What Does Peace Feel Like?

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?"

And with that, the year 2024 has begun. Happy New Year to you all. 🎊🎊

With the new year comes the buzz about new year resolutions. What goals, intentions or habits are you setting for yourself this year?

My main intentions for this year are:

Following my joy🪇

Being rooted in the present moment 🌴

And showing up more authentically 🐦

And as someone who focuses more on the process rather the the goal, the habits/systems I'm implementing include:

Creating bi weekly content📝📋

Taking daily evening walks 👣🚶‍♀

Listening to self development podcasts 🔊

Remember, when it comes to goal/intention setting, it's more than just what you want to achieve but who you want to be and who you want to show up as. And that is reflected by your daily habits/actions.

_You can do this!! So what's one simple habit are you choosing to focus on?🦋

You can't out-think fear you can only out-act it. One step at a time, one fear at a time and eventually, that situation will no longer scare you. And through that action you build the confidence of being able to face whatever fear that might show up.

Resilience

Resilience looks like trying again and again regardless of the outcome you're currently getting.

Resilience is choosing to ignore the naysayers and staying focused on your vision until it comes to life.

Resilience is getting up early and showing up for your dream even if you don't feel like it.

Resilience is doing that uncomfortable thing over and over until it becomes second nature.

Resilience is facing fear over and over until you become the best of friends.

Resilience is making the choice to consistently transforming your mind from a negative mindset to a better state of mind.

Resilience is giving your utmost best even though you are at your lowest point.

Resilience is constantly reminding yourself of why you started to begin with.

Resilience is choosing to show up for your future self.

It is choosing to see the starts in the darkest of nights.

Resilience is knowing the importance of the goal but focusing on the process instead.

So yesterday I was watching this video whereby this content creator was speaking about how we should stop bringing the energy of decisions into making choices. She spoke about how people can't even make a simple choice because they are so focused the importance of it because their mind focuses on whether they are making the right or wrong decision. ❌✅

She gave an example of how you can make a choice to attend an event but after experiencing it you then make the decision to leave cause maybe it was boring.

So in order to decide, first make a choice, have the experience and make a decision.

So google says when making a choice we are given the freedom to explore alternatives and choose what will make us happy whereas when making a decision, we are presented with options whose outcomes have been predetermined. Choice connects us to our desired intentions, values and beliefs whereas decisions are connected to places of behaviour, performances and consequences.

I remember when I was still in primary, during athletics season - we had all these different activities that we could try. So we had a choice in choosing what activities to try but at the end of the day you had to make a decision as to which one you would join.

Obviously you make that decision after having experienced all the activities. So by making the decision, you now already know the predetermined outcome which is you coming to practice high jump or sprints for as long as you're part of the team.👟🎽

So with choices it's more experimental and with decisions it gets serious. So the point is stop bring that serious energy into something that's supposed to be a fun experience. Think of making a choice as tasting and making a decision as eating. 🍽️😋🍔

Today I was saying out my desire to the ether and I realised how uncomfortable I am in vocalising my desires out loud. It felt so uncomfortable in my body - in my chest and throat I could just feel this restriction of not being able to my desires out loud.

It just made me feel sad for my younger self for never feeling free and safe enough to voice out my desires and opinions. But now that I am aware of this I can now choose to be the version of my self that creates that safety and freedom for me. It's safe for me to vocalise my desires with ease.

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"?🍄🪹

_Do you ever wonder?_

Do you ever wonder what your tomorrow will look like?

Will you still hear the birds squeak in the early mornings?

Will you still hear the sound of the wind in you ears?

Will you still enjoy the warmth of the sun's rays?

Will you still feel the air reaching deep into your lungs?

Will you still enjoy that one song that speaks to your soul.

Or would you have moved onto something new to enjoy?

Isn't it weird how at times we always wishing things were different. Like having a different job, being in a relationship with someone or living somewhere different. Ye when we look back there was once a time when we prayed to have what we have today. 🤲

At times we always wishing how nice it would be to have what that other person has. Not that it's a bad thing. But we never take the time to think what took them to get there or have that. We never take the time to think about about the pain or struggle that the other person had to endure to reach that outcome. What hard times they faced to finally get to the top of that mountain.🗻⛰️

So if you're going through a rough terrain right now, embrace that struggle because there's a lesson there. And eventually we'll reach the outcome we want.💯🤍