Personal Growth Archives - Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Overwhelmed? Spiritual Ways to Respond

Overwhelmed is an understatement especially during the holidays when year-end deadlines are looming and new year goals emerge. It’s important to stay healthy like this budding avocado tree…

It’s also best to stay focused and look at life not as seriously.

...Seriously, 😳 I say this through the lens of my experiences where I went through many seasons where I couldn’t see the forest through the trees.

My work life was overwhelming.

…Then that all disappeared… poof!, like that… it was gone. That happened for many seasons so I caught on and started over in different work industries, jobs, and relationships.

It feels good to have comical relief and laugh it out with new beginnings and pivots.

Personally, I know the universe is laughing along.

…and maybe that’s how you feel?

In 2020, all of our lives changed when the world shut down and daily offices closed.

Each of us had our choices as to how to respond.

For me in my microcosm, I took that as a spiritual sign.

The situation only confirmed further to me that everything in this life is going to keep changing, along with the good, bad, and ugly.

…That’s how this life is meant to be so our planet can survive and thrive.

Embracing that we’re in a spiritual experience and journey can help us see this better.

Because none of us are handed manuals to our lives… that look very different than our co-workers or neighbors living next to us… and even more different than our friends and families we know intimately.

And that’s how I came to grips that this life is about gathering experiences.

…It’s not a spectator sport like the famous baseball player, Jackie Robinson, said.

Life is like a sport that’s constantly in play and you never know what will happen until it happens.

The good and bad plays are the experiences that make us grow and gain new perspectives.

Good experiences make us want to go back, and bad ones…well, they add burden weight if we allow them to.

…But they also makes us head in another (often opposite) direction to grow even more and get past, if we’re open to seeing it that way.

…And feeling overwhelmed is one weight indicator that can make us want to choose a better or another path.

When I worked in the corporate world for two decades for multiple industries, stress was a frequent common daily response.

You got used to it (even though the body never does).

Stress is the body’s way of coping for unnatural circumstances (that stress is processed in the mind-body).

And longterm chronic stress is not the good life habit we want or need to live.

…So when I left the corporate world, it took years for a new life and breakthroughs (rebirth) to break out and sink in. Because I was still the same person.

It was like I traded in a familiar used car for a different and new set of wheels (life). Then I was like those transformer toy cars (…maybe you’re old enough to remember?)…

…Flipped around, they could change styles in a heartbeat, as they were built with two styles… and you could choose which one you were experiencing at any moment.

Almost like two personalities or people…

I could use my old corporate skills that came in handy (minus the stress headaches in the job 😉)… and bring creative energy to my newfound work with a different daily design.

My new life was anti-aging compared to the old one. It came with normal 6-8 sleeping hours without an alarm clock.

I didn’t feel like a robot going through the motions of the week. 🤖 And I didn’t feel like a panicky human with constant heart palpitations lurking around every corner.

I could enjoyably stay up late to watch shows and not pay for it the next day.

…And when I lost all my computer data that can happen often with this new digital age, I didn’t freak out like I would’ve before in the corporate days.

I didn’t even worry one iota.

Instead I looked at it as a way to save me from the hassle of having to delete and make micro decisions on files that would be outdated soon enough.

My new assistant was technology working! 😁

So I went from one paper-filled world when I was working with foodie event contracts to paperless and data less.

And less data clutter is a metaphor for re-routing me.

But that was just the beginning……

When I reported to myself in this newly defined role of working for myself for the first time, I no longer felt overwhelmed.

I sometimes worked 8 hours a day, but those hours felt productive.

I didn’t watch the clock in excitement for the work day to end.

I also found time to do yoga. All you need is a mat and a few minutes. 🧘🏻‍♀️

And I worked on what inspired me as leading me to the path that I was meant to go, that’s purpose and spiritual.

…I could also ran errands on my time. Those mini-escapes let me have more quiet time…

…Quiet time allows for the inner self and spirit to get a word in edgewise.

I could find what my season is about on any day… I didn’t have to wait 6-months later for reality to kick in and feel like I was in a never-ending rat race job I didn’t like… or was missing out on something like a life opportunity..

…That btw is where every job I held in the past eventually landed.

In this new life, I could navigate and adjust daily what my next life step was and is.

There was a peace and calm in knowing that it would work out or else I would be doing something else I was meant to be doing.

But didn’t come without some stress like learning to trust that the Universe would provide.

Some stress is good because it keeps us motivated.

If you don’t have a bear on your back, you tend to get comfortable.

