Tuesday January 6th
I recently learned a lesson about approaching things. Sometimes your approach can make or break your message. Especially if your audience is not ready or open. Your approach can make it where they hear you or they don’t what I learned is sometimes a softer approach or calmer approach is needed for serious situations depending on the subject or audience we often think that aggressive approaches are going to make someone hear us when often it does not.
Generally aggressive approaches actually make someone not hear you or gives you the short end of the stick because people shut down from aggressiveness.
So I challenge you to consider your approach in your next situation, next conversation, or next time that something needs to be addressed. Remember, that approach truly can change the outcome.
Tag Archives: Progression
God’s Angels
Saturday January 3rd 2026
I’ve been realizing slowly but surely that God has really sent rock stars to me over the years. I have a few wise men that I’m forever grateful. A gentleman,my senior, that sends me positive messages every morning. We used to work together, like almost 5 -6 years ago. Those messages really hit home and really encourage me on some days when I’m feeling down. I have another gentleman, my senior, that sends me scriptures and devotionals everyday. I grew up with his children. His messages help me everyday. I have a wiser young woman, my senior, that sends me messages daily and she truly provides a breath of fresh air. All of these messages inspire me and encourage me especially in my dark hours. We are trained to think that messages of positivity and such should come from our family. Parents siblings cousins,etc. Not necessarily true. God works thru all types of people that you run into on the streets, in stores, work, etc. I’ve always been the keeper, my whole life. Always the person that keeps the family steady, the person that put things on their shoulders. I’ve never had the opportunity to be at ease. And as I grow, I learn and I analyze myself, I’m realizing these things. These angels encourage me daily. Sometimes I do wish it was from more familiar faces, but it’s not and that’s okay. God really sends people. In North Carolina I finally noticed he has sent people to me my whole life to be encouraging spirits or encouraging people in different ways and through hard times. So I say this to say, that your encouragement might not be coming from the people or the places that you look for them to come from. However, appreciate where they do come from because you are the assignment of those people. Be grateful that you have been assigned.
Trust
Everyday is still a constant challenge. You realize you may need a help mate in life however it’s hard to trust people. Hard to depend on others. It’s hard it truly is. Trusting some one as a friend and trusting some one as a roommate or partner are two different levels. Thru the last few years many have offered many I turned down. Not because of lack of friendship but because of lack trust. Lack of trusting someone with your full life not just part of it. I’ve mastered the trust with part of it side not the trust with all of it side. Most don’t meet that standard. I’ve realized that over this time of lack. I don’t trust anyone with my whole life, I’m not sure if I ever will.
I have a method of avoidance. Consistently avoiding fully opening up or fully disclosing. Only partial, always partial. I call it protecting my heart. However I recognize it’s toxic. Early childhood experiences from so called friends that betrayed me in many ways. I remember a distinct incident of a girl that came to my birthday party so they would have something to talk about. Through these incidents I made an unconscious choice on how to deal with people in the future. Don’t let them get too close. Moving around has driven me insane and hasn’t made my trust any better. So as I prepare to make more changes, I also prepare to open myself up to fully trusting someone.
Mindful choices
Everyday we have a decision of how to start our day. Yesterday, on my day off, I woke up pissed off. Not wanting to let that energy consume my day. I completed a mini workout and turned on a book during my other morning routines. By the time I was ready to leave the house. I was recharged with positivity. My outlook to the day and said situation completely changed. It’s up to us to control our minds daily.
A book, a power mantra, a podcast, a song, whatever it is that will help you shift your mood. Use these tools to shift your mind. Don’t dwell on things you can’t control. Be aware of how things make you feel. As you practice this control you will gain more confidence in the goals you strive to achieve.
Keep pushing daily!!
