Another year gone by and understanding the why

It was my birthday last week and what I was most grateful for was the fact that I woke up that morning with only a few regrets but too few to mention.  I was ecstatic about the fact that I am not living a life I did not settle for.  I am not married to a man that I don't really love but settled for because time was running out.  I didn't have kids that I didn't really want but thought I should have because that's what "normal people do".  I do not have a job that I have to go to every day to keep up a certain lifestyle.  I'm not trapped in a life that I don't want.

As my Life Anthem sung by Ole Blue Eyes says, "I Did it MY WAY"

Yearly Manifesto

Every year I write a Prophetic Declaration/Manifesto and this year was no different.  What is different is that I'm taking my time writing it.  One of the things that I've talked about this year is really owning the fact that I have no shame about being single or deciding to live out my calling. There's no more shame in that any longer.  I realize that it was because I no longer worry about what my life looks like to others...especially others that I would not want to trade places with.

I'm embracing the leadership role I have in my life and moving forward with the call of Isaiah 61 and this year's scripture of Isaiah 54:2.  

What's My Motivation

I love the Olympics.

I love all the stories, the glory, and the drama.  I love the athletes who overcome and inspire the international community.  I really liked this quote from Helen Maroulis who is the first American Woman to win a Gold Medal in wrestling.  She beat the Usain Bolt of her sport.  Her opponent was 13x Consecutive World Champion and 3x Olympic Champion so this was no small feat but Maroulis had her mind right.  It wasn't about the media attention, Facebook/Instagram Likes, or the applause applause applause of the audience.  It wasn't even about her doing it to find self worth within herself or a validation badge.

These are powerful powerful powerful words.  When I read them, I thought:  "Hmmm what is my why?  Am I about the social media likes, the attention, the applause, and the validation badges or do I already have my self worth and validation intact?"

For years I did not have my self worth and validation in tact.  I still sought the validation and self worth from outside sources.  I looked to the audience for validation and I was fine as long as I had it but if I didn't I found myself in a funk.

As I am celebrating my next trip around the sun, I believe I am going to accomplish INFINITELY more because I am not doing it for the audience anymore.  I'm not doing it for attention, likes, or validation that I am enough.  I'm doing it because I KNOW I am enough and that I can help others.  I refuse to let God Down, I won't let myself down, and I'm not going to let down the people I haven't even met yet.

I just don't believe you can TRULY impact people if it's all about raising your own self esteem.  Like Helen Maroulis if you already have self esteem, self worth, and validation then you will BELIEVE that you can accomplish more.  Your mindset will be that you can do it  and of course we know that MINDSET MATTERS MOST.

Understanding the Why

Understanding the Why is the cornerstone of success.

In my industry the people who are all about superficial goals are the ones who don't make it and don't have sustainable results.  It's the people who have a deeper goal such as: be able to walk my daughter down the aisle, play with my grandchildren, or have a better quality of life are the people who are consistent.

Their whys are deeply important to them.

So it is with life.  People who have shallow goals such as: Look Hot, Make a Lot of Money, Marry a Hot Guy, Have Cute kids, etc. are the people who don't stick to their goals and don't accomplish much because success takes a long time.  With those types of goals you won't be willing to stay the course once it gets hard.  It isn't motivating enough.

So when I think about my Why it's enough to keep me going.  Yes I want to impact a lot of people but I want to know that I actually LIVED my life like I am ALIVE.  I don't want regrets for memories  I want to know that my life isn't a failure.  I want to know that I gave it my best shot and that I didn't leave anything on the table.  That why is enough to keep me believing the impossible and keep trying to get it.

There's nothing worse than watching people live in misery because they gave up on themselves.  All they have are regrets, blame, and failure.  That is not a LIFE.  That isn't what God has called us to do.

So as we celebrate another year gone by and understand the why I look forward to having a bigger vision, more confidence, and accomplishing even more.

To God be the Glory!