The 7 R's for a Rocking New Year in 2021

 

The 7 R’s for a Rockin’ New Year in 2021

Congratulations you and I made it to a brand-new year! Woohoo! We now have the opportunity to do something different for ourselves and for the world. I am not so gung-ho about resolutions but I do like to write goals and for the most part mine are to have more fun and go on more vacations. I had too much fun in Lake Tahoe this past Christmas season and I don’t want to miss out on these opportunities to get away and do nothing with friends or family or with a significant other or alone. I can be a workaholic and that means the personal life can get neglected so I thought about encouraging my followers, watchers and connections on social media like I always do and this is what popped into my head for the new year. The 7 R’s for a Rockin’ New Year in 2021. I was watching Pastor Steven Furtick preach about being in control and how God did not create robots and does not tell us what to do every second of every day. We are responsible for what happens to us and what doesn’t happen to us for the most part and that means we need to get together with ourselves and our God and make sure this year we are clean, prepared, open, loving, honest and connected at all times.

Things are changing in the world and we need to be ready for more change and we also need to be ready with joy intact under our skin ready to be pulled out whenever we need it, just like the Lord has joy always ready to utilize and express. The Bible says the joy of the Lord is our strength and that means no matter what happens to us this year, no matter what we hear on the news, no matter what loss we have to endure, we have to find some joy in each day or we will fade away and be miserable and that is no way to live. Life is a gift and those that see it that way will enjoy it no matter what. I have endured some losses, had some major challenges, dealt with some serious stressors, and cried some tears like everyone else in the world but I always vow to find joy no matter what, and I always know that life comes with lemons.  If I don’t make lemonade out of that with my own special ingredients all mine then my days will be more sour than sweet. So I want to take some time to encourage you with the following seven R’s that were placed on my heart and I am sure that came spiritually so you will start your new year off with a positive attitude and the knowledge that  you are equipped with everything you need to get whatever it is you want this year, even if it comes in a package you didn’t expect nor understand. The Seven R’s are Renewal, Relaxation, Responsibility, Relationships, Reaping, Recognition and Realization. This is what we all need to feel complete, to move forward and to have joy unspeakable. However, you can read that and say “ok sure I guess I can do that or I will get around to it or I don’t know if I am able to do that” and that means you are too afraid. You need to take hold of these 7 R’s and be brave about using them to your advantage. I just bought a new 2021 calendar and it has these motivational phrases on it and the one for January says “Be Brave”, so every time I look at I remind myself that I have to be brave this January no matter what and so I encourage all of you to start your new year off with courage.

As I was watching Steven Furtick, who I think is a very charismatic preacher with his deep thinking and mind-blowing realities, I was listening to him talk about being in control and he said you control what you allow in your container and that control has everything to do with focus. If you focus on the wrong things you will not be in control of what is in your container and then you will also allow the wrong things in your container. I talk a lot about emotions and I teach and coach youth to manage their emotions and stay in control because really that is the only way to get by in life without self-destructing and losing your mind. So emotional intelligence is definitely key with the follow 7 R’s otherwise you won’t get it and you won’t do it and it won’t work if you try. One major thing we have to remember is that when you take what God has to offer you will have peace and joy and that means you have to use what he gives you. When someone gives you a gift, usually you accept it but if you don’t and that gift has the potential to lead you into some kind of victory in your life, then you just missed out on saving yourself, being your own hero and you don’t want to do that.

One thing we need to remember and bring to light is how fearful we really are. In my observances with the people I have interacted with last year, I saw so much fear and I know that fear can destroy your miracles. My mother used to tell me this all the time when me and my sisters were growing up and it stuck in my head. I couldn’t get it out and I believe that has a lot to do with my fearless attitude and personality. I refuse to give in to fear. It serves no purpose, it keeps me from my destiny, it stops me from moving forward and getting what I want, and it weakens me and I am powerless and I don’t do well being weak and powerless. So I have vowed internally and spiritually to never give in to fear because it’s pointless and God did not give me the spirit of fear, so that means if I show fear I am hanging out with satan and I don’t like him at all so that won’t work for me.

