At the KOCH House, we have a candy bar comprised of jars filled with smarties, starburst, and sweetarts. I have a love for candy. I adore a road trip for the sole reason of stopping at a gas station and getting hot tamales and sour patch kids. Maybe it’s fond memories of the ritual of eating gummy bears with my father at the movie theater. The two of us walking up to the concession stand, purchasing the candy, heading into the theater to pick out our seats, and making ourselves wait until the previews were done to simultaneously rip open our bags in the dark just as the movie started. We limited ourselves to one bag, but the truth was we could have eaten three. We devised this system to mitigate the urge to go back and buy more. If we opened them before the previews started, it always ended poorly with a desire for more, a return to the counter, and a two bag stomach ache.

 

Recently Will Smith was talking about life being a lot like a candy shop; in other words, if you are constantly seeking enjoyment instead of growth, you’ll be sick at your stomach from experience. Things that seem to make us feel better in the moment, things that are sweet going down, often have a kickback that doesn’t feel too good later. So often, people wish life was easier, but life wasn’t set up this way; it never promised to always give you candy for fear your soul might decay. I could go through the list of easy choices, but we know what they are; it’s no secret. At times along the way, I’ve chosen the easy path, and despite the promise to fill me up in the moment, it always left me feeling empty. Even though we know what to do, the great question is, why don’t we do it? The quick answer is our inability to deal with discomfort, but it’s hard to deal with discomfort when the world sends a message that if you aren’t happy or content all the time, something is wrong with you. There is nothing wrong with you, except that you listen to this entirely ridiculous message that feeds our need to return to the candy counter when what we really need is some discomfort. The state of pushing yourself out of your comfort zone produces the fuel to create, use our imagination, and move us towards our values. Distractions move us away from our dreams and often into territory that devalues who we have the potential to be and away from the things that make us proud of ourselves. 

 

The bigger question is how do we choose the important rather than the easy? Believing you have agency over who you are and who you become and understanding if you don’t exercise this agency, you might not like where you end up in a day, in a year, in ten years. Couple that with an unwavering faith, you will ultimately get to where you want to go no matter how hard it seems in the moment. Next, you need a plan and the right people around you to help remind you to beware of the candy bar unless you want ambiguity and mediocrity in your future. Don’t get me wrong; we still need some sugary fun. Just don’t let your life consist of only previews when you could star in the movie. 

We have a tik tok live this Tuesday at 8:00 PM and we are giving away a Cece Top, Ivy Skirt and an Erica Skirt! All made in America!

So many things released this week: the Erica Skirt and Cristiano Top in Silver Pearl, the Ivy Skirt and Eliza Top in Cotton Candy Tie Dye and our favorite Pink Dreams Piper Top!

 

Don’t forget to enter our Summer tee contest! Email us your designs to joy@shopkoch.com.

 

Check our website every day for new deliveries!

 

Quote of the Week: " Don’t get me wrong; we still need some sugary fun. Just don’t let your life consist of only previews when you could star in the movie." -Nicole Musselman

Podcast of the week: Relationships vs Transactions