Celebrate Your Small Wins

Celebrate Your Small Wins

It is party time! Release the balloons. Pop a bottle. Blow out the candles on your cake. 

It may not feel like it, but YOU deserve a celebration. Right now, we are celebrating the moment. This moment is THE MOMENT. This moment is your moment. Our world is changing every day, and the social constructs that we were so familiar with begin to amaze us with how they have transitioned. There may be times when we feel that we are not doing enough to be a part of these moments; by celebrating small wins in our everyday life, we can correlate them to other aspects of our lives that we found challenging to face. 

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Challenge: Indecisiveness: You have a hard time making a decision. 

Small Win: You chose a movie or TV show to watch.  

Why It’s A Win: There are a plethora of options and directions to go. Every day you are making important decisions that impact the lives of you, your family members, and the people you work with. We can ruminate over every one of them at length, but this is a small decision that brings you a bit of joy in the moment. 

Challenge: Unhealthy eating habits. You have eaten cereal for dinner three nights in a row. 

Small Win: You remembered to nourish yourself. 

Why It’s A Win: The definition of “unhealthy eating” is more subjective to our social ideas and pressure. We have learned along the way that what we do in times of hardship is wrong, rather than a part of survival instincts. Your circumstances financially and emotionally impact what is defined as “unhealthy.” It’s okay because you recognized it as something you wouldn’t normally do, and you will try something that feels healthier to you the next day. 

Challenge: You haven’t been paying attention to all the politics and don’t quite understand what is happening

Small Win: You recognized change is occurring and have a desire to make sense of something

Why It’s a Win: There is a lot of information globally, and it gets very confusing. Not everyone can follow every event happening in the political landscape. Focus your influences locally and within your circle of influence. Do some research with other people who make you feel comfortable in asking questions about the issues. Make sure that you are registered to vote. Remember to vote. That’s all the heavy mental lifting that’s required.

Challenge: You didn’t do all the items on your list and did nothing all-day

Small Win: You took rest

Why It’s A Win: We are conditioned to work hard to get our rewards. There is enough hustle culture in the world that we often forget what all the hustling is for. Take a day to recharge and reset yourself. 

Challenge: You haven’t showered in 3 days

Small Win: Your sense of smell kicked, and you only smell like you’re dying

Why It’s A Win: You’re loved ones will be grateful that you have chiseled off those leggings and the stained T-shirt. That shower, when you finally take it, is going to feel like such a relief. The air around you will be such a relief to breathe in.  

You showed up for the moment where you needed yourself. Stop beating yourself up for not doing the thing that you planned to do. Celebrate the small wins in your life. You have been in the moment that your journey led you to. Where are you supporting yourself and your accomplishments? 

About the author: Brandy Collins is a Bay Area native full of Scorpio magic and self-proclaimed Professional Aunty telling stories for Oakland Voices, Oaklandside, and the funny one in group chats. Follow on twitter @gurl79, Instagram @story_soul_collecter, and her website http://storysoulcollector.com/.

Unmoving in Faith

faith

So there you are. Stuck and not moving. You may, at this point, feel like you are in a box, and you are not able to get out. The plans that you had for yourself and your loved ones seem as if they can not happen now. It could be a dead-end job, a relationship that didn’t go as planned or you’re under nationwide quarantine, and you literally can’t go anywhere. Whatever the reason, your plans have halted.

However, the thing that you need most to be stable has shifted -your faith. We’re not talking about faith in the religious sense. It is the faith in yourself that you started with that gave you optimism. When you started your plans, you prepared to leave your comfort zone for a new way of life; you had faith that you could make it work. It started somewhere. You were encouraged by something. You had a belief that if you set your intentions and put in the work, things could occur. Then a setback happened, doubt set in, and your faith began to waver.

Much of our current positive reinforcement wisdom today would say to think on the positive side about what is happening and don’t lose out on your faith. On the contrary, you shouldn’t ignore your doubts or pretend they don’t exist. Question and interrogate these fears. What happened that made me feel this way? If you aren’t able to see your way through doubt, have someone you trust to ask you some honest questions about your fears to put some logic to them. A technique in problem-solving analysis referred to as “5 whys” is a great way to get why you think or believe something is occurring.

Next, focus on the aspects you can control. A significant confidence boost is being able to accomplish a smaller task. It can be unrelated to the goals that you were planning to manifest. It can be as simple as completing a 500 piece puzzle. When you take a small step to gain control of one part of your life, confidence, and faith in yourself can be rebuilt.

Finally, the hardest part of restoring your faith is to remember that you are exactly where you are supposed to be in the moment you are supposed to be. When we are manifesting, we align our actions. When we are aligned, we are moving in the direction that is our path. The set back is a part of your alignment. This is the time when you should be reflecting and deciding if you want to continue. Your setback is a good time to stabilize your set up.

As you progress in the intentions you’ve set, your faith in yourself will too. It’s okay that your faith in yourself wavers from time to time. It’s normal. These moments of uncertainty are part of your growth. Sis, take this time and be still while you can.

About the author: Brandy Collins is a Bay Area native full of Scorpio magic and self-proclaimed Professional Aunty telling stories for Oakland Voices and numerous group chats. Follow on twitter @gurl79 or Instagram @story_soul_collecter