So, I noticed that fear is everyone’s big distraction. When you focus on the things that you are afraid of and you make a list in your head of all the reasons why this won’t work and why that can’t happen because you are afraid then that means you will be distracted from what you really want to do, and that means you won’t have time to start planning to get it done. You will be too distracted by the fear. If you think of all the things that can go wrong and all the mistakes you made then you won’t be able to focus on the things that can go right nor all the things you have done right. So, your challenge this year is to change your funky attitude, focus on what you want and not what you don’t want and figure out what it is that you want to leave behind. You have to lose the fear or none of the following 7 R’s will ever get crossed off of your list. I know some of you have experienced some loss last year in 2020 and that caused you to have a bad and nasty attitude problem with a chip on your shoulder, but you can remove that chip and change your attitude and your days will get brighter. Seasons change and this too shall pass. We all know that inherently. So, let’s get started with the 7 most important R’s we could ever cultivate for a truly amazing 2021! Let’s begin……..

 

 

Renewal – Be Brave with Renewing Yourself and Your Life

I want to start with renewal because we all need to renew ourselves, our hearts, our minds, and our bodies on a regular basis. This is why we go to sleep at night and then we wake up in the morning to start a brand-new day. That’s renewal. We just left 2020 behind and rang in a brand-new year, that’s renewal. We all have the opportunity now to focus on what we need to renew in our lives, what we need to change or what we need to discover that we didn’t know last year. We are all blessed that we made it to another year. If you woke up on January 1^st, 2021 then you are blessed to still be alive and breathing because some people did not get to do that. So, that alone should give you a sense that you still have some important things to do on this planet in 2021 that you didn’t get to do last year. Renewal is a form of freedom. When we renew ourselves, we set ourselves free from yesterday, from the past, from the last hour. But you have to use wisdom in moving forward with renewal and that means not focusing on the things that were broken yesterday or last year. When you focus on what is broken you will never set yourself free and you will stay in the chains that bind you. So, my encouragement to you is to make a plan to renew your mind by starting a Bible plan on a daily basis, even if it is just 10 minutes a day. That is renewing your mind and your spirit and the Bible says be transformed by the renewing of your mind. The only way you can do that is to focus on the word of God first and cater to your spirit which is what we are all made up of first before we even have a body. So, it makes perfect sense, right. So, check out YouVersion.com and find something that interests you and do it regularly.

Next, take some time to change your diet even if it’s just one type of food a week. Instead of donuts for dessert, try a fruit you have never tried and do it on a regular basis so you can cut the donuts out or have one once a week or once a month. Then find something active to do that you enjoy and take care of your body, that’s renewing your body. Lastly, I already mentioned renewing your mind, but it is important to refresh your brain with new things, new ideas, new attitudes, and new information so read some books, watch some documentaries for knowledge (great conversation starters), and learn something new whether it be a new language or new behavior (It’s challenging to exhibit new behaviors but it will serve you better than being a jerk like you were last year or disconnected) and you will be renewing your mind. And finally, change things up a bit in your home, in your car, in your relationships, and how you look so you can feel like a brand-new person, be less bored and feel refreshed. Find the new you this January and be courageous about it. I’m doing the pink hair thing this month and I am going to be bold and brave about it and not worry about my age or about how much attention I will get (I don’t really like too much attention but I know pink hair will cause me to get more attention and that’s ok, I know how to ignore what doesn’t feel right). So that’s my new me for renewal, find yours and be brave about it.

 

Relationships – Be Brave in Your Relationships and with Cultivating New Ones

So, it’s January and that means next month is Valentine’s Day. Thanks to all of the stores and I mean all of them, we will never forget that the pressure is on to find a Valentine date or make sure you have plans for that day or make sure you do something extra special for your significant other or friends. Some people specifically put themselves out there just so they have a date on Valentine’s day and they don’t feel like chopped liver if all of their friends or siblings have a special someone to go out with or just be loved by. Well, I’m not one to rush things with anyone or for anything, especially a holiday that can be celebrated any day without all the balloons and chocolate and overpriced dinners. Sure, I would love to be wined and dined on Valentine’s day, what lady or guy wouldn’t. However, I believe that in order to get the true relationship that you want you have to be the person you would want to go out with. That means you need to spend this January being brave enough to work on yourself and your personality flaws. This isn’t just for Valentine’s day. Relationships make the world go round and that means we all will be having all kinds of encounters, face coverings and shields or not, all the time throughout the year so we need to be ready with our attitudes and polish up our personalities, otherwise we will miss out on the important and divine connections waiting for us. Not only that we will attract the wrong people if we have funky attitudes and personality flaws that supersede our good side, and everyone has a good side so use it.

