2019 Recap: Challenges Mixed with Blessings and Victories

Photo credit Diana Simumpande, Unsplash.com

“Not everything that is faced can be changed.

But nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

-James Baldwin

The year 2020 is now a reality. With each new year, I reflect on the lessons learned in the previous one and refocus where necessary.

“Girl, get up and make the phone call.” I repeated these words at least a dozen times last year. I pondered this phone call to my dad to let him know I was moving back home after thirty-two years. I knew my dad would welcome me back home with open arms. And, while there my plan was to do absolutely nothing, but lay in the bed and binge on Netflix for at least a few years to rest my mind, recharge and refocus. 

Yes, this sounds juvenile, but at times I was feeling defeated, tired, overwhelmed, and burnt out, which made me yearn to be an adolescent again without any cares in the world or adult responsibilities. 

In 2019, there were challenging times. I gained too much weight. Neglected to stick to my workout routine. Finally admitted out loud to myself and a close friend I had become an emotional eater. Attitude wasn’t always the best, and I was also easily irritated. Depression decided to revisit. Grief overpowered and consumed me. Money was funny. Health challenges got on my nerves. Overall, I found myself in a rut. Therefore, I eventually had to face what was going on in order to make some much-needed changes in my life.

In retrospect, during these challenging times, I also was reminded to press the reset button and of the following:

• Being still to hear from God is crucial to my well-being
• Setting healthy boundaries is essential
• Allocating time on a daily basis for self-care is nonnegotiable
• Incorporating mindfulness in my everyday life is necessary
• Having peace of mind is a beautiful thing
• Engaging in professional and personal development should be ongoing
• Goal-setting and execution should always be a priority
• Improving time management and strategic planning skills are pivotal to achieving goals
• Embracing change and being flexible allows for growth
• Taking risks builds confidence and character
• Being disciplined, focused, determined, and avoiding distractions are required to grow personally and professionally
• Expressive writing for me is cathartic
• Encouraging and instilling hope in others blesses my soul

Although it wasn't an easy feat, I am truly thankful to God that as a therapist I made it a priority to be mentally present and actively listen during individual and group sessions with clients while going through these challenging times. However, I'll confess while in staff meetings, there were times when I wasn't as present as I should have been due to thinking about the challenges that I was experiencing at the time.

Even though I experienced some challenges in 2019, the year was also mixed with blessings and victories. I am blessed to live to see another new year in spite of the struggles I experienced last year. I also celebrate the victories─God pushed me out of my comfort zone to close one door and open another; I began reading and writing more consistently and silencing my inner critic; and I made it a priority to be more grateful. 

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

Photo by Carlos Hinojosa Zúñiga on Unsplash

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6 NIV

I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas as we celebrate Jesus who is the reason for the season. I hope that you have a wonderful and blessed day. And, as always, thanks for stopping by my blog. I truly appreciate it. 

 

Thinking About Some Life Lessons

 Photo by Johnny Cohen on Unsplash

I am sitting here in deep thought thinking about some life lessons I’ve learned over the years. I learned a long time ago about the importance of seeking wise counsel when in the process of having to make some serious life decisions. In many cases when we are facing these types of decisions we have to make them objectively and not rely on our emotions so that we don’t end of having to endure bad consequences and experience major heartbreak. The problem is that we sometimes don’t want to hear the truth about some of our situations including some of the people we are associating with and even dating that are clearly not good for us and don’t have our best interests at heart, so instead of facing the truth, we are quick to say that folks are hatin’ or jealous when that is far from the truth. We will even choose to talk to those people that don’t even know what they want in life and are themselves in situations that are chaotic and not good for them and as we know misery sure nuff loves company.

The reality is that people that truly love us and want what is best for us will not sugar coat the truth because at the end of the day they want to prevent us from having to experience negative consequences. And, when you have to eventually deal with the negative consequences of making bad decisions – because we all do at one time or another -- these are the very same people we will be calling and crying to help us get through these tough times in our lives when it could have all been avoided if we listened to wise counsel in the first place. Those folks that told us what we wanted to hear won’t be around and will still be dealing with their same foolishness and misery.

Another life lesson I learned years ago from someone is that it’s important to know that we can learn from the mistakes of others without having to always experience them ourselves. I have never forgotten these words of wisdom. I am thankful that some things I didn’t have to experience firsthand because I saw the red flags blaring in my face and therefore put my pride aside and sought wise counsel from folks that would keep it real no matter if I wanted to hear it or not. Trust me I’m forever grateful that I did because I’ve had the opportunity to avoid some serious consequences in the process…