THE GROWTH CORNER

Look, I know that there’s more than a 1000 blog posts out there on the below topics, so, I won’t bore you to death with them. However, I want you to know that when I started this blog, I knew that I wanted to use it as an extension of me to others, sharing my experiences, lessons learnt, outlook on things etc. but mostly, I wanted a platform of my own that would allow me to share & speak life into others without any limitations or rules on how to go about it.

I never pass up on an opportunity to be a blessing to someone else, we’re all dealing with something, if God’s given me the opportunity to be in your life whether in person, virtually, for years or for a split second… I make it a point it be positive.

“Never pass up on an opportunity to be a blessing to someone else, we’re all dealing with something.”

I often say to people my blog & or Social Media is not to sell perfection but to sell authenticity, kindness & lots & lots of self-awareness & development!

I’ve always loved sharing knowledge, information insight & best practices. I believe we become our best versions when we open ourselves wholeheartedly to others, with not only our hearts but our resources as well. The more you share with others the more possibilities avail themselves for you to learn from & the better you become. So, essentially this is “The Growth Corner” section is here.

This is where I’ll be sharing my personal self-development goals that I feel could benefit the next person. I obviously, won’t be able to share every intricate goal I work towards but I will try as much as I can to share majority of the other types of goals that I feel aren’t too personal & can be done by others. I started this segment back in September but, alas, life took a major spin on me & I was unable to commit to it BUT because we ain’t no quitters over here, I am back & badder! Time to work on that consistency TOGETHER! See, I need y’all to understand that none of us have this figured out, but, also, that doesn’t mean you have to struggle alone.

GOALS

WHAT ARE GOALS?

 

Every successful person sets goals.

The guys theeere by Oxford Dictionary define goals as “the object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.” The operative words here are “effort” & “desired result”. Goals require a level of planning & commitment that will ensure that the desired result comes into fruition. Therefore you can’t state your goal & then go slump on your couch or do other things that won’t be towards achieving or attaining the so said goal. Get me ?? You need to put effort into attaining your goal.

Allan Watts did a whole seminar on this too, I’ll link the Youtube video if I find the link cause I’ve been also wanting to re-watch it.

THEIR IMPORTANCE & BENEFITS?

Goals give you a sense of direction & control over how you’d like your life/task/mission to go. It’s so easy to identify the things we want for ourselves but the process of working towards those things can be so daunting especially if the goal is big. Self-doubts always have a thing of creeping in when you need motivation the most, especially if you’ve not been experiencing a lot of wins recently. So, setting goals can help mitigate & possibly keep at a distance those feelings of self-doubt, feeling like you’re a failure etc. They give you the chance to break the desired result into small chunks that can be achieved/attained step by step leading to the desired result. They give you a sense of control.

BENEFITS?

  • Goals activate forward thinking:
    Ask any successful person how they became successful and they’ll tell you that it wasn’t through sacrificing a Lamb, summoning 3 Demons & hoping for the best, No! They had to work towards achieving them by doing what was required to see them through.

    Goals trigger a level of mental focus by the need to continuously check how far one is to attaining their desire. If you want a car but don’t plan how you’ll go about getting it, your attitude/behavior towards that goal won’t be as committed or motivated too, right? But if you set goals, you get to constantly check how far you’ve going & what more needs to be done. Essentially, clear compelling goals help you trigger your focus toward actionable behavior, meaning, goals motivate you.
  • Goals help with aligning your focus:
    Because of how frequent you get to see your progress, goal setting helps you with staying focused which is very different from being motivated. You can be highly motivated but struggle to FOCUS. Focus is developing a tunnel vision for the success of what you wish to attain. Whilst motivation is the feeling you develop towards attaining what you wish to attain. You will get challenged & you’ll need to learn how to silence the noise and focus on what matters to you at the time.
  • It promotes self-mastery
    Setting goals is all about building your character. You learn about yourself; your limitations, capabilities, work ethic & discipline. The whole process is like having a mirror reflecting to you how you do things, if you really want to something then settings goals is what you need to do.

HOW TO SET GOALS?

There are way too many ways out there for how you can set goals for yourself but I’ve always followed one technique, and that’s the SMART goals setting technique.

Before I set my goals I often have a mental strategy that goes like this:
1. First I identify what it is that I want
If the desire is one that would require a longer time to achieve, I break it down into smaller short term goals.

2. Then I divide them
Then I take those short term goals and see if I can divide them to weekly tasks. This is to make them attainable & also realistic.

3. Then I set a time for when I want to have them achieved by.
Time-binding my goals allows me to be able to measure them. Normally I give myself like a week or 2 then I reflect every end of the week, usually on a Sunday.

S M A R T

S – Be Specific.

What exact goal do you wish to accomplish?

M – It must be measurable.

How will you measure your progress?

A – Must be attainable.

What skills or resources do you need to attain goal?

R – Must be relevant?

Is the goal worthwhile?

T – Is it timely?

When will you complete the goal?

Perfect! Now that we’ve covered the basics, I will be posting Weekly goals every end of the week and review previous weeks one. I haven’t exactly figured how this will work cause I do believe in working in silence but I’ll try my best.

I hope this helps you with cultivating self-fulfillment & the right habits towards attaining your dream life.

“IT IS BETTER TO BE PREPARED FOR AN OPPORTUNITY AND NOT HAVE ONE THAN TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY AND NOT BE PREPARED.”

~ Whitney M. Young, Jr. AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER

And remember; you’re worthy, always.

AFFIRMATIONS

AND AFFIRMATIONS?