If you are a lonely person and you don’t connect with others very well then you need to work on this so you don’t go home from work hating yourself every night and avoiding parties or get togethers or even virtual events where you have to be seen on camera. Get it together now and pay attention to the things that push people away or repel them because that means you need to work on some things. Some people hate their lives because they don’t know themselves and they don’t think they can connect well with others, but they spend too much time thinking about that instead of thinking about the other person and that’s why they are alone or not liked so much. You have to get over yourself and ask questions about other people, be genuinely interested in others and don’t try to get so much attention because you are so insecure. You will attract the wrong attention that way and your friendships will not be meaningful or valuable and can actually end up being dangerous and land you behind bars or six feet under. Listen to your heart on a regular basis, don’t fight what it tells you to do or you will be miserable. If you focus on what you don’t have and what you are not then you will not attract the people you want in your life. Please take some time to read Dale Carnegie’s book “How to Win Friends and Influence People” and don’t be lazy about it. If you have to read one chapter a week then do it. It’s an awesome book and it will teach you that people want to be around those that want to be around them and that means getting to know people, making sure they are acknowledged, making sure they know they are important, and making sure you are listening to them and not talking about yourself all the time. That’s how you will improve your relationships and attract who you want to you. Get over yourself and get under someone else’s skin and in their heart the right way so you can have what you want in the people department this year. Also, cultivate a genuine relationship with yourself and really take some time to get to know yourself so you won’t be so insecure about who you are. You will eventually like yourself if you take time to do some things that you love and you love only and then you will be on the road to self-love and it will attract others easily.

I was watching Joel Osteen preaching as well and as you know he is a very motivational pastor. He told the story about how one day he went on a trip to his Night of Hope ministry and he forgot to pack some extra socks so he wore the same socks for almost a week when he was out of town. He talked about how he went to work out sometimes when he had free time, and he had meetings here, sermons there and he couldn’t change his socks. One day he took his shoes off to put his feet up and his wife was right beside him and she said “OMG Joel, put your socks back on your feet stink.” He was surprised but he laughed because he knew why because he still had on the same socks that he wore when he left and they stunk but he couldn’t smell them. He used this story to talk about how sometimes we can have a very funky attitude and we don’t see it but other people see it, so we need to see ourselves more clearly and take off our funky socks, but we need to realize that we have them on first and that they are funky so we can change our attitude or change what it is that stinks about us. Many people don’t do this and that means they will go around with a sour puss attitude and hate themselves and do things that they will later regret because they just don’t care or they just don’t see themselves and it is very important that we see ourselves. If you bark at yourself and you know you need or want to change listen to that still small voice or that inner voice screaming at you and just make a change so you feel better and don’t go around mistreating yourself and other people. Attitude problems push people away and so do stinky socks so change your attitude by noticing the funk and you will smell better and know it so you can move forward pursuing what you want in your life. Make some new friends and cherish the old ones and be brave about it.

 

Responsibilities – Be Brave about Your Responsibilities In Your Life

We all have responsibilities in life even if we don’t have money or a job or pay rent or have a car or have kids. You are always responsible for yourself, for your behavior, for the image you display to the world and for how you handle life in general. If you do have kids, a job, money, a car, a home to pay rent or a mortgage then you know how important it is to hold on to those things so you can keep your livelihood. If you are not responsible then you will lose these things and be a miserable homeless person and we all know what that looks like. I don’t really believe anyone “wants” to be homeless living in a state-of-the-art tent on sixth street with all of your homies getting warm in the winter by a fire. That’s ridiculous. I do know that people who do that are the ones who refuse to take responsibility for the normal things in life that keep a roof over our heads and food on our table. Lazy people usually end up homeless but all homeless people are not lazy. If you refuse to have responsibilities then you are on the wrong planet and you need to take a trip to space to find a new one. Adults teach their children to clean up after themselves and they learn this and it is supposed to stick, but if you become an adult after being a teenager and this falls by the wayside then you will be losing in the responsibility department. Studies show that any sense of responsibility in life can improve your mood and make you feel good about yourself, but if you have a lazy streak you will ignore this and just lay around or sit around and not do much about changing your life. I do know that many lazy people who don’t want to live normal lives or interact with the world have mental illness such as autism or mental retardation. It’s difficult if you have this problem because then you are afraid of interacting with others and afraid to do things to get on your feet and enjoy your life. If that is the case, I encourage you to pray about it so the truth can be revealed to you and you can find some kind of joy in living on this planet that can be full of sorrow. Why add to the sorrow by sitting around doing nothing all day and feeling funky about people and life to the point of suicidal thoughts.