But when you’re backed into a corner, you tend to put pressure on yourself to make things happen quicker.

And I’ve come to grips that stress means you’re working, coming up with solutions, and contributing to our world of chaos.

Those gray hairs come from stress turned platinum. 😁

…And those platinum hairs are purposefully chic because you still care what you look like in the mirror and how others see you daily. 🪞

You’re also showing up for your part, so your stress is not in vain.

…And you’re on your journey to finding that sweet spot of your purpose and what you are meant for.

That’s spiritual and beyond outward talent that’s important.

…But talent is ever changing and your spiritual essence is not. Talent can die at any time. Spirit moves and changes with you until the end.

You’re not likely to be overwhelmed by your spirit that is quietly whispering and subtle.

You and I don’t have to be seniors to know that… and between the two of us, you and I have seen so many examples of those we know who didn’t find their changing purposes guided by their spirit in life.

…Over time the shiny and new transformers became dull and listless.

Their engines aren’t revved up because they’ve given up on change in themselves.

But that won’t happen to you as long as you don’t give up on growing… you’re bound to succeed in your desires.

But if you feel you need a tune-up, maybe instead of doing the same things you’ve done, consider taking a moment to do something radically different for your day to escape the regular rhythm flow.

The world and your work will still run with your pause.

Like: escape and read a book you would never consider before, with hopes to learn something new about yourself. 📚

Self-discovery is underrated because it’s invisible in the air, but we can inspire our wonder and stimulate our curiosity.

I find that reading books about other’s lives and memoirs helps me to stay grounded and learn things about my own life… and not take life so seriously!

We’re on a spiritual journey in life and when we know that, we aren’t as overwhelmed with what’s going on around us.

And enjoy the daily ride for all its parts. 🏎️

And if reading isn’t calling you: you could start writing a personal essay journal-style if you don’t want to feel overwhelmed.

Dare yourself.

Let out your thoughts and emotions. You can always crumple it up and delete it later.

Let the intention be that you learn more about your inner self.

And maybe discover your creativity.

Creativity is an escape and a sign that you’re out of overwhelmed feelings.

It’s a spiritual gift.

And you could find your calling that way.

That’s what happened to me… I wrote over a hundred 100 personal essays and put them out in the world.

And I never stopped…

…But I could’ve easily missed the writing calling.

And I almost did… had I chosen to stay in the corporate working world.

Because then and there I would be worrying what I would say and put out in the world.

That would create more stress and overwhelm than worth sharing.

But in my chosen new way o life, I creatively write and post during my previously forbidden corporate work hours.

And those are my carved out, glorious sacred work hours…

The world freezes around me and my blood pressure lowers in this cool, calm healthy environment. ☃️

Hopefully this inspires you to escape and find a way to emerge from any overwhelmed seasons… and find your spiritual schtick.

Thanksgiving Quote For Happiness

Thanksgiving is a universal reminder time of thanks. One way that often takes a back seat is to love ourselves.

That way, we have more room to give love and pass on the abundance to family, neighbors, and others on our journey path.

Loving ourselves means forgiving ourselves and others, like God forgave us. We want to feel grateful.

If you’re stuck, maybe ask: what am I hung up on that I don’t have?

Because we have so much more to be grateful for than what we don’t have.

Our brains easily fool us into focusing on the wrong and negative things.

And part of what we don’t have that we think we want right now is going to be what gives us a better future.

Because life is rigged in our favor in our belief and faith.

This isn’t something we’re born with knowing, but over time and experience you grow wiser and the knowing inside you becomes more clear.

Daily thought choices determine our future view of ourselves, our lives, success, and happiness.

Thanksgiving quote:

“Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.” – Deepak Chopra

Even though none of us know the future outcomes no matter what age we are.

But the answers are inside us waiting for the ripe-ready reveal time to birth.

That’s a spiritual way to look at it and how I see it from my reflecting back lens of life experiences. I didn’t see that back in my 30s (so don’t worry if you think you’re a late bloomer).

It’s a gradual shift like time.

And over time, you can realize nothing in your past was wasted. The hard things you went through made it easier for you now or in the future. And the dumb things done (we all have them!) made you smarter now.

It’s in our future where we get new revelations.

And most of our answers to our life’s purposes are already inside us.

We first have to grow up, learn to change our auto-responses, and heal from our past hurts that will help us.

…That’s how this one Life we get to live keeps getting better, and our perspectives change because we allow them to with our open curiosity.

