✅️ All while making sure I don't look like what I've been through these past few months 🙌🏾. My hair is getting longer, body is getting slimmer and is giving Lipton ☕️🤏🏾, and my face is starting to glow again (I broke out trying to use new products I created 😅).

Life is beautiful now, so I can't wait to see God show me how good it's really going to get! 🫶🏾💙

This is the one 🤭🤏🏾🤏🏾🤏🏾

God's been holding my hand throughout these last two quarters and idek where to begin, so I'll just start.

Slide 1: I have such a solid vision of how my life is supposed to look and I'm honestly not stopping until I get it.

Slide 2: Working bts with , Filming YouTube and Instagram/Facebook Content for the month of June. So even when you don't see ya girl, know that she is always working.

Slide 3: I've been putting in work with blogs as well - their mission is to be the hub for all things Real Estate and I said "I can help with that" - so if you have a moment or two, check out their blog posts at www.AARHomes.com/blog

Slide 4: I just hosted my first traveling Sip & Glow Workshop for someone's 30th Birthday - featuring my Small Business, and it went SO well! Those ladies were such a treat! Blessed my whole soul yesterday! 🥹💙

Slide 5: My YouTube Channel has gone from 136 subscribers to 500 in less than 3 months 🥹🎉🎊 this is how you know God is doing His thing for (I got hella screenshots because I can't believe it frfr 😭)

Slide 6: Because having a healthy work-life balance matters - I spent time at my best friend's house and while she was on a call, I did some work and put the computer up for the rest of the weekend! 🙌🏾

Slide 7: I always said my life is a movie and I've been working hella hard these past few months so that I can get someone else to want to document this film 🎥 because I don't do it justice! So stay tuned 😘.

Slide 8: 🎤 Mic Check 1, 2, 1, 2 🎤! 🤭 BTS of me filming another episode of "The Waiting Season" - my Pruning Season Part 2, featuring on YouTube.

Slide 9: Because I love a good selfie during a work day! 😘

Yall go out there and live your best lives because remember life is too short to do anything but enjoy it! 💙🫂🌹

I've been in a different kind of "grind mode" lately - this one involves late nights, early mornings, long days, short ones, rest, Self-Care, and so on. I pride myself on knowing my limits, respecting my boundaries, and honoring my 'No'.

I figured I could go hard for 6 months straight and never have to work like this in long periods ever again. And I'm almost 🤏🏾 there. I've been making content on multiple platforms nonstop since January, and I've hit well-over thousands of posted content. So you can only imagine the side effects of burnout slowly start creeping in during this time.

I just admitted outloud the other day that I was at peace, and the enemy heard me and did what he does best - he got busy 😮‍💨. I felt myself reverting back to my old ways of isolation, depression, anxiety, overthinking, restlessness, and anger, and I had to pause...

I told myself I had two days to get through these feelings, and I did just that. I KNOW God is working things out for me, and I KNOW He's already moving on my behalf, so this is just a waiting game - so the question is, what are you doing while you wait? 😮‍💨

As of 9:44am 🙌🏾:

An hour and 45 minutes later after posting my update saying I'm $6.67 short from hitting my goal, I got a text! 🥹

Someone put in an order through my mom 🙌🏾