When parents get a pet and they have a kid the best thing they should do is have that kid learn how to feed the pet regularly and they will feel responsible. Kids like this. They watch their parents clean and cook and do laundry and they want to do it too because it’s normal and it is a part of growing up and maturing. That’s why you see so many brooms and vacuums and kitchen sets and dishes in the toy section because kids want to do what they see their parents doing and that means taking some kind of responsibility for their life even if it is just for play time. This is how they learn and that is supposed to be carried on into adulthood and stick. Adults that refuse to grow up and mature will not want to be responsible for anything because they may believe it will be too much for them to handle or too challenging and that fear will stifle them. We have to grow up because we can’t stop development unless we die or something is wrong with our brain. So, if you feel stuck in this area and you don’t do anything to move forward in your life then there could be something wrong going on in your brain and you owe it to yourself to get it checked out. If you are a depressed person or you don’t do much with your life then you need to find something to be responsible for because too many people live in this world paying bills, driving cars, working at jobs, building businesses, raising kids, and cleaning and cooking or paying rent for anyone to say “it’s too hard”. It’s life and that statement is not for the living.

We also can’t go around as an adult expecting our parents to take care of us all the time or waiting for some rich guy or gal to take care of us and give us money all the time. Something is seriously wrong if you have that mentality because it leads to a lot of divorce, domestic violence and unhappy wives and husbands and significant others or sugar daddies and mommas who are tired of being used. Do it yourself and you will be happier. Meet your own basic needs and if you are mentally unstable and feel incapable of doing that then ask for help or put yourself in a program or facility where they can teach you to do that or monitor you and assist you in being responsible in some way. Your parents will get tired of having you around for the most part even if they say it’s cool. They deserve to live their own lives because they already raised you and you have reached a stage of development when you have to take what you learned and be responsible for who you are and what you want out of life.

As I said before our lives are a gift and we should live them accordingly and in honor of the one who gave us our life because we could be dead right now and I hope that is not your goal. Be responsible for the mistakes you make in life as well so you don’t beat yourself up every day because you refused to apologize to someone or you chose not to correct a mistake. Be brave with being responsible and you will always find a way to handle your down days, your days when you lack money, your days when no one calls or texts you, your days when you want to shut the bedroom door on your kids or spouse, and your days when you don’t want to get out of bed at all. That means you are responsible for your emotions and how you respond to people and your circumstances. So, reassess yourself and if you are one of those people who shy away from responsibility then take a look again at all the people in the world who get to do fun stuff on the weekends and go on vacations, who get to buy the things they want and need with their own hard earned money, who are driving a nice car that can take them wherever they want to go, who have beautiful and silly and fun children giving them a reason to live, and who take time to give to others because they have a little bit of something left over. These people are responsible and if you want a prosperous, blessed and joyful 2021 you have to be responsible too and be brave about it.

 

Rest & Relaxation – Be Brave about Resting and Relaxing

This one is hugely important because so many of us, especially mothers, are lacking in this area. One of my life goals is to be married and have at least two children, and I am fine waiting for that no matter how long it takes because I want to be ready. Preparation is key when it comes to parenthood and marriage so I am preparing for that now and one way to do that is by making sure I relax and rest. When I become a mother, I will remember my habits when it comes to rest and relaxation and when I feel spent at times, and I know I will, I will make sure I take some “me” time and let it all go. Rest and relaxation are vital to survival and I know this because I love to work. When I work, I don’t want to stop but I make sure I do because if I don’t, I might not want to work at the end of the week because I will be too stressed out and too tired. Not only that, my weekends will suffer too. I might reject an invitation to have fun because I need to write one more blog, or I need to cross one more thing off of my to-do list and I don’t want to do that. I love to have fun and if you take time for fun on a regular basis you will keep wanting to have fun.

