Gaining Knowledge, Experience, and Wisdom

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The distance between knowledge and wisdom is enlightenment.”
― Matshona Dhliwayo

My grandmother was always speaking in riddles, she always had a story or some words of wisdom for everything. Only we were too young to understand or appreciate the lesson she was trying to convey because wisdom comes with years. The years we had yet to experience ourselves. Wisdom comes when knowledge meets experience and our grandmother not only had the experience, she also had the knowledge and experience that come with the years. This is why those who appreciate their experiences in life, when they get older, tend to be wiser because they have taken those experiences through the years and why they are always relentless in sharing that wisdom with the younger generation.

We may think we know everything, however, it is necessary for us to learn from those who are willing to share that wisdom simply because we have not lived the years they have. We may have our own experiences but the wisdom we learn from our parents, grandparents, and older folks can help us navigate through those experiences. Making us better equipped to not make the same mistakes,  if we choose to learn from the experience and mistakes of others it gives us an advantage.  Right now, lots of the stuff my grandmother shared with me is more relevant to me now, than they were back then. They have helped me to see things that would’ve otherwise gone unnoticed. 

Even though society tells us that we should live our own truth and do whatever we think is best, it is this type of thinking that can drive you off the rails. You have to understand that your capacity for wisdom is limited to your experience, this will help you understand how important it is to learn from those people so filled with knowledge, experience, and wisdom God has placed in your life.  

Four Things To Learn On Your Own

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Learning is a part of life, we learn from others and from our experiences. Living a rewarding life involves the simple art of balance or what we’ve learned from those around us and what our experiences have taught us. Here are four things in life you can’t learn from someone else

Stop Wasting Time– You would’ve probably read Steve Jobs’s quote, “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” I don’t think this fully becomes reality until that clock starts ticking and you realize you have more time behind you than you do before you. Time is precious, it may seem like you have all the time in the world until you wake up and you’re out of time.

 
Responsibility– Responsibility is not an instinctual quality everyone possesses. Some of us have to work hard in acquiring this quality. The full burden of responsibility is becoming independent in all aspects of your life, family, career, and love life. Cause and effect are the ultimate guides to responsibility and this responsibility will eventually lead to complete independence. Gaining responsibility and independence will help you make more conscience decisions in life, love, and business.

 
Betrayal – The topic no one ever wants to discuss, it is the thing that turns your world upside down and usually sends you on an emotional rollercoaster. There really is no way of preparing for it because every act of betrayal contains different variables. But when it happens, the first questions that come to mind are: Why? How? Can we work through this? The only persons who can answer any of these questions are the person or persons involved. Love is complicated, with social media and all the dating sites out there, make it even more complicated. There’s no official guide to falling out of love. Betrayal doesn’t always happen in romance, it happens in friendships and business as well. But, betrayal is betrayal, and no matter the circumstance, it hurts.

 
Happiness – Happiness is doing what you love, and success is excelling at doing what you love. Nobody else can tell you how to be happy, what or how to love. As you progress through life, these mysteries are uncovered to you and you will find them on your own. Figuring out what makes you happy is the catalyst to achieving your own version of success.

Creating Good Habits

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Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”
― Lao Tzu

Our lives are based on our habits, the good ones, and the bad ones. The habits we adopt in our lives dictate what we eat, how we react to situations, our aspirations, and our outlook on life. So many people I know complain about something not going well in their lives, but few of them actually do anything about it. To be successful in any area of your life, whether it’s success in achieving and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, success in achieving wealth, success in becoming a better person, parent, or partner……You have to build good habits and make time for what’s important in your life. Overall wellness comes with a healthy mind, body, and soul. To have this we must create good habits for ourselves that will make that happen.

Goodbye February

The Greatest Tools in Creating Your Reality

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Beliefs are choices. First you choose your beliefs. Then your beliefs affect your choices.
― Roy T. Bennett

Actions have consequences! This is what I’ve always told my children and anyone that would listen. Actions also build character. We, as human beings, have the advantage of choosing our actions. Most of us do start out with good intentions, then somewhere along the line, those intentions become corrupt or tainted. Either through experience or outside forces. Whatever the case may be, the important thing is to own your actions. This is something many find hard to do, it’s like when a child is told not to take a cookie from the jar but the minute your back is turned, they dive into that jar of cookies, then, when asked who was in the cookie jar, he /she denies the fact, even when the crumbs are lying at their feet. 

