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Motivational Mondays: Success Tips

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Have you ever had dreams of becoming successful? Do you truly want to win in life? Well. It’s possible. Anything that you have seen someone else do, you can do. Even if you haven’t seen a person accomplish your goals, hands down if you want it bad enough you can make it happen.

Although looking online tends to make things look so easy, in reality, that may not be the case. Hands down, becoming successful is hard work but it’s definitely obtainable. Many times doing your research on successful people who have come before you can be so motivating.

When you study the stories, principals, and habits of those who have made it before you, you begin to learn a lot. Learning the way that they live, think, and maneuver can save time and even expedite your own success.

I took the time to check out some success tips online and here’s a few that I found:

  • Be committed. Through commitment, you can gain motivation to pursue success.

Nothing will ever happen if you don’t stay committed. This means your can’t give up every time things don’t work out your way. Stay the course no matter what.

  • Learn from the journey.

Mistakes are going to happen. That’s a given. The goal is to learn from them and change your behavior. Figure out what changes need to take place and try again every time.

  • Think positively.

Being optimistic is imperative to your success. If you don’t know how to think of things on the bright side, you will never go too far. Of course bad times and bad days happen but perspective is everything.

  • Be honest with yourself.

You just have to. You’re not going to make it to where you want to be if you’re not honest about where you are along the way. You have to be real, take things for what they are but always go back to the drawing board.

  • Take away distractions.

Oh how easy it is to become distracted. But guess what, you can’t afford it. Learn to eliminate your distractions in whatever works best for you. If you have to find a new focus space because people keep bothering you, find it, whether it be a coffee shop or a local library. If it’s your phone turn it off or put it on Do Not Disturb. Whatever you need to do, do it. Focus is a must!

  • Count on yourself.

Not saying you shouldn’t expect to have any help, but you have to have a mindset of knowing that if it doesn’t get done it will! Have a back up plan. Know your stuff. Continue to learn. Load yourself with knowledge and bet on you every time.

These tips help to motivate those who want to be motivated. What are some tips that keep you going?

-LaShawnda S. Wilkins (@speaklifeshawnie)

Slow Progress Beats No Progress

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Stop beating yourself up about that thing you haven’t accomplished yet. Stop worrying about the timing of things happening. If a “thing” doesn’t happen when and how you want it to, don’t give up. Don’t be discouraged. Don’t be disappointed.

When you’re working to accomplish something, give yourself time. Many people want to lose weight but few people are actually willing and committed to change. Most people look at their bodies, find something that they don’t like or want to change and say, “I gotta get to the gym.”

They go to the gym for a few week or a few months and they quit. They get exhausted. They lose motivation. They drop a few pounds and think it’s over. Well, this in fact is a way to lose a few pounds but if your efforts don’t continue, that change will only be temporary.

Sometimes, it’s better to focus from a daily stand point rather than a temporary plan. It’s your daily habits that will lead to success. It’s what you’re willing to do every day. It’s what you’re willing to give up every day.

So I’d challenge you to begin to change your daily habits. Try to tailor your day to tasks that are going to get you where you want to be. Dig deep and seek the lifestyle you want to live instead of the results that you want.

Being results driven can make you think you’re not making progress even when it’s slow progress. Be driven by your habits. Focus on the lifestyle. Changing your perspective and counting your small wins is what matters.

Remember slow progress will always beat no progress.

-LaShawnda S. Wilkins (@speaklifeshawnie)

Working on You

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Working on you is by far the most important task in life. If you want to find yourself living a happy, successful life, there’s things that you have to let go and things that have to take place. Sure, you may be the person that everyone you know comes to for advice. You might be someone who’s unhappy with their health and and overall image. While you are granted to have your own opinion, I feel it’s safe to say change creates growth.