It’s like smoking a cigarette. When people smoke, they are actually doing yoga and it’s a stress reliever so it’s not all nicotine addiction, it’s breathing addiction too. We need to breathe to survive and we need to breathe to relax as well. So, you keep smoking and keep smoking so you keep feeling that release of breath along with the nicotine addiction that makes you not want to stop and it becomes a habit. When you have fun, you feel a rush and a high and that rush and high is natural to the pleasure center of the brain. We need that to thrive in life and since I am a brain junkie, I am very aware of that so I make sure I do something every day to laugh or have fun and it has become a habit. I also have vowed not to work on the weekends. I am a CEO and I own two businesses and all of the CEO’s I know work on the weekends and are stressed out because they refuse to take time to rest. I can’t be that way, even if I have something pressing on my list. Running two companies is stressful and time consuming but my weekends are all mine and as long as I keep that habit going, I will find time to relax and rest. If I do happen to do a little bit of work on the weekends, I also have vowed to make sure it is not on a Sunday because that is my ultimate Lifetime movie lazy rest day along with spending time getting some church in. That’s important to me and all you have to do is make rest and relaxation important to you too so you don’t overdo anything, and when a new week rolls around you will be ready to jump right in and get the ball rolling again. So, find time to rest this year and find time to relax so you can make it a habit and not neglect yourself, your needs, your friends or your family. Take some mini vacations every month, or some staycations, and at least one big vacation once a year, and at least a few vacations alone. You will feel better about yourself, about other people and about life in general. Be brave when it comes to resting and relaxing so you can reap the benefits of the fruits of your labor later.

 

Reaping – Be Brave about Reaping What You Sow

Well we all know we reap what we sow right. This is so true. What you put out in the universe you will get back. It’s another form of karma. The Bible also talks about this and I think it would serve all of us well if we heeded the word in this aspect. We know that when we plant seeds in the ground, we have to wait for them to sprout forth and something comes out of the ground because of it as long as we water it. So, it is the same for life. You have to plant seeds in the areas where you want to see growth, otherwise nothing will come of what you want. People often say money doesn’t grow on trees and no one is going to come knocking at your door and offer you a job and this is so true. If you really want money then you will do something to get it but you have to be careful. If you water that seed with criminal behavior or evil then you will suffer the consequences of being lawless and evil. It will come back on you in some way. If you water that seed with careful planning, and with clean water, and you have the patience to wait for the growth then you will get the benefits of what you planted. You will reap what you sow. If you are unemployed and you spend some time every day sending out your resume and contacting employers and putting yourself out there eventually you will get a job. Someone will hire you because you put your faith to work and we all know faith without works is dead. If you sit around and do nothing then nothing will happen unless you have some family or friends with major connections. But even then, you still have to get up and go to the interview or show up and do the work.

Let’s get a little bit deeper. Some people may be sour about this new year because of COVID-19 and ok, I get it. It sucks to have to wear a face covering everywhere you go and I see people wearing it outside too and I honestly don’t think that is necessary but people do it anyway. And yes, we watch the news and many, many deaths are reported every day in the thousands which I don’t believe. Where are they burying these bodies? Anyway, that kind of news is enough to put total fear in people so you don’t want to think about having an awesome and prosperous and fun new year because you are wo worried about getting coronavirus from your neighbor or family member or co-worker or even the person in line at the grocery store in front of you. Honestly, it’s foolish to be afraid of COVID-19 because if you do get it, there is a vaccine now, and if you die then it’s over. I don’t mean to be funny about that but what will be will be and we have to be strong enough to realize we are not completely in control of anything. Once we understand this then we can be a little calmer in the midst of chaos and uncertainty which has happened over the course of history.  It’s normal, it’s life. Sometimes there is chaos and sometimes it is quiet. If we walk around fearful or refuse to leave our homes then we will be miserable. We are sowing fear and we will reap fear and uncertainty because of it. So, I say just live your life and be brave in your approach to reap what you sow so you can make sure what you reap is what you truly want in life. Take some time to write down what you really want (that’s the sowing and planting the seed) and then figure out what it will take to get it (that’s the reaping). Plant seeds of love, hope, peace, kindness, friendship, forgiveness, maturity, responsibility and you will reap those things in return and that will bring you joy in this new year. Be brave, figure out what the seed is, I know you are smart enough to do that and don’t expect your reaping to happen overnight. Understand that growth takes time, it comes in stages and sometimes you may not see any growth at all. So be patient so what you planted can stay planted for the time it needs to stay planted and then you will be ready for the reaping. Patience is key so do wait for what you want and you will enjoy 2021 whether it comes to you this year or later and please, be brave about it.