The famous saying is that this (as in life) is not a dress rehearsal.

But for those of us who believe in Heaven, it is.

We’re here for experiences and growth.

And as we gather more experiences, we learn and grow. That’s the purpose of this life as I believe. And we do that by ourselves and with others.

And if you want to make this a new season different than past ones, then dig deeper in the well for your answers.

They’re there! 🎯

You only stay stuck when you box yourself in… I remember years ago where I spent a couple Thanksgivings abroad. It’s always a weird feeling because that special Thursday is only celebrated in America.

Initially I felt I was missing out. But then, it made me realize I could be thankful anywhere I was.

Thanksgiving holiday is not about the food… entirely (as I’m from the foodie world 🥘). But getting away from the holiday food traditions helped me to break out of the “this is how it is.”

And that breaking out allowed for embracing growth in future seasons. And not just for new situations, but also a new hopeful attitude.

I found early-on in my journey that my ego blocked these types of beliefs in my auto-thoughts. And I allowed it to because I didn’t know any better.

The brain would serve up the woes-me thoughts for what I didn’t have and wanted.

Part of the process and journey was learning this unhelpful built-in ego feature as a first step.

I wish it didn’t take me beyond 35 years to learn, but I’m glad it didn’t take another 35 years (or never) 😉

And breaking through, when I could tap into my deeper compassionate and feeling sides, that’s when I got more breakthroughs.

…I was less judgmental about myself and more forgiving that projected out to the world… to judge less and forgive more.

Imagine if that radiating energy caught on in most of us. It would be one big ball of massive fire in the world! ☄️ We could use that energy to help and grow our world filled with challenges.

But starting with ourselves is the first and most important place to begin, and keep daily renewing…

Breaking down self-judgment walls and bringing back self-love keeps us growing.

…It helps you and me see better.

Especially if you didn’t feel the love when you were younger or in your more recent situational past.

…When I felt the self-pity from setbacks in life, I bounced back by finding my gratitude and giving spirit (thanksgiving)

Giving can be sharing, donating time or money, providing, spending time, encouraging words, and sending positive loving vibes to the world. 💕

It can be as simple as recognizing that it’s not all about you or me.

It can be about paying forward gratitude for the blessed things I already have or experiences I had.

Getting sensitized and feeling again knocked me out of gray confusion clouds and into sunnier skies.

We are meant to keep growing forward in life so we don’t put ourselves back in the shoes of our former selves. Been there done that.

In today’s moments, we can acknowledge that we’re in a better place by finding examples from our past.

Comparing our new level today with our past level gets us to our next better level of tomorrow.

Proof of this is easy to find for all of us…

If you go waaayyy back to the past as kids (or young adults we were called) that none of us are anymore… back then, we were more impressionable as our younger selves.

We had to get everything okay’d before proceeding as how culture and life is setup.

As pre-adults, we didn’t have the means to do the things we can do today on our own.

And if we did do them then, we’d probably have gotten lost and would be ungrateful as we didn’t fully understand what we had in front of us.

We were still developing our adult minds.

Today as found former-lost baby sheep, we have wiser perspectives to draw from. 🐑

Congratulating our growth is one small step and happy way we can be thankful for this season in life even if it doesn’t look anything like we hoped for!

The focal point sign that we can dwell on is “you’re here”… and it’s years later and you no longer have the same problems you had back there.

So you could come up with a list of what you’ve arrived at today.

Imagine if you had the same challenges and choices you had as a young adult, you’d be so frustrated because you’re no longer with that same mindset. But you’re not there, so that’s one thing you can be thankful for.

And those little thanks help you to embrace where you imperfectly are.

We’re still and always will be dynamic works-in-progress.

Thankfully so because that means we’re alive! 🤸🏻

And collecting up all those fond past memories that you can re-live in present moment happiness helps to keep us rejuvenated.

Then in the tough times (the ones that so blind-shockingly happened), those help grow us into better people.

We become more deeply grateful for what we have… maybe not immediately, but we end up developing stronger character in survival and in the process to get to the other side. 🌈

Even wasted time we feel now was well spent because we learned the lesson to never go there again. And now we don’t have to painfully back track and re-learn the same lesson.

And all of us are walking examples of lessons learned.

We can keep going, getting inspired daily, and FEELing-thinking our way to our thanksgiving.

Holidays like Thanksgiving are welcomed reminders that give us reason to be thankful.

…And to say “thank you” more often.

Focus on “you.”

See yourself through others.

