It's Frustrating Isn't It?

Ruts. Also known as one of those phases in life where you are just existing and not really living. Where you are just going through the exact same cycle day by day just to keep yourself alive. 😕

Where you have no idea what's next or don't know what you are working towards. The phase where it gets to the point where it feels like you're just being dragged by life.🫥😵😵‍💫

That's when you know you need some clarity. 💯

And sometimes clarity requires stillness. So slow down if you will.

Other times clarity requires silence and solitude. Take time away from external stimuli because you can't hear yourself if you always surrounded by outside noise. 📢📢

And as you start to slow down and be still eventually the answers will come.

Maybe in the form of a burst of inspiration. Or coming across that one thing you used to enjoy but left halfway cause you never had the time for it. Or maybe through meeting rekindling an old friendship. 🫂🫶🏼

Anyway.... you never really know what that one choice can bring you as long as it's bringing you closer to your true self.🌸💫

_Something I learnt the past week:_ 🌱

We all experience feelings of inferiority at one point or another. Be it through comparison to others or our ideal self. Of course these feelings aren't a bad thing if you use them to catapult you into being a better person. 💯👌🚀

However when you start identifying with those feelings i.e adopting an inferiority complex, that's when they hinder you from growing cause now you use your flaws as a reason for not being able to grow.

E.g using the feeling of not being educated enough as a sign to learn more in order to grow and be qualified enough to he successful RATHER THAN feeling like you'll never be successful because you are not as educated as everyone around you. Constantly sulking and complaining about it without taking any action on being better.💫🦋

_Book reference: The Courage to be Disliked_

I just heard someone say " whether you choose to follow your dreams or follow someone's dreams, you still suffer either way. So isn't better to do something worth suffering for?"

This past week I gained a new perspective on gratitude. We always hear how people say "be grateful" or "practice gratitude" or "write a gratitude list" etc. Yet when we do these things it doesn't really change our inner state.

So this week I was reading the book (Good Vibes Good Life) and the author was asking his client what he was grateful for at that moment. And the client replied saying "I'm not grateful for anything".

And the author went on to ask "anything at all, what about your car?" And he's like "oh yeah, I'm grateful for my car" yet deep down he just wasn't feeling it.

So the author went on to ask him "how would your life be different without that car?"🚘

And so he went on to think about how he uses his car to carry groceries from the store to his home, how he uses it to commute to work and how he fetches his kids from school. He also went on to think on to when he was a kid - he had to use the school bus where he also got bullied.

And after that reflection he actually saw how blessed he was.

So I'm asking you now: what are you grateful for in this moment?🍀

How would your life be different without that "thing"?🍄🪹

What does the process to an outcome normally look like? If I look back on my past experienc

es, on things that I managed to achieve, there was an element of curiosity and fun to it.

Until the novelty wore off and things go hard. And during those moments that's when you ask yourself why you started to begin with? What would happen if you don't give up? And what kind of character are you choosing to portray in this part of your story?📖📖

Like if you look at your favourite show, the ending wouldn't be that satisfying without the ups and downs that the characters face. And sometimes the show is so good you don't want it to end.

Of course, there are times when you decide to take a break to rest and re-centre yourself. And there are times when you choose to give it all up because it's no longer aligned with the goal you had in mind. But it's all about taking note of your patterns when you are in that "hard/difficult" phase.

Do you start procrastinating. Do you move on to a new project or do you choose to forget about the task all together?

Normally this is where your character is being tested.

So if you need to go on your knees and ask God for strength, do so. If you need to cry it out and call friend do so. If you need to watch a motivational video - do what you need to in order to move forward and keep the momentum.

Because it's in that phase that growth happens because now you are surpassing your limits. You are getting that character development which takes you to the next level.❇️💯

So fall in love with that process because that's the most beautiful and impactful part of the journey. Make sure you're having fun even in the midst of difficulties cause at some point,it's gonna have to end and the ending has to be just as beautiful. It's the messy middle that we need to learn how to master so that we reach the beautiful ending. 🪷🪷

It's okay to start again because this time you are starting from experience. there is nothing wrong with starting over in order to build stronger foundations.

It's not you against the world, it's you against your mind.

Why? Because your entire world lives in your mind. Your thoughts and ideas may come from the world but your perception comes from you. So all those people you say you like or dislike are based on your perception of them. And the things about perception is that it can always change. Meaning you can either choose to be the victim or choose to be responsible of what happens around you. And bit by bit, by changing your perception, you are changing your world.

So learn to befriend your mind. Be curious about those thoughts and judgements you project on people and situations. Is that really how they are or that's how you are choosing to see them?

The Future

A point in time

It could mean tomorrow, next week or next year

It could be in a decade, a millennium or even the next life

Some say the future looks bright

Others say it looks bleak

At the end of the day, it’s all about doing what is right

The past, the present and the future are connected

But to change the future, it all depends on what is done today

What other people are doing is not as important as what action you’re choosing to take

The future may seem far but it’s as close as tomorrow

The future

Some say AI will take over

Others say the world would’ve ended by then

It’s not only about you and I but generations to come

What kind of world are we choosing to leave for them?

Everyone is in a hurry to get somewhere

But no one is stopping to even ask

Where it is we are going

Everyone is busy hustling in the name of achieving success and wanting more

But how much is enough?

Do we even know what we value?

Or it’s just a matter of gaining more and more

The future

Some say it looks bleak

Others say it looks bright

But I say the future looks beautiful

Not only because I choose to believe that it is

But because I am deciding that it is so.

What matters is asking yourself:

If you’ve taken one small action in changing your part of the world today

May we not give up just because it may seem bleak

May we choose to focus on the light that we can see.

Someone said that being depressed is your avatar telling you that it is tired of the character that you want it to play. And in my experience this was true. ☘️🏵️

Deep down I knew that the path I was heading on was no longer for me yet I kept on pushing. Why?

Because that was the path that society deemed acceptable, that was the path that felt safe & comfortable (until it was no longer comfortable), because that was the path that made the most logical sense and because that was the path where no one would judge me for doing the "wrong" thing. ❌

But the more I kept on pushing, the more I felt into this hole of emptiness. Until I came to the realisation that something was wrong and something had to change. 🙍‍♀️

As I was going through that phase of depression, I wasn't exactly sure as to what I was doing wrong but I just knew I had to stop and take a break from everything. 🔔🔔

Looking back in retrospect, I can see how I was trying so hard to hide parts of myself to fit in with others and that came at a painful cost. The sooner you remove the mask, the more relieved you'll feel. You may end up fighting with your family or losing people you knew as your closest friends but in the long run, you get to show up as who you are rather than who you think you should be. 🥳🤗🌸