 

 

Recognition – Be Brave about Recognizing What You Need to See and Acknowledging Others

Let’s face it, life is full of opportunities to give the people we admire kudos and to make sure we tell our children and friends and family how amazing they are and how brilliant or smart they are. Compliments and recognition are very important to the ones we love, the ones we interact with, our friends, our neighbors, our co-workers, or just our connections. People need recognition and if you fail to give that then it probably won’t be given to you. Recognizing others does not mean that we need to be fueled by compliments. On the contrary, it means we do need to feel good about ourselves but have to recognize ourselves as well. This can be combined with the Relationships “R” because this habit improves your relationships and makes you more likeable. If you wait for people to compliment you then you will not be able to compliment yourself and believe it. You will always be looking to others to make you feel good for some kind of accomplishment or something amazing or cool that you did and you don’t always need that. That means you are depending on others to feel good about who you are. You have to start with recognizing yourself and allowing that to fuel your actions to move forward and keep creating your masterpieces, and then when others recognize you then you will believe it and you won’t shy away from compliments nor will you be expecting them. If they come great, if not, still great, because you already know you are awesome and all you have to do is tell yourself that when you look in the mirror and do things so you believe it.

Now, after you recognize yourself you will have succeeded at learning to squash jealousy. No one wants to hang around or be around a jealous person with a jealous spirit all the time. If you are one of those people who gets jealous about everything under the sun no matter what it is then you have some self-work to do and you have to be brave enough to take this first month of the new year to get that work started. Begin by giving small compliments. If someone just won something make sure you congratulate them. Send Happy Birthday wishes to people on your social media. Recognize that person who just landed an awesome job, tell your bestie you can’t wait to ride in their new car, tell you sister or brother you are excited he or she is engaged and you want to help plan the wedding, tell your co-worker you love her new hairdo, tell your boss he or she did an awesome job planning the marketing event.

Find something and someone to recognize when they should be recognized. If you stay silent then people will automatically think you are jealous and you may not be. But when you recognize others, they appreciate you more because you noticed something amazing that they did or something great they are good at and they will want to be around you more. Some people are so insecure that they feel like saying something nice about someone will take away from them and who they are and that’s silly. Insecurity allows jealousy to find a nice cozy place in your heart and live there and if you allow that you will suffer in the relationship department and you will refuse to recognize others when they need your recognition. If you are made in the image of God then you are pretty awesome already because God is awesome. That means none of us are lacking an amazing personality or ability to be recognized. Be careful not to do things for vain conceit or glory so you feel too good about yourself and get a big head because people will see it, it’s obvious. Be sincere and modest about it and sincere and modest about complimenting and recognizing others and you will feel good about you, they will feel good about you and they will feel good about themselves. Dale Carnegie says this in his book and it’s so true. If you walk away from people and they remember you and want to see you again that means you did something for them in your conversations and that usually means you didn’t talk all about yourself nor did you shy away from complimenting them or making them feel good. You want to make people feel good so you can feel good too and have the meaningful connections you desire.

Don’t forget to recognize your family members because a lot of times we neglect or forget the ones that are closest to us because they are always there and we take them for granted. So, make sure they know you are not the green-eyed monster and recognize what they do and please don’t forget their birthday. Birthdays are very important because it is the most special day of the year for everyone. It is the day God chose you to be a part of the world and God gave you a life to live and enjoy so you have to see it as a special day. So, when you recognize others on their special day, they feel really good that you remembered their birthday or that you took a few minutes out of your precious time to recognize them on their special day. Also, don’t forget to recognize yourself. It’s ok to toot your own horn every once in a while, as long as you don’t get too big of a head. Go ahead and be brave and courageous enough to tell the world the amazing things you have done or are doing. You don’t have to brag, just be confident in who you are and what you can do and what you have to offer and you will attract people to you all the time.  Your sincere and modest confidence will invite others to be confident enough to recognize you too. Lastly, we need to recognize what we need in life, what does not work for us and what we will stand for and walk away from. When you recognize these things and act or behave accordingly you will spend less time cursing yourself out and hating who you are or beating yourself up for a choice you didn’t want to make. So, take time to recognize what is important and what is valuable to you and you will be able to move forward successfully and be brave about it.

