by Altimese Nichole | Sep 16, 2015 | Learn + Grow
Life is real and sometimes we face challenging times that make us feel as if the next step forward is a thousand miles away. When this happens, here are a few ways to help you during the difficult times in your life:
- Hit the Reset Button
When we hit road blocks in life, the blow can hit us so hard that we lose focus on the bigger picture. Understand that this is okay. It’s called life and the longer we live, the more we experience. When we experience curve balls in life, take a moment to step back and remind yourself of the WHY in your life. This is called hitting your reset button. Your WHY is the things, people, or mission that keep you motivated in life. By taking a moment of reflection (the sooner the better), the more you can embrace the inevitable while remaining in grace and focus through your process.
- Fight thoughts of Negativity
Sometimes we can become our worst enemy through our condemning and self-destructive thoughts. The battlefield begins in our minds; we can make ourselves think we are in the best position possible or the worst circumstance imaginable. Make the effort to cast down negative thoughts that linger because they will simply make root in your heart. To fight your thoughts, speak to them. (Sounds crazy, right? Good. Try it.) When thoughts arise to remind you of the problem you’re facing, speak life (or your desired outcome) aloud. It’s impossible to have your thoughts contradict your words—eventually one must align and words take precedence. Speak life to your situation and watch it shift, first with your mind and then into your reality.
- Find Your Happy Place
Think of the things that make you happy. Is it cooking? Singing? For me personally, my happy place is reading, writing, and nature. They’re my place of escape when I desire to mentally take a break. Seek your happy place to help you find your balance. It can’t make your problems go away but will help shift your mood while you’re in it.
- Spend time with your Core Loved Ones
Relationships matter and the within the core of our hearts reside our core support system. When life gets a little difficult, tune in deeper to the people you love. In addition to reminding you that you’re never alone, they help you cope with moments of hard times. Stay connected and spend time with your core.
Although adversity is inevitable, it’s up to us to ensure the direction of how the issues of life impact us long after they are gone. We can allow them to make us bitter… or better. The choice is ours. Since the only way through it is “Through It,” add these tips to your resource tool box for those rainy days.
by Jasmine Shirley | Sep 16, 2015 | Faith + Expressions
You can start and finish that book.
You can take time to research for that non-profit dream.
You can take a day off.
You can buy that pair of shoes in your shopping cart.
You can move to that new city.
You can travel to that amazing place.
You can earn that degree.
You can build that home.
You can take those cooking lessons.
You can buy that motorcycle.
You can plan that wedding.
You can get that membership.
You can sponsor that group. You can join that dance crew.
You can get that promotion.
You can write that article.
You can contact that C.E.O. You can be that C.E.O
You can rock that dress.
You can cut your hair in that new fly style you’ve been wanting to try.
You can get that pet. You can get that car. You can get that bag.
You can lease that building for your company.
You can give yourself permission to do whatever you want!
Most importantly,
You can do this!
Go get your blessing!
-Jasmine Shirley
by Altimese Nichole | Sep 16, 2015 | Family + Relationships
From the moment we inhale our first breath of life, relationships are formed. Our young minds soak up the value of relationships through the visual behavior of the adults in our lives. We either learn the invested time needed to create strong relationships or we learn a lack of significance in maintaining the connections with others. Either path chosen, this all shapes our vision of relationships.
No matter how you decide to slice it, dice it, or divide it…relationships matter. They remind us that we’re never going through the journey alone. They help us grow. They help us move closer to our purpose. Through the good and bad, relationships are the very foundation of life- first beginning with our relationship with God.
Relationships are like gardens. They require time, patience, and a heart to nurture. Gardens that are unattended to eventually die and simply return to dust. They go through seasons of little growth and seasons of fruitful harvest. When we invest serious time, if we’re lucky—the seeds we plant become so deeply rooted that even when it “looks” as if there is no growth or activity on the surface, the roots continue to run deep.
Relationships are no different.
If you find yourself unsatisfied with the relationships that you’re surrounded by, evaluate the amount of time and care that you’re investing toward the core source of life.
