Are you building a life on firm or shaky ground?!

“With every experience, you alone are painting your own canvas, thought by thought, choice by choice.”- Oprah Winfrey (AKA Auntie O) 

I’ve been working hard trying to maintain his summer bawdy! I signed up for a trainer at the start of the year and I have been going to the gym at least 4 days a week. Even though I have been a consistent “gym goer” I still find myself sometime  dragging my feet to get to the gym lol 

But once I am there I am in my zone! I find it a joy to push myself to see how far I can go and I find it exciting to watch and feel my body change and get stronger everyday. That is my motivation! We have to take care of ourselves! 

We are responsible to take care of this one body we have with a patient  and grateful spirit. Our bodies are temples and we should treat it as such.  I believe that your physically representation of your body is a reflection of the inner beauty.  IF you are not happy with your physical appearance make some changes from the inside out. 

How and what we feed  our minds and bodies are the foundation to our actions and behaviors. What are you feeding yourself, both spiritually and physically? We have to put in the work in order to see results and to accomplish the goals we have set for ourselves! Maybe you need to limit the time you spend watching TV and scrolling social media because you are not adding value to your foundation. Maybe you need to extend your devotion and morning routine time so that you can add value to your foundation. 

Why is building a firm foundation so important! 

Imagine if everything we wanted was just handed to us!? What good would that be if we didn’t have to fight, cry and push ourselves to reach our full potential? If things were just handed to us, what does that teach us? I can answer that for you … NOTHING! 

Think of building a house.. Houses aren’t just slapped into a pasture of land in 2 days, you have to dedicate  some serious hours and labor to establish a firm foundation or the structure will succumb to the ground. Every single detail is imperative to the beatification of a house. Even the ground, the dirt has to shift before the foundation is solid and firm. You can’t build a house on shaky ground and the same goes for you! 

We can’t expect to have this overnight success with our goals IF the work and foundation  is not consistent, effective and firm! 

The obstacles, trials , temptations and joys all teach us a lesson while we are creating our foundation! 

THE WORK must go down before the building goes up! 

How are you taking time to ensure you are building a life on a solid foundation, a foundation in which your future self would be proud of?!

Living with Intent!

When you have clarity of intention, the Universe conspires with you to make it happen! 

Living intentional  does not mean you will automatically become elevated to this life of bliss. Its quite the opposite, you will begin to cope better with the hurt and the frusation that comes because your mind will become clearer and your thoughts will become more powerful! 

Living with intention means to be thankful and peaceful and its a continuing process in which you are in constant communication with yourself deciding whats woking and whats not and making small adjustments every day!

So how can you live with intention in your day to day life? 

1. Recognize when your thoughts are negative. Combat those negative thoughts with a positive thought . Instead of saying “I’m not having a good day” say “how can I make this day more productive and enjoyable?” 

2. Practice these daily affirmations : 

I am fully open and receptive to greatness in every wonderful way

I am capable and worthy

Say them a minimum of 5 times during the day and you will feel yourself starting to believe it , feel it and manifest within your life.

3. Express gratitude for what you already have 

4. Find time to meditate and pray to quiet your mind and to sit still for at least 15 mins a day. 

5. Write in your gratitude journal daily on what you are grateful for.Even if its been a rough day think deep! .. You are alive and that is indeed something to be grateful for! 

The first step in practicing living a more intentional life is making the choice to! I hope you make that choice today!

Everyone focuses on the outcome and not the journey!

….But we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character and character hope. — Romans 5:4-14

Everyone focuses on the outcome and not the journey!

The internet is a gift and a curse.. the answers we need for some of our most interesting questions are right at our finger tips .. the next “how to guide” is easily accessible via amazon. You can even have food delivered to you via an app!

We live in a very accessible  technology age and if we are not careful,  this can get the best of us. We will often compare our lives to others and strive to pursue a purpose that is not ours to pursuit. I like to call it the social media rabbit hole!

You ever scroll aimlessly and you shock yourself on how you got to so and so page?! lol It is so easy to glamorize our lives when we are the account holders! We can control what and who we want to share..

No one wants to share when they gained an extra 15 lbs while trying to lose weight, that failed relationship/ engagement or even what they had to sacrifice or endure to obtain that  perfect entrepreneurial work style! No ONE (typically)  wants to share the ugly stuff!

Life is not perfect nor is it intended to be. It is intended to prepare us to be the best versions of ourselves which includes some (several) bumps along the way to help us to learn and grow.

But the ugly stuff is our unique story that some people will never experience. Our trials and test we experience are intended to build our character!

So yes, your IG is beautiful  as you “Frolicking” through the flowers living your best carefree life , tackling your next blog post at starbucks on your laptop while some amazing photographer (or BAE) catches your best lightening.  But who are you when NO ONE IS LOOKING?! Personally, that is what I am most interested in!.. How do you function when you are by yourself! Are you a generous , kind person, an intuitive , selfless person, always angry person ?!

So , I say all of this to remind you to HONOR your JOURNEY. Don’t compare your journey to someone else outcome because it looks good on social media.