A lot of times we’re not where we want to be and instead of taking accountability, we cry, whine and complain. We get jealous of the success of others. We question ourselves. While this may be a bit “normal”, it’s not the best approach to take.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with feeling like you want more but negative self talk is critical. If you want to change your life, start with your mind. Start with your habits. Start with your truth.

You can’t progress effectively if you won’t look at the truth for what it is. You need to know your starting points to truly move forward.  Evaluate yourself. Take some time to write about you.

Write about your feelings and emotions. Write about what you love about yourself and what you wanna change. Jot down some dreams of yours and make them vivid. Learn about you.

Working on you is a process. The key is to understand that journey life journey is like no one else. Be patient with yourself and realize that flowers don’t blossom overnight. Set realistic expectations for yourself. Work on you for you!

5 Tips to a Healthy Morning

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It’s Monday! It’s time to start the week and start it right. A healthy start to the morning can really impact day in a positive way. Believe it or not, how you start your day truly impacts your mood for the day. All in favor for a great day, say “I”. Well, I know I want my day to be the best day it could be.

Here’s 5 tips on how you can start yours the right way.

1.Pray
Praying to God daily has helped me for years in more ways than one. We you wake up and acknowledge your higher power, you acknowledge your beliefs. You acknowledge that there’s something greater than you. For me, it’s always been a moment of gratitude and also something that reminds me that I have purpose. Praying lets me know that there’s a reason why I exist. There’s a reason why I wake up. Prayer in the morning can be that for you as well, or even more.

2.Gratitude
It’s extremely important to find things that you’re thankful for in the morning. Whether it’s for life itself, something nice someone did to you, or even for the people in your life. This not only keeps you in a great mood but it’s a tool for humility as well. Staying humble, acknowledging great things subconsciously keeps your mind on the positive.

3.Exercise
Get up and get that body moving. Exercising for 5 minutes to an hour can really make a big difference. Although working out is a physical sport, it’s very much a mental sport as well. It gives you something to push for and when you’re done, it feels so good to have accomplished that task. Making it to the gym or completing a short workout can condition your mind to know that anything is possible. It helps build your morning self-esteem. It gives you good healthy vibes.

4.Listen to Something Positive
In the morning, your mind is craving attention. What you feed it, can truly impact your mood, once again. It’s always great to listen to a positive message in the morning. Whether you go on youtube to find some Les Brown or Tony Robbins or you join in on a positive talk on Clubhouse, get something positive in your system. Music is great but messages that speak to your very being can pull something great out of you. Try it.

5.Write Your TO-DO List
Staying organized with what you have to do feels great. You’d be surprised to know just how phenomenal you are. When you write out the things you need to do, you are more likely to get them done. You will go into the day with tasks at hand and you will end the day feeling accomplished. It’s better to know what needs to be done than to free game your weeks. As you go along, check off your TO-DO’s. Hold yourself accountable and get it done.

These 5 tips help me to stay productive, high-energied, and focused. Drop something that’s a part of your morning routine to stay healthy in the comments. We want to hear.

-LaShawnda S. Wilkins (@speaklifeshawnie)

Learning Good Habits During Quarantine

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Quarantine has been such a ride. It’s been tough adjusting to the climate of the pandemic, especially since things seem to change left and right. It’s been a task, wearing all the hats that we do, while wearing a mask. Okay, so the mask hasn’t been the worst part but it still has played a role hear.

Thinking about the pandemic and everything that comes with it gets frustrating. It’s like there’s so much to worry about. As a mother, you worry about your job, whether or not you’ll still have one day to day. You worry about your children and how they’re feeling. You try to take care of the household making sure everyone eats.

Being a mother during this time is completely different from before. I say this because now there’s a need to spend more time together and pay more attention to the kid’s needs. Most students need at this time need more help with homework at school. They need more emotional assistance and they need more encouragement.

Nonetheless it’s all necessary. In order to be effective we, as parents are going to need some positive habits to keep things in order. Technically, there’s no right or wrong way to get through at this time but getting through in a positive, healthy way is key.