With adults, it’s not that much different, because even with crumbs lying in their laps,  many adults tend to deny or ignore their actions altogether unless it’s a good thing bringing them some form of accolade. They will quickly praise their success but just as quickly refuse to address their wrongdoing. Being caught gives a sense of failure, we all know, no one likes to be caught with their hand in the cookie jar.  So again, a choice has to be made.

Your character is measured by your ability to own your actions, whether they are good or bad. All relationships are built on how well or rather how honest you are, long-term relationships, whether work, casual or intimate, can only be strengthened by the deciding factor of truth. You may not always like the outcome, but there is always a resolution for everything.  Ignoring the issue tend makes matters worse. Honestly is highly respected, by addressing your shortcomings, it’s easy to gain trust, and people will know they can rely on you. Even if the outcome is a negative or disappointing one, at least you would be someone to be respected. 

The greatest tool in creating your reality is the gift of choice. Your actions have consequences, and those actions also forge your destiny, so choose wisely. 

It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.
― J.K. Rowling

But until a person can say deeply and honestly, “I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday,” that person cannot say, “I choose otherwise.”
― Stephen R. Covey

You are not the victim of the world, but rather the master of your own destiny. It is your choices and decisions that determine your destiny.”
― Roy T. Bennett

In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.
― Theodore Roosevelt

6 Lessons to Help You Navigate The Real World

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It’s great to have an active imagination, but eventually, you have to come back to the real world! ~YNG

The “real world” sucks! It’s filled with disappointments, hard lessons, frequent pain, and lots of changes. You drown yourself in work trying to progress to the next level. While struggling with trying to find the answers to the hard lessons life tosses at you, it becomes a complicated sea of disappointments and changes.  The “real world” is like the school of hard knocks, where you’re taught to navigate through success and failures in order to align your future and achieve your goals. 

While you’re fighting to keep your head above water in the real world, don’t forget to come up to take a breath. Life is about breathing, it’s about living your best life but most importantly, life is about knowing when to slow down, when to

Life Hacks to Navigate the Real World. 

Fear is an Anchor – You have the choice to Forget Everything and Run or Face Everything and Rise.  Fear will weigh you down like an anchor. Don’t be afraid to take educated chances but also don’t be afraid to walk away if something doesn’t make sense to you. 

Keep Up with Current Events – Don’t get immersed in the news but try to keep up. I felt a bit out of it when a friend of mine asked if I had heard about the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. I hadn’t! It’s easy to get so caught up in life that everything else becomes secondary.

Identify What You Want – What you don’t want in life is just as important as what you don’t want.  If you put all your focus on what you want, you’ll end up attracting what you don’t want.  If you’re constantly running after money, money is going to find a way to run away from you.  Instead run after knowledge, skills, and wisdom and all the good things will follow. 

Don’t Ignore Your Problems– Ignoring your problems doesn’t just make them magically disappear! Sooner rather than later those problems will get worse, address your problems. 

Do What’s Important First – Make a list of all the things that are important to you and do them first! Procrastination is the most common time waster. We tend to put those important things off in favor of little things. Those little things add up and can take up a huge chunk of time.

Never Ignore your Instincts-  This has saved me so many times. I’ll say this honestly, friends don’t know what’s right for you! It’s important to have friends and colleagues to talk to but never ignore your own instincts. No one knows what’s best for you, but you! your instincts will help you evaluate circumstances better than anyone else. 

Be Inspired to Be Your Best Self

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While there are many things in my life I wished I had done differently, I can’t say there aren’t any worth regretting. Why spend your life revisiting what has already passed events that you can’t change?  I’ve said many times before, given the life I have now if anything in my past was changed, my life would be very different and I love my life now. Despite its ups and downs. But despite no regrets, there are things that I’ve learned over the years that make life better. Things that eliminate second-guessing. Things that people may find a bit selfish and things that would have you, ten, twenty years from now, looking back on your life with little to no regrets. 

Why? Because you will be happier knowing that taking your life in hand instead of putting them in the hands of someone else makes you more responsible. It also forces you to make better decisions as well as helps you fully understand what is it you want out of life. It will also inspire you to do better while becoming the best of yourself.

Be the person who makes people smile– Laughter is contagious, so you’ll just want to be around people who make you happy.  So today, make a pledge to spend time with people who help you love yourself. While doing this, never take anyone for granted, the very people you reject today could be the people you will need tomorrow.  Spend time with those who matter most.  

