Maybe it’s just the right now talking, but I don’t think I’ll ever forget this year. So many delicious and distasteful experiences. Yet, I feel, along with nearly everyone else I know, that 2015 is going to be major.
One practice I’ve picked up this year is reading my journals. I grow each time I do so. It’s empowering, even when saddening, to remember what I was going through. To reflect on what I was feeling at that specific time. Even when my circumstances were drastically different, I can always remember how I felt. Many times, I coincidentally (or not) choose entries that parallel how I’m currently feeling.
So in going forward, I had to go back for a sec. Here’s a review of the five biggest lessons that I’ve learned in 2014:
1. Everything you need, you have.
And if you don’t have it, then you have the resources to get it. This kind of falls in line with the teacher showing up when the student is ready. However, you have to be clear on what you want. Where are you going? What do you need to get there? Once you have the specific questions, then the specific answers will reveal themselves. It happens without fail. It’s important, too, that you’re calm enough to catch it. When your mind is all over the place, it’s too busy to see. All it sees is the obvious which are obstacles. Slow down, get still, fall silent, and witness the opportunities.
2. Your feelings are everything!
Every should’ve, could’ve, would’ve started with a feeling that I ignored. I’d also like to add “shouldn’t have.” Be it in business or just in life, follow your feelings. If something ain’t sitting right with you, analyze it. Figure out why. Once you know, act on it accordingly. Honor your feelings. You have a right and there’s a very valid reason why you feel the way that you do. And as one of my favorite girls, Akilah, asks, “How do you want to feel?” The answer and the actions following that question is everything!
3. Appreciate even the fucked up moments.
‘Cause Lord knows it won’t always be pretty. I damn near had a nervous breakdown back in May. There was hardly any money coming in. Bills were piling. My son was going through a rebellion stage. I’d begun developing health issues, which I’d never before in my life had to deal with. It was during this time that I learned many invaluable self-care practices that carry me to this day.
4. Your voice is perfect as is.
It can always be improved, and it will improve. In the meantime, be confident in its current state. It’s beautiful. Magnetic. It’s exactly what your targeted audience need to hear (or read). Through all of the formatting and SEO, I should still hear you when I read you. That’s your writing voice. I still have to catch myself. Doubting my voice is usually the result of comparing it to someone else, which leads me to the next lesson.
5. Mind who you follow and why.
Hear a lot about unfriending those with different opinions and values, but what about the other ones? What about those you envy? Those you compare yourself to? Secretly ridicule? These answers affect your vibration, which affects what you attract. Be mindful of that.
These are my top five, but I wanna know what yours consist of as well. Do share. And I’ve created a board to reflect the awesomeness of my 2014. Be sure to check that out.