And practice old-fashioned manners and simple Thanksgiving sayings like please that never gets old and goes a long way.

Transformation Change Lead to Purpose

Transformation change such as changes in identity (and realizing that you won’t go back to past and old identities that no longer serve you) lead to personal growth and purpose.

That’s what this article is about.

And I believe what this Life is meant for (…while enjoying the perks and good foods that our living planet offers). 🎉

Consider: why would you stay the same as you started as an adult? You know the better way now than you did even a few years ago.

As adults, one identity we all grow out of is our childhood identity as a rite of passage.

With more years, we gain more experience, knowledge, privileges and freedoms, and respect for our wisdom gained and shown in our lives and communities we belong in.

Accumulated wisdom is a wealth of knowledge as byproduct of transformation change.

And life transformations are about wise growth and celebration of life where each year we live, we can celebrate a new year and our birthdays.

We also get the free-will choice to live life differently than our past… making healthy changes.

And a positive transformation change from personal growth would enhance our future lives (for the rest of our lives).

Embracing a new change inside us could change us deeply.

While we’re not in control of our life destinies or even what opportunities come our way, we can take wise daily steps that lead us to the right ones for us when we’re ready.

If we’re open to and available when something big comes our way or when opportunities call that may not be what we thought or thought we wanted, that can accelerate our growth and reaching our fullfilling purposes we’re destined for.

If we’re stuck, going in a different direction is worth investigating.

Avoiding a new direction in front of you would be like trying to turn back time or fit the genie back in the bottle to the former life seasons with the better perspectives you have now.

Because today and now is already yesterday tomorrow. The clock and current situations move whether we want it to.

…So being proactive and unafraid to jump into our lives’ fullness is a good way to look at making big leap changes that’ll help us sooner and head us toward our brighter future. 🚀

Being open to what we didn’t know before as truth and NOW DO know is even better.

No regrets of the past because our past led us to better discoveries and ways today.

And that keeps us fearless and pressing onward.

Making a radical transformation change (personality, beliefs, and identities) could be the difference maker. And from what I know, it comes from within…

It starts with you.

No one can make those decisions for you except you.

And no one can make other people’s life decisions except them.

So often we want to help others and our input backfires.

They do what is not best for them anyway because of their strong emotions or beliefs running inside that can go in any direction.

And sometimes what we miss about what they did was actually their best for them at the time. They were called to a different destiny than the one we thought they should head toward.

We have no control over that or them, so we stay mostly in our lane and focus on working on ourselves for our healthy lives.

I think everyone reaches a crossroad in their life where they get to pause, wonder, and productively cross-examine if they’re still on the right path… not the right career or where to live that changes over time anyway… but the higher path that’s also the wiser path.

I know for me that became evident when I had life problems in every balance wheel of life area that gave me my first gray hair stress sign at 25. That was not a wisdom hair.

…I didn’t know where to turn. So that set me on a quest to seek answers and a transformation change and transformational path that I may not have entered otherwise.

And when those problems gradually resolved (that felt like forever at the time but lasted a few years), new season challenging circumstances took their place.

Transitions happened often in my life. A lot like today’s world where two years is a long time.

But back then, I felt like the poster child for adaptability in new work environments.

From taking close, harder looks from my experiences, I realized the beliefs I had were mostly culture-influenced.

…And doing me no healthy good. They were hurting me.

I grew up and worked mostly in the Washington DC metro area that’s one of the most competitive areas in the country.

I leaned on the external clues to measure success, growth, and happiness.

But over many packing up moves and career moves, I realized it’s not about career or where you live that matters most.

It’s what you carry inside you that determines what happens next and how healthy you are (mind-body connection).

And I’ll pause here a second to recognize that I know not everyone sees life problem signs as helpful ones to make a life change…

But doing so is a gift.

It was a blessing for me so I didn’t have to live the same life I started in.

…And one that can make designed life transformation change more smooth and enjoyable than fighting truths (what’s meant to be) that can be exhausting and anxiety-fear filled.

Truths align and lead you to fulfilling purposes and your best future destiny outcome.

An illustration: we see signs blown up in celebrity’s lives who live under microscopes in America.

In prime media channels, we see whether their lives have evolved in a healthy or in an unhealthy way… such as trying to live their past selves because that’s what made them into a celebrity identity.

But holding on would hold them back in personal growth and transformation where they’re meant to move into other areas with greater impact.

It’s the same for us peeps in ordinary lives. 😊

We are all on this journey of life living and learning in the One Life we‘re given, where we look out from our perspective. No one else has the exact same perspective.

