Life has a way of challenging us to force promote personal growth. An unconventional method that breeds more questions than answers but hey, I didn’t make the rules. When presented with these opportunities of growth, we have a decision to make. Should we ride the wave and adapt to what life brings our way or resist and fight like hell? Growth is a constant and will happen whether you want it to or not so the question still stands: Are you evolving or stalling?
“PSA: 2020 will be the exact same as 2019 if you don’t get off your ass and make the adjustments that you need to mentally, physicially and emotionally”
Evolving takes personal growth a bit further in that instead of making personal changes to ourselves, we evolve to fully accept ourselves and allow life changes to happen naturally. The evolution of self is a journey specific to each individual and your path in life. Most people spend a lifetime learning to fully love and accept themselves and have that acceptance reflected in their every day lives. Talk is cheap when it comes to evolving and life has a way of testing you to see just how solid you are. Its simple for me to say stand your ground and never fold and that’s because I’m extremely resilient and determined once my mind is made up. A quality I sharpened within myself.
As an evolved person, you commit to certain path in life. Having a good job, decent money and a comfortable home life is certainly goals but that’s not the finish line. The goal is to excel not maintain barely making it. Evolving is always pushing that envelope a little further than you thought you could. Its testing your own boundaries as you should be your only competition. Evolving is healing yourself before hurting someone else, being more financially responsible and planning for your future.
“Stalling is a disguise of faux progression and to be blunt, who has time for that? You can play with your life if you wish, but your older self will regret wasting valuable years of your life chasing bullshit. “
Stalling is an avoidance measure and what happens when we drag our feet to accept the challenges placed in front of us. There’s a multitude of reasons why we stall, too content within our comfort zones, afraid of the work necessary to see these challenges through, ect. While intimidating, its better to get ahead of it and learn on your own before life forces your hand. In some weirdly fascinating way, the universe is always interconnected. It is divinely orchestrated in that nothing happens by accident or coincidence. Everything happens exactly as its supposed to. Stalling is a disguise of faux progression and to be blunt, who has time for that? You can play with your life if you wish, but your older self will regret wasting valuable years of your life chasing bullshit. Time is the one thing in this world we can’t control and no moment is retrievable.
” The evolving process is just as much about true acceptance as it is about checking to see if you’re operating from your purpose or your ego”
As a new business owner, my time is my money and my money is nothing to be played with. You see, I walk my talk and realign my priorities and make adjustments as necessary because my goals require me to be disciplined now to reap the rewards later. That for me meant doing shit I really didn’t want to do, but did it anyway. What good are your life lessons if the wisdom you’ve gained isn’t applied or shared? The evolving process is just as much about true acceptance as it is about checking to see if you’re operating from your purpose or your ego. To separate the two is a goal by itself but once mastered, you’ll see one of life’s most valuable lessons. Life is a compiled list of choices and each choice we make has a cause & effect reaction. Are you choosing wisely?
Good afternoon and Happy Thursday! I took a bit of time to myself here recently to disconnect and do some introspective maintenance. I have definitely missed writing, but I needed to reconnect with my vision and where I was going. This journey to self love is a never ending, winding road that can occasionally produce a few bumps. Its all apart of the process! I wanted my blog post to reflect what I was currently doing and how I got here. Here are 10 things I’ve learned along the way.
1-Boundaries Boundaries BOUNDARIES! I had to put the extra emphasis here to imply how important this is. Your boundaries set the stage for what you will and will not allow from your loved ones and strangers alike. Now some of you may be wondering why this matters. Having weak boundaries will wreck havoc on your life because you will always be susceptible to the wants and needs of others, often neglecting your own. Boundaries are there to ensure your needs are met, your space isn’t violated and a show of confidence that you will only entertain respectful and pleasant interactions. A big part of enforcing this is saying what you mean and meaning what you say. You have to be unapologetic and firm if you want to be taken serious. Just as children can pick up when they can get over on their parents, your peers are the same way. If you don’t stand up for yourself, your sending the message that you and your wants don’t really matter. You absolutely matter and should conduct yourself in a way that speaks for you. Be accommodating but don’t let yourself get run over.