Roll up your sleeves and nurture those gardens that we often call relationships.
by Torrie Oglesby | Aug 27, 2015 | Faith + Expressions
Lately, God has been quietly showing and reminding me just how important, precious and valuable my body is. As a woman, I get to carry my children in my womb, I get to feed them from my own breast, and then I get to carry them and nurture them all the days of their young lives. After I had my first child, I got back into shape immediately! Watching what I ate, working out everyday and being diligent with getting my body back into top shape. After I had my second child, life was a little bit different and I didn’t have the focus that I had with my first one to commit myself back to getting in shape.
Let me be clear here, it’s not about being skinny, that was never my focus and still isn’t my focus. It is, however, about treating your body like the most precious, rare, and valuable commodity that it is. We only get one and yes we are women and we have children and our bodies change in shape and size, but that’s not an excuse to stop feeding and moving your body with the upmost respect. If anything, having children should motivate us to be healthy so that we can see our children grow up.
Unfortunately, life gets in the way and we trade healthy meals for convenient meals and sitting down on the couch catching our breath from the constant mundane movement over getting up and working out. I haven’t workout or fed my body properly for a year and let me just say, I have never felt more unhealthy in my life. The funny thing is, if a stranger looked at me they would think I was in decent shape, but it’s not the outside appearance that is suffering it’s the inward aches and pains. My body is constantly trying to tell me that it’s lacking something and needs me to do something about it. This is when I hear God whisper:
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodiesâ€
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Even as I’m writing this, that scripture convicts me in so many ways. The beautiful thing about conviction, is that it calls you to a higher place. My prayer for all of us is that we learn to honor our God by honoring our bodies. Not just with what we feed it, but how we move it, what we allow our eyes to see, what we allow our ears to hear, what we allow our hands to touch, what we allow our minds to read and receive, and what we allow our mouths to say. Be empowered today, and with every action you take, remember that your body is a temple, not a garbage can.
With love and big smiles,
torrie
by Altimese Nichole | Aug 27, 2015 | Learn + Grow
Feelings are undeniable and inevitable. We all have them and it’s unwise of us to ignore them. Feelings remind us that we’re human. Although they have a way of reminding us we’re still among the land of the living, they also remind us that people can hurt us, let us known, or completely upset us to no end.
We have no way to control the feelings we feel. They’re natural and valid when they arise. However, we can certainly choose how we respond to those feelings. The behaviors that follow how we feel internally express the emotions that accompany how we feel. Most of the time that’s a great thing! Some of the time, that can be a destructive thing as well.
Never confuse a feeling with an emotion. Feelings are internal; emotions are displayed externally. YES. Acknowledge those feelings. When someone hurts or disappoints us, respect the feelings and honor them. In addition to giving our feelings a chance to come and go freely—it is also an internal expression of self-love and self-worth. We have every right to feel how we feel and face that feeling with embrace means it’s worthy of validation. Feelings are neither right nor wrong. They are simply in existence to help us FEEL the life we’re blessed with. Once you honor those feelings, truly think about your external response to the feeling—because we’re responsible for the emotions that follow. It’s the art of self-awareness.
Have you ever witnessed a person calmly communicate their disappointment or pain while conveying how they feel with respect and love? It’s a beautiful thing that takes self-awareness. The act of self-awareness means to have a conscious (or intentional) knowledge of one’s own character, feelings, motives, and desires. It’s critical that we become self-aware of our feelings so our emotions aren’t detrimental to our relationships— or cause our situations to become worse as a result of our response to the circumstance.
Self-awareness isn’t automatic and it takes practice. So when you encounter life’s experiences, feel it and then practice the act of self- awareness. Strive for an intentional knowledge of your feelings, motives, and desires. Seek understanding behind the root of your feelings. Crave the exposure of core motives and desires. Do all of this before a response. Once we respond, we can’t undo the emotions that are shared with others. Also- if we truly act in self-awareness, it helps us to not point fingers for the feelings we feel and helps us to address WHY the feeling manifested.
How do you start to work on self- awareness? Practice, practice, practice and then be kind to yourself when you don’t meet the mark that you’re striving for. It will happen. Again, it will happen. So when it happens- repeat this process with kindness and love– toward yourself.
Feelings are intended to allow you to FEEL the beautiful journey of life. Become very familiar and welcoming to those feelings—as you master your response to them through self-awareness.
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