83. The Unfinished Version of You Deserves to Be Loved Now

What if the pursuit of the thing is actually what's keeping you from having it? In this mini episode, I'm sitting with a question I haven't been able to shake: can we ever really have something if we're purely in the pursuit of it? Can I feel at peace when peace itself is the thing I'm chasing?I get into the paradox of pursuit — how chasing a feeling can actually create the very distance you're trying to close — and why the unfinished, still-figuring-it-out version of you isn't the "before" photo waiting to be edited into something worth keeping. It's the version actually living your life right now, and it deserves to be loved today, not once everything finally clicks. I talk about what it looks like to hold wanting more and being at peace with where you are, at the exact same time.This one's a shorter, more reflective episode for anyone who's been treating their current life like a waiting room for the one they're chasing.In This Episode:The paradox of pursuit: why chasing a feeling can push it further awayCan you feel regulated while you're busy trying to figure out how to get regulated?Why the "gap" between where you are and where you're going doesn't have to feel like a problem to solveThe unfinished version of you isn't the rough draft — it's the version actually living your lifeReframing arrival in a creative career (spoiler: there isn't one)How to hold pursuing growth and loving where you are, at the same time✨Connect with Maddie✨Explore Maddie’s Website | @messywithmaddie