We can make our vantage point an advantage in our lives.

The point we stand is different for all of us snowflakes, but to grow, each of can ask ourselves: what am I missing in this life?

Questioning life is always good… because there’s nothing more important than life.

And if the complicated mind feeds you ideas that there is a companion, a pet, dream job, or better career that hasn’t shown up yet… then keep looking deeper and higher.

Because none of those earthly desires are answers to forever happiness. It’s what you do within that will bring the daily joy and happiness to carry you along moment by moment.

External things are a temporary vantage point.

If you were living out the dreams, after some time reality challenges would show up and the honeymoon happy feelings would wear off because now it’s every day… and that’s why we have good and bad days so we can celebrate the good ones.

Happiness is not about getting what you want, like children and young adults would tell you.

Fleeting happy feelings and getting stuff keep us moving ahead in life until we’re more mature, so we can handle more and get to the fulfilling, fruit bearing stuff that become our life passions in ripe timing.

It’s the deeper discovery within and above that will bring the joy on Life’s journey. And life transformations are the vehicles.

The life choices made today take us to tomorrow. Wisely, they will also be a part of the past soon enough. So the only thing not fleeting and temporary is who you and I are in our now vantage point that we look out from that moves with us.

We carry us and our vantage point everywhere we go, even on vacations.

And if ever stuck, we can ask the Universe to help us with our intentions: can you take me higher?

Reminds me of the song lyrics in “Higher” by Creed:

At sunrise I fight to stay asleep, cause I don’t want to leave the comfort of this place, ‘cause there’s a hunger, a longing to escape.

It’s a choice to get insight from our higher selves. This accelerates growth and in areas that may never grow if we stay doing life the same way we’ve always done.

One healthy way to look at it is we embrace transformation change.

That’s the deeper wisdom and the higher path.

Those will lead to the highest purposes for our lives here on earth.

I used to be afraid deeper spiritual change would lead me to a life I would hate or a life as a martyr, but trust led to grander things than I could have imagined.

There’s no magic age where purpose aligns in our lives, but the sooner we reach up and out, the sooner we get to leave our former caterpillar identities we started out as.

We get to transform to butterflies sooner and enjoy the sweet nectar and honey that comes along.

In yoga terms, we can go from looking down to the ground in caterpillar pose to opening up in butterfly pose and choosing to look out and up.

That’s the wise growth path I know and maybe one that helps you on your journey. 🌱

Ego Block Removal For The Life You’re Meant to Live

I share a lot about internal happiness because that’s the forefront journey I’ve been on.

And the number one reason I have found of why people aren’t living happy is an ego block that can steal one’s daily happiness.

An example of this is with people who strive for perfection…

But most people don’t come out and say they are perfectionists. It’s a vulnerable admittance to share. So if you are one or know someone who is, you can probably relate to this.

Where the opposite of perfection is imperfection.

And we’re all imperfect on this planet, so perfection is a pie-in-the sky illusion.

For one, we all forget at some point (maybe regularly) so that automatically shows our minds ability to be imperfect.

Our minds can even foil us to believe that we’re not imperfect if we forget once or twice. That complicates matters.

And that’s due to our ego or an ego block that’s present but invisible to the eye.

If we focus on what’s not perfect, we can obsess.

Or we focus on all the wrongs in this (and our) world instead of what’s right and going well.

…That’s the harmful ego’s way, and we get to flip the script and choose to outsmart our ego.

A common scenario can be where we have what we want in front of us, and then milliseconds in, we want something else… when the perfect thing (whatever it is that we wanted minutes ago), is staring at us in the face and our minds are now telling us differently.

Again, generated by deceiving ego that backfires in its plot line to protect us, as often we don’t need that coat of protection.

AND we don’t need those crooked evil forces that have a hold on us or show up in self-defeating (imposter) ways.

BUT we buy into unless we are aware.

Another way ego slithers into our daily lives is when we do or say things that gets others’ approval instead of the acts that we deeply know in our heart is best and our higher evolved selves would be proud of.

…But it’s not our fault.

It’s our ego construction that’s built that way by design.

This helps us in Life to keep evolving.

Because if things were perfect (or perceived as perfect by us), we would stay the same when we are meant to grow into better beings.

So this is what we should know:

We have an ego in our minds that can creates chaos.

It’s our job responsibility to manage our ego for our better lives.

The ego is one thing that makes us all human on earth.