2- Be True To Yourself. This one varies by the individual but the message is still the same. Honor yourself by doing the things that resonate with you. Find what makes you happy and keep it close. Many times we play the part to fit in and it might work for a while but you will soon experience a sense of dissatisfaction in your life. We can’t live for other people and we shouldn’t have to endure that prison. Being true to you means saying no sometimes, it means listening to your body and making the best decisions for you despite what others think or say. This means being honest about our feelings and your desires in life. This is about honoring that soul inside that gives us life! Work and family is hard as hell to balance and sometimes responsibilities triumph our immediate wants and as bad as we want to do nothing, we can’t quite do that. I get it and experience this often, but I’ve learned to make up for it in other ways.
3- Regularly Scheduled Me Time! That’s right, this is absolutely necessary! This is how I keep myself happy, balanced and in order. Working hard is the key to success but burnouts are REAL and we don’t talk about them nearly enough. Some of us spend more time working than we do at home so we have to purposely step away and play hard sometimes too. While the amount of free time will vary depending on circumstance, I think we all can agree that getting out of house to unwind can do you a world of good! Whether its a happy hour, massage, brunch, a vacation, shopping or whatever it is you love, make sure to carve out that time just for you. When my daughter was younger, I used to feel guilty about leaving her with babysitters to enjoy myself. I started to notice when I did things to make me happy, I was naturally happier in other parts of my life as well and it tremendously eased the stress I was carrying all week. Find your happy and just do it!
4- Happiness Is An Inside Job! This is something I had to learn the hard way, but when I tell you the lesson stuck, it stuck big time. I’m naturally very observant and the societal norm has been to “find someone who makes you happy and live happily ever after.” This is so incorrect and leads me to wonder if this perception has anything to do with why the divorce rate is so high. The thing about life is we all have free will and putting your happiness in the hands of another is giving away too much control. We all want and desire love, we’re human and made for companionship, but to put the responsibility of your happiness on someone else is selfish and lazy. Only we have the power to decide our moods and temperaments and only we can change them. We mistake the influence others have on our happiness as them “making” us happy and that just isn’t the case. When you finally learn and accept that it all starts with you, I promise your perception will change. You become a force to be reckoned with because you aren’t easily swayed. When your happiness comes from within, no one can rob you of that unless you give the ok to do so. Take your power back!
5- Love Your Own Company! This is pretty self explanatory but I needed to emphasize this! How can you expect someone else to love and be up under you when you don’t love and want to be with yourself? There are many adults wondering through life, jumping from relationship to relationship, losing a piece of themselves with every new encounter. These actions reek of desperation and a fear of being alone. There is nothing to fear when alone, we cannot run from ourselves. I think the root of why people run from themselves is because they don’t want to address the person in the mirror and that’s a huge problem. Learning to love your own company is becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable feelings you may have. Its accepting every bit of yourself, the good and the bad. Its about accountability and owning up to the choices you’ve made in life. Once you reach full acceptance, you will notice that being alone isn’t bad at all. You might end up craving that sacred alone time.
6- Sisterhood Is Important! Your tribe has a huge influence on your vibe. Women are notorious for being catty, but what I see is a rise in sisterhood and I couldn’t be happier. When we can come together, support and uplift one another, we become a strong collective group. Support systems are everything in life and having your soul tribe near is priceless. We are not each others enemies or competition. There is more than enough for us all to get the bag. Everything isn’t a competition and we achieve our goals faster by working together. When we can show genuine love, respect, support and encouragement, we open the door to new potential relationships that can last a lifetime
7- Be Confident In Yourself and Your Journey. No two self love paths are the same. We may share similarities but our purpose is distinctly ours and sometimes it can get very lonely. Ascension and growth isn’t all love and light and it triggers you to break old beliefs. Stand firm in your power and trust the process. What is meant for you will never miss you and we have to learn to take comfort in that. We have to learn to truly be happy for others even when our time hasn’t come. Its easy to feel bitter or discouraged but these are NOT the emotions we want to manifest more of. Fake it til you make it if you have to, but get in the habit of genuinely being happy for those around you. Grateful and thankful feelings are the ingredients to manifesting our desires, it doesn’t hurt to cheer someone else along the way! I often times felt confused, lost, isolated and more walking this path but I didn’t give up and the growth and glow I’ve gained is the fruit of that labor. Seek help or advice if need be. None of us have all the answers. When I put my ego to the side, I humbled myself to seek and learn as much as I could. Nothing worth having comes easy, remember that always and keep going!