The 4 R’s
I often am asked, How do you do this or do it? I feel as though many really want to ask, how are you not breaking down? Breaking down is a mental pull, there are many things in my life that could have caused me to break down. I’ve chosen to not allow these things to do so. Every situation we find ourselves in, we have created or allowed one way or the other. It’s our jobs to get ourselves out of said situation. With the correct amount of willpower and focus, you can do so. The answer to the question is, I don’t allow myself. Sometimes, some straight up cold hard honesty to myself may be the medicine. Evaluation of choices I made, no one made them for me. Personally owning the error, the reward, the sacrifice, is the first step in creating a solution. Own it! Are you owning the choices you may have made to be placed in the position you are in? Have you owned it? My solutions always start with self. I always address what I did, to get me into said situation or position. This step is vital. This is where things change outlook, opinion, perception. This is where breaking down is removed. If you can accept what you did, you also have the power to change what you may have accepted.
Shift your focus, I know you have heard this many times before, however, focusing on the wrong things tends to land us where we don’t want to be. This is why rest is needed, the mind needs to calm down and clear out. This is where shifting begins, a calm and clear mind. Your mind in this state will allow you to adjust your focus, are you focused on progress or regress. This is a big question to ask ourselves daily, as fun is easy. One of my recipes to my day is 70% work, 30% fun. If 70% of my day has already been drenched in work than I could stand to have some fun. I keep it closer to 85%, the percentage is up to you. What can you handle? Many of my days are 100% work. I wake up working and I go to sleep working, I run errands, during my 20-30 minute break and then I’m right back to it. I work during lunch, I work during breakfast and dinner. I work in the car, I work during rest stops. I feel that I can constantly stimulate my mind in some fashion. Whatever your belief may be or your regimen may don’t allow anything or anybody to stifle it. When we add things to our lives, they should enhance our plans, they should push us harder, they should challenge us to move more confidently, and expand your capacity. Those additions will never be distractions as they are keeping you on task and focused.
Many people with a loving heart tend to take on the issues of others when in reality, it’s not your concern. If you are one of these people, I challenge you along with myself to break away from any situations that are not pushing you the way you are pushing them. Pull yourself away from things that make you feel inadequate. You are adequate, you have a plan, you have a destiny and your running towards, push those things out of your way. Encourage others and don’t get caught up, lift up others and don’t get pulled in, love on others and don’t wait to be loved back. These things require mental strength that you may have but we all get sidetracked.
Rest your mind, review your strategy, reshift your focus, and REVIVE yourself!
Rest, recharge, refocus
I learned today that when you are told to rest. Rest! My planned rest day, that only included lunch with a friend, quickly turned into a busy day. Started working at 7:30 and didn’t stop, other than lunch, until the evening. My motto, there is always something to do, makes it very hard to take a break. Despite the day, rest didn’t happen. This is often the story of my life and as I keep hearing “just rest”, being whispered to me more and more, the harder I’m working. Well, life directs us and you will find out how God speaks to you whether, it’s thru symbols, the word, quiet time, running, etc. Every relationship is different, just know when your being directed and follow the directions.
Over the past year, I have been told to rest in every way shape or form. My personality ignores it, I try to half rest, but I do something else. As the new year came upon us. I began to question my routine. Routines that I started and ended. Routines that I let get away from me, even though the results were great.
On the third day of the year , fell. I make most of my immediate income moving around. Throughout the challenges my family and I faced over the past few months, I let things that I was working on get away from me. With adding immobility into a long list of challenges, I truly had to rest. I can’t move around as freely and as I regularly as I am used to. I truly started to focus on the word rest. We mostly associate rest with sleep, doing nothing, watching a movie, spending time with family etc. I started to evaluate my routines. I don’t allow my family time to be cancelled, I consciously try to consistently make time to spend on myself. I started to ask myself what’s missing: development. My development time has been cancelled and pushed to the side.
So all though I kept receiving the word rest, it really wanted me to focus. I needed to rest to determine what was missing. I needed to rest to have reflection time. I needed to recharge and refocus. I needed to get back down to basics, the foundational stuff. Any house without, a firm foundation will always fall, the same goes for your business and your life.
So thru the challenges and thru the unplanned and forced rest, I recharged and refocused. Sometimes we hear a word or choose a word fo the year and it may not be that particular word you are supposed to focus on, that word may open the door for a more important word. Watch your focus, remove distractions, and rest before you are forced.
Everyday you get a chance to make a change thru your choices!
B. Marie's Thoughts 