But the scariest part of it all is that most people in this world walk around unaware of the fact of their 24-7 ego influences… and mostly because it’s not visible like a red traffic sign. 🛑

We can’t see the ego influence in minute by minute play because we think it is us and our thoughts. We buy into the lying ego thought narratives.

And the only way out (and our saving grace) is in our choice to be aware and observe our thoughts and actions… and deliberately choose better or opposite ways.

Positive vs. negative.

Love vs. fear.

Productive vs. unproductive.

Worry vs. faith.

Peace vs. chaos.

Contentment vs. wanting what isn’t meant to be.

Joy vs. self-pity.

Responsibility vs. blaming others…

And if we choose to live uninformed, we stay unaware when poked… like when we were immature children and didn’t know any better.

When immature, we lack knowledge and stay ignorant that our ego will use to pull us in the wrong direction and push our buttons that hurts us and often others.

In nanosecond blinks, we can have a sharp reaction coming from our subtle and deep insecurities.

It can happen so quickly… someone cuts us off or does something to trigger us, or we turn on the negative news that widely opens the door to ego entering.

Unhealthy ego can seem so ordinary to us because when we don’t know that there’s another way to live that’s optimally higher… we keep ourselves living small.

Changing our thoughts daily is healthy.

And I believe 💯% needed for our mental health and for a kinder world to live in.

Like me, you probably weren’t schooled on this. No one you respected growing up taught you this. And if anything you were taught to BOOST your ego because you got praises and awards.

Our biggest defense is constant awareness and to fight off the mood sources that our world around us creates and show up to ourselves as the better half.

Live in a positive mental bubble with both feet on the ground knowing this world is imperfect.

…And you can be part of the solution.

You can bring a smile and more love, help others, and help yourself so you can help others.

Resist your awakened ego that automatically has a mind of its own and can fire itself up any time you’re awake.

…And fuel you with its hidden agenda that can subtly derail your better path in the moment.

And it gets missed…

Because the ego feeds us warped garbage when we’re half-mindlessly scrolling on the phone or watching a show to escape.

…And that’s our common cultural ways.

It’s easy when the world outside is noisy and there are busy distractions for the ego to have its power on us, instead of us being empowered.

…Like when you have an intent to have better eating habits, exercise regularly, or a prayer life and it doesn’t happen.

And not because there’s not enough time or energy in the day, because we all have the same time and we fit in what we want to do at the end of the day (and by the end of the day when our head hits the pillow).

We can have a number of daily excuses… but the bigger overarching reason is because our ego thoughts derailed us… and we allowed that.

When we’re unfocused, rather we choose to prioritize self-care, nature’s gentle sounds, relaxation, and reset centering time to gain our focus back and to hear the nudging whispers that’s our better lifeline.

…And that sends ego (loud thoughts) back packing into the little corner it belongs in…

Until the next time, when you’ve caught on maybe just a little quicker and do the same restore or similar remedy.

Turn your ego weakness (that we all have) into your strength.

Ego is not your friend, it’s a part of you that you can turn to good.

If your ego keeps you up all night (worry thoughts, anxiety, and stress) or keeps you from being daily productive, do something proactively different and healthy to acknowledge and commemorate that ego no longer has a hold on me.

Get those inside warm and fuzzy feelings back.

Today is a new day.

Tell yourself: “I can’t get back yesterday or get back my sleep” but I can live alive today in awareness. Oh, and btw little ego, you’re outta here!”

…Because I’m here now, and I’m choosing to take the fork in the road of the better life.

And the reason I’ve wised up to our ego’s way, besides that I’m a human 😊 is that…

In my own life experience, it was years of personal suffering and beating myself up in self-pity for the smallest things that nooboodddy was thinking about except for moi … and that helped me to see what I see today and in this ripe adult time in my life.

But for yearsss, I walked around with my head in a bubble, letting repeated tapes run in my mind about life situations.

I was anything but present in the moment, and that’s the worst feeling because it sucks the life energy out (when you could’ve spent that time productively exercising or reading a book).

But ego trickster spins the idea that’s how our (as in ego and my) brain works.

“Uh-no thank you,” says my evolved self.

But back then, I didn’t not know how there was a better way or how to shut those lesser ways off (and that’s how it is for most of us living with a blind ego).

Learning to exercise higher thought mind muscles is not as easy as lifting 20 lb weights.

I didn’t know better mind-body ways to help lift myself out of the fog.

So I had no fighting chance in the beginning unaware.

But in this life, there’s higher help that lifts the fog eventually and provides revelation.