8- Your Perception is Your Reality. Isn’t it amazing to think about how two people can be in the same room, witness the same things but have totally different perceptions? Perception is objective because we all have our own and it is fueled by our thoughts. Our thoughts really do control our lives! What you focus on is what you will see more of. Many of us learned these lessons the hard way, but this one was the most profound for me. When you think negative of yourself, it shows and your energy is something that you cannot hide. This is hard to change but its not impossible.
9- Your Health is Your Wealth. This is something we take for granted far too often! We are only given one body in this life, so it makes sense to take care of it. Rising is age and increasing health issues isnt the time to focus on better habits. Making good habits early on increases the likelihood you will keep it up. Our society seems to focus on responding to problems rather than preventing them. There is a lot that goes on that the average person is unaware of, but its our job to be diligent. We all know that the best tasting foods are the absolute worst for us nutritionally and the numerous pesticides and chemicals injected is causing our health to decline. Its a viscous cycle we must break away from, but we have to first acknowledge it exists and have the sustainability to carry through change. If we can prioritize watching our favorite show with undivided attention, we can sacrifice as hour to exercising. Time management and motivation are crucial, you cant just talk about it you have to be about it.
10- Protect Your Peace! If I had to choose a favorite from this list, it would be this one! Peace of mind is priceless and its our job to filter out the bs. Protecting my peace means honoring being true to myself at all times. It means removing myself from people or places that threaten my peace. Basically, its how I keep the energy around me good. I only have control over myself and the energy I emit, and while I cant control others (not that I would want to) I can control your access to me. I was often times a person who never said no, despite my brain screaming the words internally. The things we see on the news, on social media and sometimes right in front of our very eyes are riddled with triggers. This world and the things that go on can easily make the happiest person depressed but that result serves no one. Be observant but heavily filter the information you take in and become familiar with your limits and unplug as necessary. Protect the peace and essence of your reality.
While I feel I could of kept going, this list is a pretty good start at what I still do to maintain myself while growing and learning. There are times that we are the teachers and the students and with an infinite amount of knowledge, that unlikely to change. How has your self love journey been and what has been your most prominent lessons? Let me know down below!
Self Discovery: How Astrology Can Be Used As A Tool For Self Development and Awareness. Focusing on the sun, rising and moon.
“You can only meet someone as deeply as you have met yourself”
I know astrology isn’t the end all be all and whether you believe in it or not, I think there are still benefits to it. One being that it can be used as a tool for self reflection and awareness while on your self discovery journey. My love for astrology goes back to high school. I enjoyed learning about it but I never fully took it serious because I didn’t meet every quality suited for a Pisces. It wasn’t until I did my full birth chart that I recognized why I always felt the way I did. With us being in Pisces season and my birthday next week, I figured I would dive into how I started my self discovery journey.
A Pisces Sun, Virgo Ascendant and Capricorn moon, it was immediately evident why I didn’t fully connect. I wasn’t looking at the full picture! Yes my sign sun is important, but its only a piece of the puzzle. At my best, my highest self these are the characteristics I may possess and flourish in. But my Capricorn moon will keep me grounded, motivated and determined and my Virgo rising gives me a laid back, reserved, sharp nature. Something like a quiet storm, the underestimated.