Never be afraid to express your feelings– I have never been one for expressing my feelings, however, the few years have loosened my tongue and I’ve learned to express my feelings to the people who matter most.  Covid has reminded us how short life can be and so has Cancer. The people we love and care about are not going to always be here and neither are we.  Don’t keep your kind thoughts and feelings to yourself, especially when what you say can make a difference in the lives of those people. 

Appreciate what you already have – In good times, celebrate, in bad times celebrate. It doesn’t matter how bad your life may seem right now, there is always something to be grateful for. Everyone wants a better life, but is life really that bad? If you can make a list of 10 things and 8 out of those things are good, consider yourself lucky.  The grass may always seem greener on the other side but it’s all about your point of view. 

Don’t ignore your goals- Nothing happens if you’re constantly procrastinating. Instead of making excuses for why you can’t do something and get busy doing it!!. 

The Things Worth Fighting For

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The things that are worth fighting for are never easy, but that doesn’t mean we give up.

― Lilly James,

I have been through many rough patches in my life and have always found a way to make it through. The highs and the lows have a tendency to push reality right in your face, up close and personal. Each time it seemed easier to just give up than to fight, then I had to ask myself, “is what I’m giving up worth fighting for?” I don’t want to find myself, months, or even years from now, looking back and wishing I had not given up or thinking, “it wasn’t worth the fight!”  Making life-changing decision sometimes have to be decided at the drop of a hat. In that instant we have to decide, “do we put in the effort or walk away?” Whether you believe so or not, everything in life requires a certain amount of effort on our part, but we also have to first determine if those things are worth the effort! 

P.U.S.H and Live in Eternal Gratitude

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I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, and changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.  ~Neil Gaiman

Gratitude is something that’s encouraged, it’s something that we are told if we’re grateful for all that we have, it creates room for more things to be grateful for. How easy is that? It’s not always easy to be grateful, and how is gratitude measured? If you’re ill are you grateful that you’re still alive to fight the illness? Are you grateful for your family as well as the expenses that come with raising a family?  If you’re grateful for your job, are you also grateful for the long hours, the office politics that come with it, and being undervalued on that job? Gratitude is selective, we can be grateful for anything that we have but not everything that surrounds us. 

It’s difficult to smile in the face of adversity when it seems that adversity is all that you’re facing. I have always prided myself on living in gratitude and being faithful to everything I believe in, I believe in the kindness of mankind even when they’re not so kind. I lived in hope, love, and joy even on days when I can find none. I believe in miracles even when there is none in sight because I believe that faith takes us to the brink of our breaking point, then pulls us back to the point where that miracle happens. 

 As I smiled on the dying year, I was a bit apprehensive in asking God for a better year than the last year. On the surface, it was difficult to remain in gratitude and faithful when my world seemed to be falling apart. It was difficult to pray when my most significant prayers seem to go unanswered. But in all things, I gave thanks for each day I have with my family, each day I have to build my faith and grow in strength to face whatever this year may bring with it. My only hope is that it’s more kind, more gentle than the last, and definitely filled with miracles. 

When I think about all the things I continue to pray for, I’m reminded……

1. To be thankful for every day.

2. To smile, just because! A smile makes even the worse days better.

3. To reach out and help others with an uplifting hand, without expecting anything in return.

4. To remember that it is never too late to say ‘Thank you or ‘I am
sorry.

5. To eat ice cream often-lol! No seriously, eat ice cream. In fact, eat anything you want, this life is short and you don’t know when you’ll be by this way again.

6. To appreciate family and friends as a very special gift. Rather than a convenience.

7. To P.U.S.H- Pray Until Something Happen and pray often. 

8. To Take care of myself. I have one body, one mind and I don’t know how long I’m going to need them.  

Life is About Inventing and Reinventing Yourself

As you reinvent your life endlessly you should open your minds to the infinite possibilities that do exist.
― Steven Redhead

I’m sitting in my living room and looking at my Christmas tree so nicely decorated with an assortment of store-bought and handmade ornaments. The tiny lights seem to give a magical glow against the darkness of the night sky outside. I know it’s the 5th of January and Christmas is gone but I’m going to enjoy my tree for just a few more days.  Charles Dickens said, “Christmas isn’t just a day, it’s a frame of mind,” It may be the 5th of January but I’m still in the Christmas frame of mind, minus the dinner and festivities.  Each year brings with it, challenges, expectations, disappointments, and revelations, and 2022 was no different so I do each year, I’m holding on to the Christmas spirit for as long as I can.