And in my case, a spiritual intervention.

…Only after some years passed from that point did it click why some people I encountered in my past acted incongruent at times.

In some of those situations, I felt blindsided by their actions and the ripple effects caused.

…And being fully objective, maybe some people felt that way about me with some of my actions earlier on in life when I didn’t know better and they never told me.

I used to think the unproductive conversations were differences in opinions or personality.

But then there were times when with the same people, we could agree to disagree. So I wondered what made the difference…

And the common intersection I got epiphany on was that the ego was at peace or acting out.

And the fully formed ego theory I now know as truth, I believe is the cause of most people problems (…and yes affects everyone in the world).

…It’s like the close family and friends that talk about their past that they never got past, or who gloat about their former glories in a seemingly storytelling-engaging way… but is ego in disguise.

And you know it’s ego because in those ego moments the high ego has to get their point, story, or agenda across. And it’s not to help others.

All of us who have been around everyday people have come across these situations where we unknowingly helped egg their ego on.

…And then as more proof that ego was the problem, there were situations where someone declared that so-and-so had a high ego (that’s unhealthy) or the high ego person even admitted it themselves.

But our own ego dismissed that information tidbit at the time said because that’s not when the high ego person is acting up… They’re acting cool and humble.

…So our minds dismiss that admission and never files away that piece of information because to the brain receiving, it’s like: what do I do with that information that doesn’t have any attached action or outcome? The statement is misaligned with the action.

So we miss the high ego signs, and keep allowing ego offenders in our lives to keep offending.

Bottomline: what we can do here is work on our own mental health-iness daily, constantly stay aware, and create our own self-happiness life story.

We can keep our own high ego at-bay that’s wanting to burst out.

It’s definitely worth the effort to be on guard of our ego and check in with our thoughts, feelings, actions, and reactions for our peace, so we don’t waste our productivity that includes our day’s joy.

And, have compassion for those who are still unaware.

We can love them and walk away from their toxicity.

Btw, this wasn’t the healthy post of what I was going to share this week, but I felt my spirit encouraging me even when the ego tried to block some words from me.

Have a happy week! 😊

Start Over Helps You (and My Blog Story)

Start over is a theme that many of us have experienced and maybe a lot since 2020. Whether we wanted to or not, it can be our ticket to our best lives… and that’s what this article is about so you can embrace your start over opportunities.

One thing we can all have a say in is… evolving in our personal growth and what matters to us.

Embracing what healthy gains we’ve made brings rewards for our daily lives.

And embracing starting over as a new way or perspective is a blessing gain…

It’s a micro mindset pattern shift you can practice in your day (maybe even today), so you can see and feel how start overs are good, and not bad or sad interruptions.

That self-training helps our future and best outcomes.

Because changes in life are meant to help you and if you see it that way, you help yourself grow and further.

For most my younger adult life I played the victim without knowing I had that internal narrative.

I also thought that choices I made would be permanent. I was naive.

And when good situations didn’t last, I was disappointed.

I saw them as failures.

And I fell for that over and over again.

If you didn’t have role models and influences growing up that drilled into you the more positive ways and helped shape your self-esteem, then that’s the pattern you’re likely to fall into.

And the saving grace is we have the Universe on our side as fall back and providing answers to us.

We may call it luck, but it’s part of the plan. 😉

You’ve probably heard the saying that the Universe keeps serving up the same lessons. The lessons are there to help us and not make us feel less than..

…I didn’t know that in my younger years.

And as years went by, I grew up in wisdom and got revelation, leaning more into internal truth.

Truth and reality aren’t the exact same thing.

Reality is what physically is happening or not happening. Truth are the thoughts that are real and factual. And lies are the opposite in false beliefs. Ego perception makes you believe they are real, when they are not.

And in that case, then anyone can be a victim to their own ego.

Recognizing this, my life realities started to better align with truth, where I also realized nothing stays the same.

I told my ego the truth, that it wasn’t just what I experienced.

Because everyone has their versions of uncertainty.

In my belief lies I had bought into, I was the only common denominator for the situations I faced.

So that made me the victim. But I turned that narrative around one situation at a time.

Rewriting my beliefs with love over ego, starting with experience outcomes (reality) showed me the deficit in my faulty thinking that my mind led me to believe.

And took me from victim to abundant mentality.

It was micro-start overs from little lie beliefs that got me over the hump.

Being abundant minded, changes the identity to someone who takes responsibility for changing her thoughts to positive, loving ones for better outcomes and perspectives.

