My Quest for Patience

I have recently started a training with the wonderful Millicent St. Clair of LIGMO (Let It Go Move On), and I have been almost shocked with how many messages have come to me about letting things go. This Sunday I attended service at Unity of New York, and the message centered around St. Francis  of Assisi and not being attached to material goods. The pastor instructed us to let go of things and people that were not serving us. I immediately made a mental note of all the things in my apartment that I need to go through. I have clothes I don't wear, books I'll never read again and not to mention tons of papers and mail that can be discarded. I know that right now this is a time of release for me and whenever I forget the universe reminds me.

 

More then letting go of things, I know there are old ideas I need to release. One of which is my attachment to how I think things are suppose to turn out. I have been teaching a lot of classes on interviewing lately and the questions of "What is your biggest weakness" is always addressed. I have been thinking that my biggest weakness right now is patience. I get a clear vision of what I want and then I want it right now. More than just wanting it right now I get frustrated when it doesn't come in my timing, instead of letting the universe do its work. That frustration really does nothing but put negative energy out into the world and block my good.

 

I think that focusing on non-attachment will help me in my quest for patience. Knowing that everything is already alright and that I am in my perfect place in life will allow more good and prosperity to effortlessly flow into my life. This is not to say that I will stop working towards my goals, just that I will stop stressing towards them. I will move forward knowing that right where I am is prosperous, wonderful and filled with never ending good.

Staying True To Your Goals

Why do we want the goals we say we want? I know that I want to get married and have kids. Now that is not for everyone and I’ve had to examine where the need comes from for me. Is it me trying to outrun the stereotype of being single educated black woman? Is it a measure of worth? Yes, actually I believe for me, there is still a little of both of those concepts wrapped up in it. But more than that for me it is about starting a committed family. Raising children in a way that they feel most supported and safe and also raising daughters that know that they deserve to be in a relationship with someone who is 100% committed to them. Even if for them that commitment does not look like marriage.

I am also learning that you need to have people in your life who are on the same page with you. I recently went through a breakup because my partner did not want the same things in life as me. And as hard as that is I know that in the end it’s for the best. Neither of us should have to compromise what we want for our lives.

I’m not going to say I didn’t waiver, question what I want, fear that maybe it wasn’t in the cards for me. But I know that I have to surround myself with people, literature and messages that align with my thinking. With the thought that I have the power to create the life I want through my thinking, actions and by staying committed to my goals.

The Boredom Trap

What do we do to shake off that feeling of stagnation at work. Lately I've been feeling bored with the work I'm doing at my day job. I know that having a day job is extremely important for me right now and that I'm helping others, which is one of my main goals at this time of my life. But lately I've been feeling as though the day to day has become extremely routine and often times I sit at my desk feeling quite bored.

 

One thing that I am starting to realize is that I can't wait around for someone else to give me a project to work on or make the job exciting. I need to fish out ways to bring back the passion to my job. One thing that the job has going for it is that I am always around new and interesting people. Clients change on a daily basis and getting to know them as individuals and finding out how I can be of service to them is a great way to bring that passion back into my work activities.

 

Another thing that I want to start doing is listing every day something that I learned. Life is about growing and learning and quite frankly when you stop growing in a position it's usually because you've outgrown it. I'm going to start making a mental list of all the things I learn at my job, whether it be about myself, the work or people in general.

 

More than anything else I'm going to take these lessons and utilize them in other areas of my life and business. I know that the job I have is an important piece in my master plan towards building my own business. These lessons will aid me in dealing with others, learning valuable skills and inspire me to keep moving forward. I accept these lessons with gratitude and each day I try to remember that the only thing keeping me stagnated or bored is my own thinking.

Moving Past Criticisim

This has been a crazy week for me. I have gotten a lot of negative and positive feedback. Of course everyone loves when the response is positive, but how do we deal with negative criticism.

