There’s a part of me that wants to turn in the towel. But that’s only a small percentage. The thoughts come and go but they have been hanging around a lot more. They will say things like “quit,” “you’re not good enough”, or “why would anyone purchase that”. It gets to be annoying after a while until I realize the thoughts are a part of the process. If I continue to listen to those statements I will lose all the hard work I accomplished and be back to square one. No one is successful overnight (It’s pretty rare). Then I realized how many other people are struggling through sticking with the process of their goals and not giving up.
The same goes for weight loss, eating right, finishing school, or accomplishing something like starting a business or saving up for a home. We all have goals in life, and if we are going to continue to live our life, we mind as well live it by accomplishing our ambitions.
The moments I become stuck and don’t know what to do, or entertain the negative thoughts, which lets me know it is time for a break. Mentally. That break does not have to be long. It can be a few minutes, hours, or even a day. Nothing drastic because I don’t want to become lazy, just enough time to meditate and get back to the drawing board.
We are all good enough to accomplish what God placed in our hearts to pursue. There are some things that will continue to appear in your life, if you were meant to write a book, the opportunity will present itself until you do. If you were meant to speak and motivate others, you’d be surprise what God will align in order for that vision to become a reality.
I have been writing for a long time. It’s been almost ten years since I started my first blog. I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t even know what a niche was, but I continued to write. I eventually published a few novels and now I have a published magazine, an audience and a purpose for my product. I have come a long way, but I know I have longer to go. And that’s when the thoughts appear. I get so concerned and sometimes vested into my thoughts that I hinder my own success by pushing my projects off for the next day. I am determined to make Helpful Living Magazinea well-known magazine to those dealing with mental illness. No matter how long it takes.
When negative thoughts strike I have to take the initiative to reevaluate my purpose. There are ways of doing that in order to get my life back on track.
Reading:there are so many people who struggled before you. Luckily some have written about their journey with tips and motivation for you to continue to pursue yours. I am currently reading The Gift of Imperfection by Brene’ Brown P.hD. This book has helped me thus far and reading a few minutes of it can help me get out of the funk that encounters my life every so often. I encourage you to pick up a book and do some reading. We live in a world where instant gratification is at an all-time high. We watch videos on our devices and watch television and it’s rare we pick up a book and read. Did you know many wealthy people read for hours at a time and make it a part of their routine? That’s something to think about.
Journaling: is one of the ways we can express ourselves. Writing things on paper is a great way express your feelings. Have you ever tried talking to someone on the phone and all they did during the conversation was cut you off? That happened to me multiple times, to the point where I didn’t even want to talk about my problems anymore. Better yet, there are people you talk to and all they want to do is solve the problem for you, but you really called to vent and get your thoughts off of your chest. I know I am not the only one out here. Well, writing allows you to focus on your thoughts without any disruptions. It’s a great way to process what you are going through and the bonus feature is reading back on previous journal entries and acknowledging the growth. We all like growth right? If you don’t know where to start I advised getting a prompt journal book. I got one from Target and it asked questions about different topics that I was able to talk about. Krystal Lee has great journals as well as Girl Be Free Journal, located on Be Free Project website. These places are for women who want to grow spiritually and individually. You will be surprise the changes you will make when you use a journal. I personally feel like it makes you feel accountable for your actions and forces you to think outside the box when it comes to problem solving. You don’t always have to be in an emergency to come up with a plan to be successful. Like the say if you fail to plan you will plan to fail.
Exercising: this is something we all need to do. Thirty minutes of physical activity is a great place to start. It frees your mind all while you are getting your body together. Releasing those toxics do something to your body. In addition to working out, there are a lot of exercise groups you can join where you can engage with other people who are working on the same goal. Once you start exercising (and become consistent) you will start to be aware of the physical changes, which helps you mentally. If you are not into working out at a gym there are a lot of programs like Beachbody and work out apps you can sign up for.
Resting: this can be hard to come by for a lot of people. Working on our craft is something we must put time in to do, however we have to give our mind time to rest. When we are overloaded our brains are fried and we are not helpful to anyone, principally ourselves. It is easy to have the “go go go” mentality but in all actuality you have to ask yourself “what is the rush?” God will allow things to come in the time they are meant to come. Therefore, if you have to go to bed an hour earlier to refresh yourself then do so. If you have to take a nap in the middle of the day, or when you come home from work, then do that too. If you are a parent and can’t find time because you have children, then try to go to bed a little earlier after their bedtime. Some things may have to get pushed off until the next day, which is fine because you want to be able to live the next day and not be a zombie.
Do Something Fun: we have to do things to take our minds off of our work. That could be meditating, talking on the phone (keep it limited and its helpful if its productive) watching TV (again minimum, some people binge watch but I would really keep that to a minimum). Find something fun to do like go outside or visit that place your child has been ranting and raving about (park, Sky-zone, a museum etc.). Getting out the house or out of the work environment can change the highlight of someone’s day. We can sit and focus on our goals, dreams, and vision for so long and not realize time is passing us by. Chasing money is a common thing and everyone want to “get that bag” but you don’t want to be exhausted to the point that you can’t enjoy it right?
Have fun in the meantime and know that with persistence your goals will be accomplished and God will align the right people in your path.
What resonated with you from this blog post?