The sun sign describes the center of your personality, your motivations, drive and who your learning to become. My sun is in Pisces (19 Feb- 20 March), known as the dreamer who prefers to go with the flow of life. A mutable water sign represented by two fish swimming in opposite directions and the last and final sign of the zodiac. It is represented by both Jupiter and Neptune. Some say we embody traits from all previous signs and that gifts us with innate knowledge but can tends to make us difficult to understand. On the flip side, Pisces empathy, understanding and awareness of others gives us the ability to sense where people are coming from so we can relate to anyone. One fish has the desire to connect with the human experience and the other fish likes to transcend into the spiritual world, swimming in opposite directions which signifies the internal back and forth struggle. For this reason, we get the name of the dreamer and the escapist, often daydreaming into our own reality. The best analogy of Pisces I’ve heard is that Pisces energy is like a hurricane. Its two fish constantly chasing itself, so absorbed into its own thing that nothing else matters. Pisces tend to do a lot of internal work and is constantly thinking, moving or creating. If the Pisces energy can calm itself long enough where someone is able to enter the hurricane during still waters, they can find themselves peacefully there and they will function perfectly in the eye of the storm. But if someone tries to enter while the waters are rough and we are active in that whirlwind energy, there is great potential for others to be hurt. We are the epitome of turning pain into power.
The ascendant sign or rising as its sometimes called represents how you present yourself and respond to the world as well as the kind of experiences needed to make your life meaningful. My ascendant sign is in Virgo, which represents a strong analytical and organized approach to the world. There is a need to be useful and productive and a tendency to be self critical, worry and over analyze things. One of the biggest personality traits is a perfectionist who values organization and order. This can make me meticulous about everything. As a sapiosexual, I am mentally driven and attach more importance on a strong mental connection and good communication. As a lifelong student and teacher, I am very observant and always learning new things, analyzing the world around me and how it all connects. It feeds my curiosity of the complexities we call life.
The moon sign represents your instinctive and emotional nature and to some is the most important sign. My moon is in Capricorn, which describe my energies as responsible, analytical and calculated. Calm and slow to express anger, I am cool, calm and collected. There is usually caution when developing closeness in personal relationships, which I don’t take lightly. I tend to analyze people before getting close to them when I am unsure of their intentions. A traditionalist at heart and somewhat reserved, success and achievements are important to me. I have the tendency to have high expectations for myself and others, specifically when it comes personal development, integrity and authenticity with the commitment to follow through to the end. I am self sufficient and contained and not afraid to put in hard work to reach my goals.
All of this information was correct for me as far as my personality goes, it provided confirmation on many things and the negatives that resonated exposed areas of concern that needs work. This reflective analysis of self requires honesty and accountability of my weaknesses and not just accept them as is because “I’m a Pisces and that’s just how I am” when this is the wrong attitude to have. I used this information as a tool for recognizing the flaws or subconscious behavior withing myself and questioned what can I do to change it.
If one of your weaknesses is being hard on yourself or forgiveness like me for example, try to be more self aware. Start paying more attention to your thoughts and when you catch yourself being critical, stop and change the behavior to a more forgiving tone. Doing it enough sets the routine to healthier habits. This part here is crucial because knowing your imperfections mean nothing if you don’t work on them. We are always a work in progress and every bit of information to help you transcend into a better person is a win.
This is only the tip of the ice berg as far as the birth chart goes. There are so many other signs, factors and placements so there will definitely be more to come on this tool for self discovery. Stay tuned, like and subscribe if my post resonates with you. Here is a link to do your own birth chart!
Happy Thursday!! Today is the last day of February and I have no idea where the time is going! While I am extra excited to see March (Pisces season!), I couldn’t let this day go by without acknowledging all of the black history posts and celebrations I’ve seen all month! This has not been lost on me, if we are Facebook friends you are well aware of this lol. Black history should be celebrated often so it doesn’t stop at the end of February. Accountability is word I’ve seen thrown around a lot lately from everything politics, history, the economy, relationships and so on so what does this all really mean?
Accountability is defined as the fact or condition of being accountable; responsibility
dictionary.com
Accountability is as simple as accepting responsibility for the things that you do and don’t do. AKA owning your shit in Mimi’s terms. Its being able to acknowledge both the good and bad behaviors within yourself and society as a whole. Change cannot occur when one will not accept the issue as truth. It requires a humble humility to admit that you have faults and may be the cause of some of the negative things in your life. It requires patience, understanding and forgiveness to accept your toxic traits, explore the root reason behind why you connected with them and make a conscious effort to change for the better. This isn’t easy, especially when habits are years old and can be tough to break. Maintaining your accountability means to keep on doing the right thing no matter how strong the wrong things pull at you. This is a trait universal to several areas in our lives. How can you truly be a good parent if you aren’t accountable? How can you be a dependable boss or employee if your word means nothing? I remember as a child, my Great Grandma Sis had a favorite saying and it was one I never forgot.