 

I recently helped put together a workbook for clients at my job on how to find employment.  One of the sections that I researched was how to deal with criticism. While creating a plan for dealing with criticism, I never thought I had an issue with taking constructive criticism.  Now that I have received a lot of it this week, I am beginning to really take a deeper look at some of those steps. A big one that is starting to stick out for me is to see what the motive behind the criticism is. Is it meant to help or to hurt. Sometimes criticism that seems harsh is actually there to help us grow as a person but all criticism is reflective of the other person's point of view. We have to take into consideration the other person's life experiences and where they are in their lives. It can at times be hard for others to be happy for our success when they do not feel like they are successful in their own actions.

 

So how do we let the feedback in without letting it discourage us from moving forward in our goal. Well one thing that I do is keep a support circle around me that is going to give me honest feedback, geared toward helping me advance. The opinions of these people are what is most important to me and I make sure to incorporate their feedback and learn from them. Another thing that I am learning is to avoid making it personal, which I admit can be hard.  All criticism will not be positive or constructive but even the negative criticism teaches you how to deal with situations. I am learning to take a deeper look at people's underlying circumstances and above all move past negativity and practice forgiveness and love.

Keeping up the Pace

Last week I was so busy, preparing for my workshop, meeting new people, and feeling like there was always something that I needed to get done. Now that the workshop is over I have some time to relax. But is relaxation really what I want?

Although I'm happy not to feel like there is always something that needs to be done, I want to make sure that I keep up that same momentum of accomplishing small goals towards my overall vision. I have had a habit at times of working really hard for a few months and then slowly down to a near crawl. Now that I've gotten my pace up I have to keep in step.

I think the best way to do this is to maintain a list of smaller weekly goals. When I go to my day job at the non-profit, I know there are things that I need to accomplish each week. I want to set those same weekly to do's for myself.

And bigger yet I think I need to start preparing for my next workshop. I know that the excitement that I feel about my workshops and being able to inspire others through art will allow me to get my weekly tasks done, while still staying motivated and having tons of fun.

Spring Clearing: Clearing the Path To the Life You Want

Spring Clearing: Clearing the Path to the Life You Want

Creative Expression Workshop

Use creative expression to clear the path for manifesting the life of your dreams.

Become clear on the fears and stumbling blocks that have stood in your way in the past and begin to let them go!

Use movement, journaling and collage to create a road map for your vision.

Honoring your past while moving into  a joyous and prosperous present.

• Participate in a ritual that honors past life lessons
• Take a deeper look at how your thoughts have influenced your outcomes
• Design a vision for personal life and career

Come prepared to move, have fun, and shake  up your creative spirit

Workshop includes complimentary

Lunch and Journals

Saturday, April 14, 2012

11am - 3pm

The Renaissance

130 Malcolm X Blvd.

Community Room

New York, NY

Earl Bird Special!

Register by April 1st for $30

Register at http://www.jasminebriggs.com/ 

Tickets are $40 after April 1st

Belief and Clarity

This week I have been thinking a lot about what I believe is possible for my business and my life. I am reading Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich and also listening to seminar's regarding starting socially conscious businesses.  I realized that the goals I was setting for my business were small and undefined. I began to see that if I didn't believe that I could achieve big goals now then I wasn't putting the right energy into the universe.

For me success was something that would be achieved at a later date, either when I was older or when I had more experience. These habits of always putting things off into the future were blocking me from reaching success now.  Today my focus is on knowing that anything is possible in this moment because belief is the first and most important step. We all know that how we think about a situation affects how we relate to it, the energy we give it, and the people and circumstances we attract.

Once we believe that we can have everything that we desire, it is also important to become clear about what it is  that we desire. Through this business seminar I realized that I need be clearer about what my business looks like. I am truly thankful for the success I have had so far but I know that more clarity will bring bigger results. It will allow me to shape the future of my company and bring my mission statement into fruition.

Within any aspect of our life I am seeing that clarity and belief are key ingredients for success. But for me it's not just about knowing but about doing the work. So this week I invite you to get clear about your vision for life, whether it be in areas of family, career or love. We never know what's available to us once we believe that all things are possible.