Even though January is coming to a close, it’s never too late to make our intentions for 2020. What are yours? For SIS Circle, we intend to grow and prosper in 2020, spreading sisterhood and amplifying our support to womxn. In fact, we already secured our SIS Circle Retreat for this coming September!
This past year may have been challenging for some of you. No matter what, take time to reflect on what you’ve learned and how you’ve grown. Each day is a brand new day and an opportunity to reset and keep moving. So with that, we welcome all that is ahead in 2020 and look back to where SIS Circle has been in 2019:
A Look-Back at SIS Circle in 2019
We’ve Grown!
The energy has kept our circle growing and we now have 676 members in our Facebook group! That’s over 200 more than we had this time last year. Thank you for spreading the word and inviting others to our circle. We hope that more of you will engage in discussions and share posts to continue to encourage, motivate, and share. Let’s make our Facebook Group stronger and more impactful in 2020!
Inspiring Events
January: We kicked off our run/jog/walk fitness program led by one of our founding sisters, Julie Ziegler.March: Participated at the Oakland Marathon for their Corporate Wellness Program. If you would like to participate this year and receive a discount on the race, let us know!March: First Womxn of Color Entrepreneur Panel at Impact Hub in Oakland. Facilitator: Brandy Collins, Panelists: Shumsha Hanif-Cruz, Esq. and Lily Ayers from Queen Hippie Gypsy.May: We meditated with Gifts of Prosperity owner, Kenji Correa, then listened to one of our founding sisters, Jodie Karigaca from Insight Images 510 share how she stays motivated and maintains her healthy lifestyle. To get us stretching, Kelly Knoche founder of The Teaching Well led a beautiful yoga session.May: Self Care Brunch with a talk led by a founding sister, Shumsha Hanif-Cruz. June: Womxn of Color Entrepreneur Panel with Anna Villalobos from Oeste Bar & Cafe and Mirella Rangel from Colibrí Collective.August: Sisters Who Lead Panel with Lena Waters, VP , Integrated Marketing at DocuSign, Dr. Meredith Calvert, PhD, Principal Scientist at Denali Therapeutics, and Somya Mehta, Director of Partnerships at The Teaching Well.October: Salary Negotiation Workshop with RivaHQ founder and CEO, Stephanie Young.October: SIS Circle Summit at Destiny Arts Center.
Whew! We are so grateful to all of the sisters who volunteered their time and energy at these events and those of you who attended. We appreciate your support and can’t wait to do more in 2020. Happy New Year!
Wow! We are half-way through 2019. This is a great time to take time to check-in on the goals you’ve set at the beginning of the year. Ask yourself these two questions:
Where am I now? How am I now?
Think about how much you’ve grown over the last 6 months. Maybe you haven’t lost those 15 pounds yet, but you’ve started to walk more and have eliminated some of those unhealthy foods from your diet. That’s progress! You may not have that ideal promotion at work yet, but perhaps you’ve taken more initiative to lead projects or expand your skillset. You are on the right track! The tickets to your dream vacation haven’t been purchased yet, but if you are putting money away, you will get to your destination!
Making progress towards your goals is huge and you should celebrate those wins. But, you need to stay motivated to continue that progress. If you are struggling, dig deep and ask yourself:
Why do I think I am not reaching my goals? What do I need to do to get motivated? What help and resources do I need to accomplish my goals? How can I hold myself accountable?
Self-reflection can help you discover what’s holding you back from your success. It’s important to take time to make a personal assessment of yourself.
Tips to Keep you Motivated
1. Find an accountability partner. This could be a friend, a co-worker, or someone else that you can check-in with from time to time to talk about your goals and your progress or setbacks and to also hold your feet to the fire. 2. Eliminate obstacles that prevent you from reaching your goals. If there are negative people in your life that continually suck the energy out of you, you may need to reevaluate that relationship or limit the amount of time you spend with them. Remove bad habits that do not serve a purpose in your progress. 3. Don’t compare yourself to others. Do YOU. Keep your focus on yourself, your goals, your accomplishments, and what it takes to get YOU to reach your next step. 4. Don’t give up. You may face setbacks and that’s okay. Learn from your mistakes and keep going. You got this.
There are 184 more days left in the year. That’s 184 more opportunities to start fresh and reset. So keep at it. Keep going. Keep pushing.
