What I've Learned In 2020

I don't know if you're anything like me but all through my adult life I would do just enough to get outside of my discomfort and pain that I would be in and once I reached a level of happiness, triumph or success, I would then ease off the gas pedal a little bit, take a break and would tell myself, “Good job,” Instead of continuing to move forward with my progress.

I would relax to the point that I would see myself sliding back down the Hill if you will and in some cases, starting all over again because I allowed myself to coast for too long.
I have done this in relationships, my own weight loss, business and even in my spiritual walk with God. 

It was like the only time I would get serious again was when I was in a tough spot in one or several of those areas in my life and I was suffering and in pain all over again. 

I would be in "need" of money so it’s time to hit business hard again or I’m really lost in my spiritual walk so it’s time to reconnect with God…

Man, this relationship sucks, so maybe I need to do something different and work on it. 

And you know what, sometimes it was way too little, too late, especially with relationships like those that crashed and burned. 

And there were definitely times my own mental health suffered greatly.

I would get so trapped in my own negative beliefs and stories that I would incapacitate myself from being able to do anything, even something as simple as a smile.  

Then I would start asking the wrong questions…

• Why Me?
• Why doesn’t anyone understand?
• What’s wrong with me?

But here’s what a great coach I worked with back in 2019 helped me realize...

There wasn’t anything “wrong” with me nor was there anything lined up against me - I was simply seeking answers from the outside rather than the most powerful place they reside… The Inside!

And he taught me, How to show up for myself daily.

So if you're reading this, if you're anything like me where you achieve a certain level of success only to back off and find yourself slipping back down the hill in any area of your life, I want to encourage you to show up for yourself and work on yourself every single day.

This is what I've learned in the year 2020. 

Even with all the turmoil, anxiety and hardship we’ve witnessed this year I have to tell you that 2020 has been amazing for me personally with personal growth.
 
This whole Covid thing really did me some good because it's giving me time to really look deep within myself, re-discover who I am, develop the habits that I need for myself and grow in ways I have never experienced before.

And because of that personal growth I'm able to pour out into the world with much more intensity, love, passion, compassion and commitment.

I honestly owe it all to my ability to show up for myself first thing in the morning, so here's my encouragement for you.

If you always find yourself struckling; you find yourself stuck and struggling, make it a priority to work on yourself first and foremost each day.

Start by discovering the stories that you're telling yourself. 

What are stories that are holding you back? 

What are the patterns that need to change? 

For me I decided to get up first thing in the morning and connect with God. 

I needed to take care of myself by awakening my spiritual energy.  It’s my spiritual energy (God) that really carries me throughout the day. 

Doing this daily increases my creativity and my productivity, and it fuels me with self love and compassion towards myself first. 

Another strategy I use is gratitude.

They say gratitude is the pathway to success and I truly believe that.

By starting the day and ending each day being grateful for everything that I have (including hardships) I’m able to focus on the good or find the good in every situation.
In this way, I live empowered and fearless (Fearless Leader is something my teammates branded me with a while back)  rather than be in a place of desperation and fear.
Is there a tendency of feeling fearful and hopeless at times…

100% that’s why it’s so important for me to do this morning routine for myself and become empowered versus becoming crippled by it.

And so, my day starts each morning by getting up and simply being grateful and glad for the day before I do anything else.

Before I see the newsfeed on Facebook or before I read a text message or open emails or text messages, before anything from the outside world can influence my attitude, feelings or steal my joy, I have empowered myself to cope and be equipped with who I'm going to be and what actions I’m going to take for the day.

In this manner, I've already taken charge of my mindset and more importantly my heart-set. 

I feel this is a big one that so many people miss out on for why too long.

I know I sure did.

I ignored my heart-set but that is something that I've really been focused on this year and it’s had a huge impact on my life. 

And so again, my steps of doing that occur first thing in the morning are gratitude, raising my state, journaling, scripture, meditation in some cases, constant prayer, morning walks, hitting a great workout in the gym and by working on a skill-set every single day.

I do a practice known as Kaizen.  I encourage you to look this up.

Each day I'm sharpening my skill sets for business, mind, body and spirit and through all of this I’m really working on my heart set, which again has been huge for me in 2020. 

And so if you're someone who tends to repeat the same thing over and over again and you find saying things like, “This too shall pass,” I’m here to tell you, you're only setting yourself up for the cycle to repeat over and over and over again. 

You must break the cycle. 

You must disrupt the patterns.

You must take the time to discover and realize what those stories are and start changing the negative stories that are holding you back…

And as hokey as it sounds, it's your internal monologue that continues to attract most things that happen in your life, good or bad. I say most because there are definitely things that happen in our lives that are outside of our control, HOWEVER, we are always in a position to choose how and what we are going to do in any situation.

I’m here to encourage you and tell you, that whatever you’re holding onto on the inside will continue to attract things from the outside.

Look, I realize this message is pretty deep and I’ll be honest, it’s really hard to convey how powerful it is in text.

To truly grasp how powerful it is to show up for yourself first, you’re going to have to set aside any limiting beliefs and put it all into practice daily.

With that said, I encourage you to practice self love, practice gratitude, practice working on your heart set as well as your mindset and gratitude first thing in the morning.

Continue working on yourself through self love, grace and compassion and then allow that to flow out every single day in the words you speak and the actions you take and never become relaxed on it.

Keep the growth coming each and every day during good times and bad… and share with me how this strategy truly impacts your life.

I hope this post helps you out and serves you well today.

Peace, Love and Strength