“Sorry ain’t worth is damn”
As a 8 or 9 year old child I thought it was the funniest thing in the world to hear her cuss in her southern Louisiana accent, but I didn’t really understand what she meant. As an adult, I often think back to that and smile to myself, knowing that now I fully comprehend what she meant. And I stand firmly behind it. Sorry means nothing without changed behavior. Its just lip service and creates a cast of bullshit surrounding the one who is “always sorry” but keeps doing the same thing.
Accountability is pivotal in the dating arena. While its easy to blame our ex’s for the demise of past relationships, we have to look at how our behavior played a part. Every man/woman isn’t the same and shouldn’t be treated the same. Its our responsibility to properly heal in-between relationships and take control of our happiness. No one is responsible for that except us. While others may contribute to our happiness, they should never be the source of it. Source should always come from you first.
When you practice accountability, you take charge and control of the direction your life will go. The thing about change is we don’t get to see physical results and that’s what makes it hard. We should expect our leaders to set the tone when confronting difficult issues. It leads by example for those around us to also stand up and do the right thing. Someone has the set the example and abide by it! Life as we know it sometimes resembles reality tv because we don’t have many honest, authentic leaders who truly guide by the principles of putting the people first.
Lets be real, most people would rather hold everyone else accountable and avoid themselves. Our society is in the business of doing things so that people like you and practicing accountability is the exact opposite of that. Its calling out those failed goals, toxic behavior and horrible spending habits. Its knowing when to rock the boat and not being afraid to express tough love or make hard business decisions. Its making sure to stay on top of our children’s well being and monitor their grades, behavior and influences. Its not cute nor acceptable to watch a smart mouth child cuss or disrespect their parents or teachers. It all starts at home and your child is a direct representation of you. Its nice to be friendly, but not to the point of you the parent being run by your child and you hold no authority to them.
Our job is to raise our children and keep them in line so that they grow up to be respectable adults. That involves punishing bad behavior, bad grades, not following directions, ect. but most importantly leading by example! Its not the teachers job or responsibility to do these things. Its easy to turn on a movie to get a little quiet time or hand over our phones for YouTube. We have to be accountable in making sure the content they view is age appropriate and doesn’t contain inappropriate material. The social media frenzy about this “Mow Mow” character is an eerie reminder of that. This creepy looking lady has been exposed on Youtube, popping up half way through kids videos encouraging them to harm themselves and their families. While this isn’t said to scare anyone, it is a major reminder that sometimes us parents don’t fully check what they are watching as often as we should. We blindly take for granted that people wouldn’t harm children and sadly that’s just not realistic all of the time. This drives the entire point of this post home.
Your word means nothing if people cant trust it to be dependable. We should all strive to be more accountable in our lives and help those around us adapt this behavior. All it takes is one leader to spark the change.
Today is the last day of January and I cant believe how fast the month went! I know I said this weeks post would be about love languages, but with Valentines day around the corner, I figured that would be more fitting for the occasion. Learn to expect the unexpected from me, things can change fast but all for the better good!
Abundance is when our cups run over, but what happens when your cup is empty? A burn out is most likely on the horizon. Achieving balance here can be tricky sometimes but ensuring your cup never gets too low is crucial for healing and maintaining self care. Its too easy to pour all of yourself into your loved ones and don’t get me wrong your heart is certainly in the right place, but realistically no one can sustain like that forever. To be a giving person is a blessing, but over exerting yourself will leave nothing else inside for you. The cup is supposed to represent you. When its empty, you cant give the things you need to give to your kids, family or community. Our cups become empty when there is nothing being poured back into us or we don’t give ourselves the opportunity to practice real self care. You cant have the drive and passion for everything else in your life and neglect to pour that magic back into yourself. YOU are the most important project you will ever work on. When you are operating are optimum levels, you are better able to give and serve those around you without becoming depleted yourself. Learn to work smarter not harder.