Motivational Quotes
It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. –Confucius
Infuse your life with action. Don’t wait for it to happen. Make it happen. Make your own future. Make your own hope. Make your own love. And whatever your beliefs, honor your creator, not by passively waiting for grace to come down from upon high, but by doing what you can to make grace happen… yourself, right now, right down here on Earth. –Bradley Whitford
Good things come to people who wait, but better things come to those who go out and get them. –Anonymous
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. –Helen Keller
I believe that the only courage anybody ever needs is the courage to follow your own dreams. –Oprah Winfrey
You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something–your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. –Steve Jobs
Check out these motivational TED Talks
Getting Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable – TEDWomen2017
Luvvie Ajayi isn’t afraid to speak her mind or to be the one dissenting voice in a crowd, and neither should you. “Your silence serves no one,” says the writer, activist and self-proclaimed professional troublemaker. In this bright, uplifting talk, Ajayi shares three questions to ask yourself if you’re teetering on the edge of speaking up or quieting down — and encourages all of us to get a little more comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Why the secret to success is setting the right goals – TED 2018
Our leaders and institutions are failing us, but it’s not always because they’re bad or unethical, says venture capitalist John Doerr — often, it’s simply because they’re leading us toward the wrong objectives. In this practical talk, Doerr shows us how we can get back on track with “Objectives and Key Results,” or OKRs — a goal-setting system that’s been employed by the likes of Google, Intel and Bono to set and execute on audacious goals. Learn more about how setting the right goals can mean the difference between success and failure — and how we can use OKRs to hold our leaders and ourselves accountable.
In an article from Psychology Today, writer Hara Estroff Marano describes the brain’s negative bias. Negative experiences have a greater impact on our brains. In order to have a manifesting mindset, you need to work on releasing negativity. Here’s a four-step exercise to release negativity and place you in a positive frame of mind:
1. Create two columns on a sheet of paper. In the left column, write down the negative thoughts you have that prevent you from achieving your goals.
2. For each negative thought, think or say out aloud to yourself why that negative thought is NOT true.
3. In the right column, write down the positive versions for each negative thought. For example, if you wrote, “I don’t have enough money.” Rewrite that statement to “I am abundant” or “I have enough money.”
4. Say out loud each positive statement over and over and believing those words more and more.
In the last post, I discussed meditation as one of the key elements to having a manifesting mindset. The second step is to let the universe know what you want by setting your intentions. When you set your intentions, you are asking the universe to guide you toward your goals. Read these three steps to help you with intention setting:
Be specific with your intentions. If you are looking for a life partner, describe the characteristics of that person, what that person likes to do for fun, what you and that person will enjoy doing together, etc. If you want a promotion, tell the universe what job title you want, how much money you want to make, or what projects you will be doing in your new position. Being clear and specific helps you focus on your goals.
Put your intentions down on paper. Write you intentions in a journal, create a vision board, or write it out on pieces of paper. How ever you decide to write out your intentions, make sure that you don’t tuck it away only to have it found weeks, months or years later. Read and say the intentions daily. Have your intentions part of your daily meditation practice. You may want to post it on your refrigerator, your bathroom mirror, or in your car as frequent reminders.
Share your intentions with others. Don’t keep it a secret. Put it out there for others to know. By telling others, you are involving them in your aspirations. You may encounter nay-sayers, devil’s advocates, and critics. Do not let that discourage you. Instead, let it fuel your passion to make things happen! You will also find supporters, cheerleaders, and accountability partners who will encourage you and help you meet your goals. Those are the ones to keep in your inner circle.
What an awesome weekend! The first SIS Circle Lunch & Learn kicked off on Saturday with yummy food, an interactive workshop, and amazing women setting intentions for what they WILL receive. We talked about the power of the mind and the law of attraction. Next, we explored six steps to manifesting what you desire:
1. Relax, Breathe, Meditate. 2. Set your Intentions. 3. Release Negativity. 4. Put in the Work. 5. Live as if it is Already yours. 6. Be Grateful.
Let’s talk about the first step: Meditation.
Your mind is incredibly powerful. Dr. Deepak Chopra noted that we have an estimated 60,000 – 80,000 thoughts a day. He also notes that “although the mind is capable of creating life-affirming stories, it has what neuroscientists refer to as a negativity bias, a tendency to pay more attention to negative experiences than to positive ones.” Through meditation one can counter the negativity bias and improves the ability to stay focused. Being focused is essential to having a manifesting mindset.
Learn more on the benefits of meditation: In an article from Psychology Today, Emma M. Seppälä Ph.D. shares 20 scientifically-validated reasons for meditation. Among those are: – Increases volume in areas related to emotion regulation, positive emotions & self-control – Increases your focus & attention – Improves your ability to be creative & think outside the box
Nourish you mind, body and spirit at this SIS Circle Lunch & Learn event. Learn steps to shift your mindset to manifest abundance in your life. What better place to do it than at Queen Hippie Gypsy in Oakland – a beautiful space that is proof that you can manifest your dreams! This soul-filling event will be led by SIS Circle co-owner Leilani Carbonell Pedroni. She’ll share how she was able to manifest success in her career, a home after bankruptcy, and most importantly her four little miracles.
We are excited to announce that Sybil Clark Amuti co-host of the popular podcast, The Great Girlfriends, will be joining us at our Winter Wellness Retreat! Sybil is an inspirational speaker, executive brand strategist, podcast producer and co-host, philanthropist, coach, wife, and mother. For over 15 years, Sybil has delivered world-class strategy and brand direction to some of the world’s most renown personal, corporate, and philanthropic brands, such as Scholastic, Nike, Sony Entertainment, Target, Nascar, Disney, HBO, Conde Nast, Tony Robbins, Feeding America, LA Reid, Usher, Michael Jackson, Taylor Swift, TD Jakes, The Pink Pony Fund, and more.