Here’s a few habits that could help keep things on track.

Set Goals

Since the time has come where we have no idea what’s next, it’s safe to say, staying focused on something helps out. It’s good to develop goals to keep your mind busy and focused. Many things are out of your control but some things still are. Maybe you have a goal to remodel your home or maybe you have financial goals. Now the time is to plan your work and work your plan.

Create a Schedule

With all the many tasks on your plate, staying on track is the name of the game. But a planner or a big family calendar to stay on track. Write all your tasks down and schedule them in. Write special days out, work, school, plan for meals, and even your bills payments. Whatever you can do to make your days easier, do it.

Find Your Support Team

It is so necessary to take time for yourself to process and be in touch with your feelings and emotions. It’s important to check in with yourself. But being by yourself and dwelling in your own personal thoughts is not the only solution that you should take during this time. However you’re feeling is absolutely fine but it’s important to make sure you know that you’re not alone. Know who your support team is. Be there for others because we are all going through. Express how you feel to your people. Show your love and allow others to be there for you. At the end of the day, we must grow together as we go through this together.

-LaShawnda S. Wilkins (@speaklifeshawnie)

Maintaining your child’s relationship with food

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Parents’ habits often translate to their children, leaving a long-lasting impression on them, even on their relationship with food. Whether a parent or child has an eating disorder or a complicated relationship with food, it is important to understand the psychological influence eating patterns have on children, according to a Baylor College of Medicine expert.

 

“Eating behaviors begin very early,” said Dr. Asim Shah, professor and executive vice chair in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor. “Children develop eating patterns in the first five years of life. Some even say eating habits develop in the womb, so parents need to be good role models early on.”

 

If your child is overweight, you must identify the root of the problem and reevaluate your food choices at home. According to Shah, restricting food from children is not the solution, as it could result in overeating and poor self-control with food. He also stresses that telling your child he or she is fat or needs to diet will destroy their self-esteem. If you choose to prohibit your child from eating certain foods, the whole family needs to restrict themselves from the same foods as well. Children pick up on their parents’ behaviors, so if their role models eat well, they will too.

 

“You must change the whole environment if this is an issue. The best way to do this is to have the whole family eat healthy so you are not individualizing the child. This way, they won’t think it’s a punishment,” Shah said.

 

Parents or guardians suffering from eating disorders heavily affect children’s relationship with food. According to Shah, an eating disorder is when a person’s definition of appropriate eating is distorted. This includes anorexia, bulimia or binge eating. If a mother or father is anorexic or bulimic, they may see their child as overweight and not want to feed them as a result. If a parent binge eats, their child will likely imitate this behavior. Parents often suffer from eating disorders unknowingly. Their children could easily develop this, as eating disorders are hereditary, and kids often mimic their guardians’ habits.

 

“About 50 percent of people with an eating disorder develop anxiety and depression. If a parent is enduring this, they must seek treatment immediately or it will translate to the child,” Shah said.

 

Children and teenagers can experience eating disorders through the actions of their parents. This is not limited to children of parents with distorted views of eating. Adults who feed kids with information about being overweight and dieting will hurt their child’s self-esteem, which may eventually lead to an eating disorder. When a child is rapidly growing, parents are usually proud. Dr. Shah says when a child is at the top of the charts on the weight scale, this should be viewed as a cause of concern. If parents ignore this, it could result in a binge eating disorder. This not only affects your nutritional health, but it takes a toll on mental health as well. If you or your child shows signs of an eating disorder, seeking treatment is crucial.

 

Shah urges parents to promote a good relationship with food for their kids. Tips for doing this include:

  • Feed your children good quality food as well as quantity;
  • Children should not be forced to eat, but should eat when they are hungry;
  • Prioritize family meals around the table – this allows everyone to know what each person is eating, forming a strong relationship with nutritional food.