The Huffington Post shared this article not to long ago about enjoying your journey

!https://www.huffingtonpost.com/laura-berman-fortgang/purpose-in-life_b_1671523.html

Still not convinced?! Just remember these tips for your journey!:

1. What is meant for you is for you

2. While on this journey remember, no one can take away what God has given you!

3. You will more than likely stress yourself out trying to force something to happen before it is time for complete fruition !

4. If God gave you the vision, he will give you the provision

5. Take time to find the smallest things to be grateful for and jot them down if you need to!

How do you honor your journey to purpose? 

Best tip Ever: Establish a Morning Routine

Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.

MAHATMA GANDHI, Open Your Mind, Open Your Life: A Book of Eastern Wisdom

Thoughts= Words = Behavior = Habits = Value = Destiny.

Human beings are flawed. We make irrational, counterintuitive, impulsive decisions everyday. That’s why I think it’s so important to start your day fresh with a consistent morning routine to align your thoughts to be positive!

Contrary to popular belief , you do not have to take 7 yoga and meditation classes nor make it a priority to visit India or Egypt to experience a spiritual awakening. You can do that right in your bed at 6:00 am when that first alarm goes off and you are barely awake! I do it 

Breaking bad habits are hard! I would be a liar if I told you I state my affirmations everyday in the morning.  However, I have made it a habit to read my scripture for the day and my daily word before I leave my bed every morning. I open my daily inspiration email and a prayer. Sometimes that prayer is just “thank you Lord for this day and give me the strength to tackle this day”. I also make it a point not to open my social media accounts before 8:00 am. Lastly, I have made it a point to forget the radio in the morning and tune into my inspiring podcasts I have stumbled upon .

Anywho, I say all of this to say. Research has shown that it takes 21 days to build a new habit so, in order to build new habits why not start first thing in the morning!

We  should all declutter our minds in a healthy way. For me , the above listed routines continue to help  me get my day started on the right foot. If you do not have a morning routine here are 4 tips to get you started!

1. Set your alarm early to give yourself time to actually wake up and be productive. I have 2 alarms . The first serves as a warning, the second alarm means I still have enough time to be on time :-). 3 alarms are personally too many for me as I would definitely over abuse that luxury!

2. Create a gratitude list in your journal the night before you head to bed and leave your journal beside your bed. I love to write and the more time I spend with pencil to paper the better my thoughts are. In the morning I re read my “gratitude list” as I grumpily stretch over to cut my alarm off on my phone. It sounds like something minor to do but, it definitely makes me perk up a bit because getting up at 6am is ROUGH!

3. Reduce your social media time. We really have no idea how much time is wasted by just browsing our phones aimlessly before we even get out of the bed in the morning. Instead of scrolling ig and fb etc while laying in bed, get your mind prepared for the day by reading something positive and uplifting.

4. Consciously think of how you can add some inspiration in your day and do it! For me , not listening to the radio does this for me. My commute to work is filled with fresh ideas that keep me inspired and motivated instead of listening to celebrity gossip and some songs I just don’t want to hear!

Choose to change those bad habits to live a life of purpose, by constructively honoring those 1440 minutes you get in a day that will ultimately help you to become the best version of yourself!

This is the first step in honoring your destiny one thought and habit at a time!

You got This!

You got this! How to overcome Fear

I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work” – Thomas Edison

I stumbled across this quote, the author escapes me but it said ” Fear is just excitement without the breath” .. I believe that excitement can quickly turn into fear if we feel we aren’t good enough to execute a task or fulfill our dreams. I also believe that Fear can also be exciting if we take time to dissect it.

Maybe you are entering a new phase of life and your mindset is shifting so this doesn’t feel comfortable .. you’re bombarded with more negative thoughts then before and this creates a sense of Fear!

But remember ..You are meant to do big things, because you are here on this earth ..your life matters and you are here for a purpose! How can the same mechanisms that create fear lead you to excitement ? It’s a mindset shift ! If you still struggle with this concept , here are 4 tips to get you started …

My 4 tips to combat fear in your life

1. Get up and dust your self off. Move through failure by correcting it and improve! Failed a job interview ? Failed an important career test/ assessment ? Ask yourself how can I improve and do better? Maybe it’s realization that the job wasn’t for you or that something better is coming! Maybe you have to study harder , take this failure as progress in the right direction!

2. Believe that this “bump” in the road is temporary. Truly believe this. Whatever you focus on , you will create. Take responsibility for your life! This is a mind shift moment ! Don’t fall into the trap of “whoa is me ” BUT this is the time to stay motivated. Leave no room for complaints ..Don’t give up your power!

As our best friend Dory said in Finding Nemo “just keep swimming “

Life is an adventure , fear is not real ..

3. Take action. Make a goal to reflect that of excellence.Success is a muscle we have to work hard at to make a habit. A habit takes 21 days of constant repetition before it becomes apart of our routine. Ask yourself ..What’s the solution ? How can I fix this ? What has worked for me in the past ?

Focus on what you want and if it’s not something you want leave It behind!

4. Let go of any negative energy or thoughts you have . That’s it ..yesterday was just that, yesterday ..today you want to feel light and clarity ! Letting go of negative energy , will allow you to experience emotional freedom so that you can operate from a mindset of positive energy and positive thoughts!

http://www.oprah.com/spirit/overcoming-fear-how-to-conquer-your-fears_4

And if all these tips fell you, just remember !

2Timothy 1:7

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind.