GO!

Are we putting in the work we need to achieve everything we want to achieve for ourselves? Are we putting in the time and effort to be who we want to be? 

 Of course we are. That seems to be the general consensus. I suspect, every day, we are working hard towards some goal.  Filling up our day with activities. Helping others. Learning and growing. 

But the question is “Are We putting in the work to achieve everything We want to achieve for ourselves? Are We putting in the time and effort to be who We want to be?” 

We work all day and many days we’re very productive. But is it getting you to where you want to be? 

We spend our time helping our friends and family. Pouring into everyone. Even at our job.  We work hard for pay or to achieve a higher position but is it what you really want to do?  Is it pushing your dream forward, or further. Or are you stuck in someone else’s dream? 

Sometimes we put so much energy into others that we neglect ourselves. Not because we’re lazy but because we get caught up, distracted, worn out and depleted from helping others achieve their goals. 

This work /home cycle that is making you money, feels good for the moment. Heck, it’s keeping everyone around you happy but is it fulfilling you?

Is it fueling your desires? Does it feed your soul?  Is it in line with what you have been dreaming about for so long?

If it’s not, then STOP!!! Stop! About face, turn around and run in the direction of your heart.  So many people tell us what to do. There are so many voices in our ears that we miss what’s beating in our hearts.

What makes you smile? 

Are you following your dream? Everyone has one.  Find your dream;  Your desire; your purpose.  And GO!  Take that energy you had for everyone else’s purpose/project and find yours, fuel it and GO! Don’t be afraid. It’s yours.  Satisfy that little boy or girl in you.  Never lose your imagination. It keeps you alive, creative and spirited.

 Go for yours.  You won’t regret it. GO!!!

Canceled!

Canceled: a term used to describe the act of stopping the support for someone who has said or done something that is considered unacceptable or offensive. 

Hell, I was canceled before there was a cancel culture.   Before, we didn’t look at it as canceled. If you said or did  something offensive to society or work it was deemed being politically incorrect.  But that was light compared to canceling someone these days.  When you’re canceled, people stop supporting you.  The people you thought were in your corner, when you look around, they are not there.  The people you invested time, money, and love into; they just walked away.  People that you built memories with. Gone! 

They ostracized you.  Now you are alone. 

Yes, that’s what happens when someone cancels you. And that hurts. 

Whether it’s your family, your friends, your coworkers, or congregation, it hurts all the same. 

Sometimes the people who canceled you come back. But time doesn’t come back.  You’ve lost precious time with the people you thought were as invested in you as you were in them. There’s a gap in life’s memories that you can’t fill.

But the Good News Is:  No one can cancel you.  They can disagree with you, dislike you, disregard you and never talk to you again but you’re not canceled.  You’re still here doing your thing.  Just think, you don’t have them to distract you.  Don’t let people stop your progress.  You have enough inside of you for your miracle. 

I learned that I have my back always.  Sink or swim “I got me”.   Canceling if you let it, can kill your dreams and your forward movement.

Unfortunately, I know someone that was canceled.  He thought it was because he was brown. If I’m honest that was part of it.  He couldn’t get over it and depression took him out.

So, I‘ll say it louder “NO ONE CAN CANCEL YOU”.

Canceling is meant to make you feel powerless. Find your strength in God and you will never be powerless.  

Remember this, the next time someone cancels you. Or tries to.  Be encouraged.

Expectations

I'm a person with expectations. I expect people to treat me like I treat them. To act in a certain respectable manner.  To give me what I give them in time, love and energy and sometimes I expect more. I always thought that was fair and a reasonable expectation. Yet I have been let down and disappointed in people in how they fall short, much more than they hit the mark.

I have always been a person that will shine the light on myself and say my favorite catch phrase “ Is it Me?”  Am I expecting too much?  Am I holding people to a height that they can’t reach? Am I being unfair?  Before that answer used to be an “Absolutely Not!”

Now as I mature and think about it;  I believe that, though it is good to have expectations it is not reasonable to believe the other person will automatically live up to your expectations.  

People come with their own set of experiences, knowledge, and culture,  that helps to shape who they are. Their response to your expectation may be all they have to give or all they know at this point. Their life experiences are not yours so some expectations could be unfair. We are all imperfect people.

Therefore the reason why I may be disappointed by the response or action that others display is because I expect more than they can give or  are willing to give. Yes,  it also can be a choice. “I choose not to give you anymore of me”.  And I have learned that that’s ok.  

I may choose to expect a level of what I put out to come back to me  but the difference now is I respect the response of the other person. I have learned, not to take it personally

but to take their response or action as they give it.  The only thing I can control is my reaction to the disappointment.  I had to learn that If I don’t receive what  I need or want from the person right now, I may never and that’s ok. .  Accept it and move on. 

The lesson I learned was that by expecting an outcome that may have been unrealistic and unattainable for someone else they didn’t disappoint me. I disappointed me by taking it personal.

 We all  have imperfections. Hopefully we never stop learning and growing on this life's

journey and are able to embrace the imperfection of human relationship.