You Are What You Think

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Have you ever heard the sayin “You are a direct result of the thoughts that you think, the people that you spend time with, and the books that you read”? Of course you have. But the question usually is in the validity of the phrase.

Has this saying ever hit home for you or do you think it’s just one of those things people say? I mean to think about it; A year from now, you will be the same person that you are today EXCEPT for the books that you read, the people who you spend time with, and the thoughts that you think.

That means if you don’t understand why you seem to be in the same place you’ve been for years, it’s most likely because of the type of mental intimacy you give your mind. Maybe you have read any books. Maybe you haven’t seemed any meaningful information deliberately. Maybe the only information you read is social media.

Also, the people you choose to hang around have a great impact on the person you become. So, what type of company do you keep? What type of energy do your surroundings bring to you? Do your friends build you up or do they put you down? When it comes to your dreams do they laugh, are they nonchalant, or are they genuinely excited for you? Are they ambitious or are they lazy?

If you want to change your life, then you must change your thoughts, change the people that you hang out with, and change the books that you read. For instance, if you’re constantly around 10 rich people, you will learn that it is easy to make money. If you are regularly around 10 poor people, then you will constantly hear why making money is scarce and difficult. If you hang around with ten exceptionally fit people this year, and you’ll naturally get into better shape. Hang out with ten chunky people, and you will start eating carbs.

Why? Because their habits become your habits. Their thoughts become your thoughts. Think about it. When your having a rough day and you need to vent, who do you call? Your friends more than likely and after you vent you’re going to begin to see the situation from their point of view. It’s no way around it.

You can only go against the grain so many times before you either give in or move on. I think about it and I get a bittersweet feeling because sadly enough, this also means that at some point if you want to grow you may have to release some friends and family from your daily lifestyle.

Change takes time but it also happens intentionally. So if you want to see a change. Change the information you currently consume and people you hang around. Change your thoughts and you will change your entire life.

-LaShawnda S. Wilkins (@speaklifeshawnie)

Progress is a Process

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Have you ever found yourself planning out your future, setting goals and objectives for your life? You ever made the choice to change for the better; telling yourself you are threw with the old you and ready to live a new life?

If so you know exactly how exiting this moment is. You know… You start holding yourself accountable in ways you haven’t before. You begin to take complete control over your lifestyle. You change your attitude and devote yourself to a positive mindset.

Things that use to bother you don’t bother you anymore. Habits you use to partake in don’t have a place in your life. You increase your ethics and moral compass to ensure your treat people better, displaying love and kindness.

I mean you literally did a 360. You cut off people that you feel are a threat to your goals at hand and instead begin to spend time with people that encourage and help you to grow.

You’ve been doing the right thing and it seems to be working out and paying off just the way you expected. But then you get so excited you begin to tell old friends and relatives about your new take to life and they laugh in your face in disbelief. You feel sad, hurt, and begin to feel alone. You begin to question your own progress because what they’re saying was true, but it’s not anymore.

See, the dreams you have for yourself don’t  always align with the future others see you having. Many times people will view you and your future based off of your past. Your past and who you were is all they know.

When you decide to change, not everyone will genuinely be happy for you nor will they honestly believe you. People tend to only believe what they can physically see. If you have a dream the only person who can see it is you.

Outside sources can only believe what they already know, unless they see your potential. But in all reality your dream is in your head. It’s simply a thought that you feel is worth manifesting.

Your dreams are beyond your surroundings and your current situation. Your dreams aren’t impossible. Other people may not believe in you, but the only person that needs to believe is you. So keep pushing for everything you want. Keep striving for everything you don’t have. Know that there is someone who believes in you.

There are people waiting for you to succeed.  Therefore don’t be discouraged by people who lack true vision. Many times people tell you what you can’t do based off of the fact that they can’t achieve it. Never stop chasing your dreams. Soon enough they will believe every word that you said. Keep going!

-LaShawnda S. Wilkins (@speaklifeshawnie)