Perspectives transform your life when no influences can.

And if a perspective change is what you think you need, this helped me:

This one exercise helped to changing the tide…

Let’s take something most of us have privilege to do every day: we take a shower.

And imagine if one day you do your regular shower routine but you don’t get most the soap off your body or shampoo out of your hair. Maybe you were distracted and busy with shower thoughts.

After you’ve dried off and gotten dressed for the day, you realize that small miss.

What are your options?

Live with the fact and try to forget about the remaining residue.

Or…

Take a few extra effort minutes to go back in the shower again and rinse off knowing that you’d have to dry with a towel again and essentially re-trace all the steps you would do when you got in the shower the first time. It’s a small hassle in a busy day.

And while most would probably just live with it and get on with their day…

If you have the extra few minutes, you’re better off to get back in the shower.

Why?

…So you can get your best day.

If you don’t do a redo, then you keep the residue theme running in your day as part of your thoughts and maybe a physical reminder.

If you do rinse off again, you start clean and fresh.

So those extra 5-10 minutes back tracking was worth the time.

Initially our lazy bone tendencies can kick in and resist.

But fight the urge and jump to the though part of what you’ll gain in those critical decision moments.

Change the thoughts in your mind to productive ones, such as: you’ll be happier later on.

Picture yourself happier.

Try this taking extra minutes with another daily self-care or micro routine you do that didn’t work out the first time… maybe cleaning, shower, or grooming routine.

Take an extra 5 minutes.

For the narcissist, you don’t have to tell them twice, but for the rest of us — those are good minutes.

The micro change in our new habit and patterns creates new perspectives.

Eventually you don’t mind a redo or start over whether it’s a shower or a season. You teach yourself not to succumb to immediate feelings and wants for better outcomes.

Embrace the lesson here is: don’t skip what will bring more joy and a clear mind as the biggest gain rewards.

And on a grander scale in your life, start over with what you first started with that has never left you. That you still think about today.

Those can be part of your dreams come true realities.

Another wisdom lesson is: forget time. Time never heals. As you grow wiser, you realize changes and experiences heal.

We can’t gain time. And the feeling of lost time can keep you stuck if you let it.

Like take me for example, I started a blog in 2009 that took off.

And a few months in I had to quit.

The blog was about my local area businesses I was living near and I ended up moving that year.

So the blog no longer made sense to me as I couldn’t be in that area, and it was hard to juggle writing with the busy work life I had in the hustle and bustle of DC.

Then in 2019, I started over where I picked up writing again.

And then started this blog in 2020.

Starting over in blogging again was so different the second time around.

I had some blogging skill experience under my belt but the landscape had changed.

In 2009, very few out there knew what a blog was.

And when I came back a decade later, the internet scape was full of blogs.

But that didn’t stop me as blogging is something I have felt passionate about since I got my first taste.

Despite the challenges, I still feel as passionate if not more, so I know it’s meant to be.

In your start over or start overs, if you come back, that’s a good sign too! Because most things in life we don’t go back to unless it’s meant for us.

…Maybe the first time we weren’t ready, the timing wasn’t right, or we needed to make a little tweak (or perspective adjustment in ourselves).

It was all of the above for my blog.

My blog topic this second go round is so much more personal and about helping my reader’s personal growth, happy life, and healthy living.

In my first blog experience where I got the chance to interview business owners, I wouldn’t have been ready yet to write on personal topics.

But with another decade, personal growth, and more life experiences, then I was able to launch and sustainably contribute writing in this blog.

So my encouragement to you, my blog article reader, is to use your start overs as your opportunity to take steps in the areas you couldn’t do the first time around when you weren’t quite ready.

The first time wasn’t a failure.

That was your introduction.

Going back is a high call.

We can miss our higher calling if we choose to look at time and deadlines as rules.

If we allow for our entire life to be the time span we accomplish our goals, then we open up opportunities.

How you finish is what matters most, not how you started.

So it’s never too late no matter if you’re in your 30s, 40s, or 60s and beyond.

And in the shower metaphor… by the end of your day, you won’t have remembered the time getting back in the shower, but you will remember feeling like a million bucks coming out and what you achieved that day because of your feelings… and that maybe you wouldn’t have if you let soapy thoughts last.

Just something to consider about your start over that every day and morning opportunity is. 🌅

I like to reset every day with new food creations. I was inspired to start over with this sweet potato squid turmeric salad bowl of anti-inflammatory food goodness. 🍠