The guys theeere by Wikipedia define affirmations as “the practice of positive thinking and self-empowerment—fostering a belief that a positive mental attitude supported by affirmations will achieve success in anything.” The operative words here are “fostering a belief” & “support. Affirmations require faith or a deep rooted belief in the unknown that will ensure that the desired result comes into fruition. Essentially, affirmations are sentences aimed to affect the conscious and the subconscious mind, so that in turn, they affect your behavior, thinking patterns, habits and general outlook in life.

Therefore you can’t state your affirmations without believing & practicing the things that you say. They have a lot to do with energy & a genuine feeling of gratitude & belief in that God, the Universe… or whatever else that you Spiritually believe in, will help bring your desires towards you.

THEIR IMPORTANCE & BENEFITS?

Scientists say that during the first 7 years of our lives, all that our brains (subconscious mind) are doing is to “record” we’re not part-taking in life. Our brains act same as a recorder; recording habits, behaviors, attitudes and beliefs. And these recordings are what’s going to be in full play as we go through life, hence terms like “learned behavior” etc. Because of this, if we…let’s say in our 20s want to start cultivating new habits, this becomes hard because of the ‘program’ recorded a while back that’s in full play. So, to undo this, one would need to re-program the mind (subconscious mind) and literally introduce new positive habits for the brain to record and affirmations are the best way (amongst many) or method used to achieve this.

Essentially by saying out loud-or silently, these short powerful sentences to yourself you will start to subconsciously believe what you are saying, which means your thoughts and words, beyond the affirmations, will start to match your beliefs. Those thoughts and words will then push you to act in a way that supports that belief. Maaaagic *Sprinkles fairy dust* lol but, no, seriously, Once you take the time to learn & understand how your brain works… how YOU work, you’ll be surprised at the lot you can achieve.

BENEFITS?

  • They strengthen your faith & intuition:
    Affirming is talking to yourself from a deeper level of understanding. It is calling out from a very deep part of you, another part of you to help mend or restore what you feel’s either lacking or unable to function alone at the moment. When we dig deep into ourselves what most don’t know is that, we’re actually reaching out to our Highers selves. We’re all made of God’s conscious so our Higher Selves link directly to the source. Affirmations strengthen that link by always seeking in wards for strength to overcome obstacles and cultivate a better life, reality…a better YOU,
  • As with Goals, they help set your focus:
    They help you focus on what matters most to you at the time, which should be bettering thought process which will ultimately better the way you look at the World. Affirmations bring your mind back to what’s needed and what will lead you forward but from inwards. They help you believe that through focusing on the parts of you that matter most and by mending them, a better version of you, much more stronger will prevail. And it does.
  • They drive change in you & in how you view the world
    The more you start believing that you’re beautiful the more beautiful the world appears. The more you start to feel deserving and worthy of love, the more full of love the world is. It is this power of seeking inwards that really does for me about affirmations. I’m a huge believer in fixing yourself to help fix the world. I really believe everything starts with us, individually. Although, the science behind how affirmations work, I love the spiritual element to it more (as I’m very intuitive & approach things with a lil bit of everything). The possibility of there being a way or link if you may, inside of me that connects me to my creator, that if I yank it a few times will lead me to this great source of power is beyond me. Do you understand the power in you, me, in us?

HOW TO AFFIRM?

Well, everything should start with intent, right? Start by identifying the areas in YOU that you feel need a little nudge towards the right direction. Then look for or create affirmations that mean something to you.

I often say to my friends that they should be always vigilant of their thoughts, so perhaps start there too. Pay attention to the negative thoughts that populate in your mind and try turn those into positive ones. Maybe you feel useless, start telling yourself that “You’re trying your utmost best and give your best all the time” or maybe you feel less deserving of love, well, start telling yourself “I am love, loved and are lovable” etc.

With affirmations it is all about what YOU or how YOU would like to be received but, please, make this about YOU. Make this about how you want to feel about YOURSELF because everything that you’ll be saying will cultivate the reality & life around you and in you.

  • Write the Affirmations down
    Before I set affirm I normally write down my affirmations for that week or day, then I get into this feeling of gratitude. But it’s easy for me to, because I’m always grateful for every single thing in my life, yes, good AND bad. If you’re not sure about how to do this, try to this.

    – Try think of a time or thing or person that made you feel good, bask in that feeling and focus on another thing in your life that evokes that feeling. Puull that feeling and feel it, if you feel negative thoughts, acknowledge them and dismiss them.
  • Say them out loud or silently to yourself.
    I love using the mirror for this if I’m home, there’s nothing that beats that eye-to-eye contact I make with myself. Then I proudly, kindly, gently & lovingly tell myself all the sweet little things I belive about myself because I love myself, so I take my words in and let them wash over me.

    The kick in affirming or with any spiritual act, is in the E(energy)-MOTION(in motion). Essentially your Energy. You need to FEEL the things you want. This is why it’s important to get into that feeling of gratitude when you do this to help make the reciprocity from the Universe faster so you can see the changes.

    You can chant sweet words to yourself forever as there are no limits to how many things you say or times you say it. You can literally say affirmations about everything… money, love, health…anything! So, please, choose wisely what you speak into your life as it will… materialize.

Perfect! Now that we’ve covered the basics, I will be posting Weekly Affirmations too every end of the week but because Affirmations are more of an internal thought process & aren’t easy to measure, I won’t be able to give updates on them.

I hope this helps you with cultivating self-fulfillment & the right habits towards attaining your dream life.

“THE LIFE OF YOUR DREAMS DEPENDS ON YOUR DAILY ROUTINE. WATCH YOUR THOUGHTS & HABITS”

~ Jim Kwik, MEMORY EXPERT

And remember; you’re worthy, always.