 

Realization – Be Brave about Having Self-Realization and Realizing What Matters Most in Life

There are so many things that we learn throughout our lives and it would serve all of us well if we took the time to reevaluate those learning experiences in life that could get us through a tough time later. It is important in life that we have clear goals, clear thinking, clear motives and clear understanding about who we are, what we want, and what we can do. This is all about realization. We have to come to the bold realization that no one is going to make waves for us, no one else is going to give us exactly what we want, and no one is going to be more to us than we can be to ourselves. We also have to realize that without a spiritual connection to a higher source we may be missing out on discovering the true meaning of life, which is what we all think about from time to time. What are we here for? If we realize that question can open so many doors for us then we will be less likely to live a lackadaisical life and be lazy all the time. Some people just wake up and go through the motions and live mediocre lives and I don’t believe we were put here for that. If we think about how helping or healing one person can catapult us into an adventurous livelihood of surprises and wonder then we may think twice about sitting around all day doing nothing. Think about what you learned from any losses you had last year. Take stock of what you think is missing in your life and then give it meaning and then step into reality and realize that you don’t have it anymore and you probably won’t get it back especially if it’s a loved one that died, so now all you have left is something to grow on and something to let go of so you can move forward.

So, figure out what you learned from that loss and let it move you forward in peace. Realize that loss is a part of life. Realize that love comes truly when we love ourselves first. Realize that an “I’m sorry” could be the most powerful words you say to a person and it could save a life. Realize that time waits for no one. Realize that any of us can die at any moment and that means we should not take anyone, including ourselves for granted. Realize that no one is here to tell us exactly how to live our lives including God because God did not create robots but gave us the instructions for living and God wants us to make our own decision and choices. Realize that we have a limited amount of time to do the right thing towards everyone including ourselves and if we don’t the wrong thing will happen and it will hurt bad. Realize that life gets sad sometimes and we will have down days but luckily there can be balance and we have the power to turn a frown into a smile at any moment. Realize that we are all spirits in bodies and our skin color, features, hairstyle or texture, height or weight, language or accent, gender or shape, beliefs or choices, abilities or disabilities are not reasons to disrespect or disregard others. We are all equal in the eyes of God and once we come to this realization we can better communicate with each other, we will get along better, we will love deeper and more meaningful, we will connect more effectively, we will apologize if we cause an error in our ways, we will correct our mistakes, we will see the beauty in every face and body, we will respect ourselves and others bodies, we will ask for what we want instead of trying to steal it or take it, we will live joyfully and not skeptically or sorrowfully, we will serve God and not satan, we will respond instead of ignore, and we will pardon and forgive instead of curse and get revenge.

When we come to these realizations life will be better for all of us and we will not only look forward to this new year and every one that comes after it but we will live a life of courage and be brave in our pursuit to eliminate fear and hate and miscommunication so we can all utilize the above 7 R’s and make the most of this thing, this precious gift we call life. So be brave this January and every month thereafter and do some things different this year that you did not do last year so you can renew yourself and your life, cultivate effective relationships and cherish the ones you have without neglecting them, take responsibility for yourself and those under your care, find time to rest and relax on a regular basis, learn to reap the good from the good seeds you plant and sow, recognize how important you are and amazing you are and do the same for others and then realize that we are all here to love one another with like-mindedness, respect, dignity and the knowledge that God did not create this planet for just white people or just Mexicans or just black people or just Asians or for just any other race. We are all in this together and together, as I tell my youth clients and followers, we can take it higher. I hope you use you 7 R’s wisely this year and I hope you get exactly what you expect and what you plan and take action to execute. That’s usually how it works. You get what you put out there so make it good and be brave about it. Have a very happy, joyful and blessed New Year!

 

A special gift to get you off on the right food planning your New Year –

Fabulous - Build Better Habits & Achieve your Goals (thefabulous.co)

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoTlFJh_6NE - A special message by Steven Furtick I think everyone should hear

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=joel+osteen – I say choose the one that resonates with what you need to hear right now!