This is a good example outside of financial reasons of why we need equally yoked relationships. You cannot be the only one pouring from your cup, depleting yourself while that love isn’t reciprocated. We should surround ourselves with people who also help us, look out for and pour back into us. This is not just limited to romantic relationships either, this also applies for friendships, business relationships and such. We also have to make sure that we are open to receiving help, we cant be too busy and ignore or neglect the people who want to assist us. Even if it isn’t intentional, just be mindful of it. Accept help when it is offered and know that you don’t have to carry the burden of the world alone. This is something I’m actively working on.
Its ok to take breaks, or have alone time. Many times we feel guilty for not giving ourselves a break when there are more important things that require our attention, but this train of thought has to end. I am a much better parent if I’ve given myself time to collect my thoughts and improve my mood from a long day at work. Its easy to get annoyed at little things when we are already stressed from the day and we do not want to take it out on those closest to us. That’s exactly what we are trying to avoid and replace with better practices. We are human though, sometimes we may slip and have a moment but remember to forgive yourself and keep trying. We should be mindful to what our limits and triggers are and how long it takes us to reach them. Empty cups are detrimental to everyone around us and takes much longer to fix than catching it before it gets that bad. Its having practices in place to prevent problems before they arise.
To combat having an empty cup, self care practices can be ideal. You can develop a self care plan or list that has things to do that bring you peace when needed. It really is up to you and what you like but my list includes:
bubble baths
journaling
meditation
going to the gym
retail therapy
30 minutes of decompress time after work before jumping into mom mode
scheduling weekly date nights, happy hours or brunch dates with friends
chocolate and wine of course lol.
Pictured below another list of ideas that cost you absolutely nothing so no excuse!
For those unable to squeeze in time after work, there are the night owl hours after everyone has gone to bed for the night, or the early bird rising before everyone else to enjoy the sunrise and a cup of coffee in silence. There are plenty of ways to achieve the time, its taking the steps to actually do it and not giving into excuses. Prioritize yourself into those busy to do lists and make sure your cup is taken care of
Self Discovery is defined as the process of acquiring insight into one’s own character
One piece of advice that I wish I had very early on in life is that you have to gain a solid sense of self in this world before you do anything else. You have to connect within and know what drives and motivates you. Self discovery is the internal exploration about connecting with your higher self and finding yourself without the influence of family, friends, religion or society.
The purpose for self discovery is breaking down all things that are not of your true self and rebuilding into a stronger, more solid version of you. Our wisdom and knowledge is only useful when shared or applied so put your growth to use! Our existence in this world is much bigger than ourselves and we’re all apart of a bigger picture. The purpose is to find your place in this puzzle of life. Unhealed trauma and suppressed feelings have a tendency to show up in other areas of our life when they are left unaddressed and this will snowball into more problems to fix down the line.
This journey is a difficult one and is often brushed off because a lot of people don’t like reliving painful experiences or revisiting their childhood traumas because it means realizing their behavior and beliefs are be based on it. Too many people go through life pretending about who they really are, wearing the mask of who they think they should be. How can you ever find your true purpose if you aren’t real about your gifts and what makes you unique in this world? This path isn’t an easy road, but its so rewarding and essential to heal for personal growth.
I know there are some who are wondering how exactly do you do this? There are many ways to approach self exploration but the key for me was writing down my strengths, weaknesses, the things I loved and disliked about myself, my motivations, what fueled my fire and what put me out. I made a list of these qualities and spent time with them one by one. I did it this way so that I had a complete inventory of what I needed to work on and where I was starting from. Some areas required more work than others. I thought back to what formed some of my opinions and beliefs and that reflection led me see that many of my negative experiences shaped my behavior and how I approached relationships, friendships and my own relationship with myself.
There is no time table as everyone’s self discovery journey will be different. It usually isn’t until people have grown tired, frustrated, or spiritually drained that one will seek self exploration as a way to change and transform their life. Who are you? This question is the essence of self discovery. Finding who you are at the core without being defined by the roles that you fulfill. You may be a mother or father, employee or business owner, friend ect but that is not WHO you are. I always like to say that I am an old soul with magnetic energy and a heart full of gold. An intellectual mind curious of all of the worlds wonders. A Queen who’s turned her pain into her power. This is who I am
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