Love Yourself to Life

Get Renewed, Refreshed, & Repositioned

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Renewing Our Minds

We all need to make it a daily practice of Renewing Our Minds. I remember a time when a large portion of thoughts that ran through my mind was negative and dark. I couldn’t conjure up a positive affirmation about myself no matter how hard I tried. Sure, everything appeared to be going great from the outside looking in, but nobody could see the torment that was going on internally. I was a low-key fast-moving train ready to derail at any moment. The truth of the matter is, I did derail when I attempted to end any future God had for my life. My mind and thoughts were so messed up that I decided my life wasn’t worth living anymore. I was carrying things from my past and it was a heavy burdensome load that wasn’t meant for me to hold on to, yet I was refusing to release it to God. I was in desperate need of a mind shift, a renewal of who I was in Christ and His purpose for my life. I learned to #letitgo and it has been one of the best lessons I could ever embrace.

We can’t carry old garbage around with us when we’re trying to renew our minds. Old and new cannot align with our thoughts when we have a desire to become better. We must have a cleaning out—a deep cleaning out of thoughts that aren’t positive, fruitful, or beneficial. How many times have you found yourself sitting and dwelling in the negative and allowing it to become overwhelming where you don’t see yourself the way God sees you? Maybe you’ve embraced the negative picture that you’re not worthy of __________ (fill in the blank).

I want to encourage you to renew your mind daily. By doing this, you will be taking purposeful steps to overcome challenges and be better prepared when the attack of negativity erupts throughout the day. Change the narrative of the story that you’re telling yourself about yourself. To go to new places, you need a new mindset. Get rid of the old and embrace something new.

Know this, when you transform your mind and are healed, Satan will fight all the more to take you back to “what was.” We aren’t immune to his tactics just because our faith in God has increased and we believe in His promises for our lives. The battle gets stronger when our mental power is fulfilled through the Holy Spirit. Transformation is an ongoing process and requires patience. It requires us to be specific, realistic, and active in making the necessary changes.

How do we transform our thinking and renew our minds?

Pray

The most important thing we can do when our minds are a “jumbled mess” is to pray and seek God for peace. He will grant you peace, not just any peace, but a “peace that surpasses all understanding.” This peace “will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:6. Who wouldn’t want this peace? When everything is going on around you that seems to be in an uproar, you have peace. When people think you should be losing your mind, you have peace. When people are walking out of your life, you have peace. When the job no longer exists, you have peace. When the business endeavor didn’t go the way you expected, you have peace. Pray and ask God for peace as you renew your mind and increase your faith in Him.

Remove Yourself from People Who Don’t Think You Can Grow

God is using you while He is transforming you and this will make some people uncomfortable. They will want you to remain in the place that you’re in and not grow. They don’t believe you need a transformation and want you to stay stuck in a mental and emotional fog. Be determined to shift and be renewed regardless of how others view your transformation. Don’t give in to the thought of “hurting their feelings” when you pull away or remove yourself from their presence. Your feelings matter at this moment and in the moments ahead. Be ok with your growth and the vision you have for mental peace. When you remove yourself from people who don’t think you can grow, you will be refreshed because you’re not continuing to entangle yourself in negative environments. Embrace your newness and refreshing future!

Stop Being Controlled by Your Past

The vision of Love Yourself to Life is to encourage women to embrace the essence of who they are and not allow the past to interfere with their present and future. I spent many years allowing my past to have a negative effect on my future. I was allowing it to hold me hostage and not take the necessary steps for a better life. Our present situation is a process, and we must be determined not to give up when it becomes challenging. Healing from past hurts, hurt. It doesn’t feel good when we are reliving emotions and feelings from things people have said or done to us. Can I get an Amen?

When we truly do the work, it is going to cause an eruption of memories that are painful and unfavorable. We remember decisions that we made that weren’t productive for our lives or conducive to the direction in which God was sending us.

Hallelujah! As I wrote that God reminded me of Jonah. God instructed Jonah to go to Nineveh, but he didn’t want to go there because he considered them enemies. Jonah didn’t want to follow God’s plan and went in an entirely different direction. Long story short, when it came down to it, God had the final say, and Jonah ultimately travel to Nineveh.

Reflect on a time that you made a decision that was the opposite of what God wanted for you. There are specific moments in my life when I specifically remember God telling me to ask someone a specific question. To be transparent with you, I didn’t ask and had to learn not to live in a space of regret. Very shortly after I made a shift, God revealed the facts of what I could not see that would’ve been disclosed had I only followed His instructions to simply ask. Even in that situation, I’ve had to renew my mind and not allow mustard seed-size thoughts to settle and grow. If I wasn’t careful, I would allow that situation of my past to control my future. I admonish you again to stop being controlled by your past. We’ve all made mistakes. We’ve all sinned. We’ve all fallen short of God’s glorious standard. Romans 3:23

It’s time to shift! It’s time for renewal! Not tomorrow…NOW! Connect with me for help freeing yourself from what’s holding you hostage. Again, we need to have a daily practice of Renewing Our Minds.

Remember this: When your mind is renewed, you are not controlled by your past. You are FREE!

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A Willingness to Change

Written by Laura Carter and Monica Debro

Change, it’s going to happen whether we want it to or not. There are times that change is good and other times that we wish something better could’ve happened. We can plan dates, times, seasons, and reasons to make things different in our lives.

No matter what your present circumstances may be, they are subject to change.  Go outside and look at what you see, feel, and hear.  Then go back outside in six hours.  You will notice various changes.  It’s the same thing with our lives and the things around us.  The weather outside will continue its designed path no matter what the plan is for our daily routine.  The news announcer will report what the predicted weather will be for the next seven day and if happening, the path of a storm. We may adjust our outside activities according to the report. This may include putting on a jacket, rain boots, pants instead of shorts (or vice versa), a scarf, hat, or whatever adjustment we need to make based on the weather outside. If we are paying close attention, we take extra items based on how the weather may change while we are out and about during our day.

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2021 Goal Planning

I specifically remember being away from home for a workshop in November 2019. As I was packing to leave, I’d made plans to work on my 2020 vision book during the downtime in my hotel room. I gathered my vision book that I keep adding pages to each year and all the necessary supplies and magazines that I would need.  There was a level of excitement as I thought about what I wanted to accomplish in 2020 and all the great things that would happen. I was ready!

On the first evening of the workshop, I laid out the supplies and started cutting words and pictures from the magazine. I was strategic in making sure that I added goals that would be challenging. You may have heard the quote “If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you” Fred DeVito. I wanted to be challenged and changed. I didn’t want things to stay the same in my personal and professional lives. I wanted to be better, to feel better, to do better.

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Have You Made Your Self-Care List and Checked it Twice?

We all make lists for one reason or another. Shopping. Groceries. Errands. Home. Businesses. Work. Family. Friends. Packing. Cooking. Lists for the list—LOL.  And at the current moment—Christmas lists that go on and one into the late hours of the night. With these lists and more, have you made a self-care list?

Taking care of others and people-pleasing can easily cause burnout and deflate the ability to experience authentic happiness. There are many reasons why it is important to be consistent in practicing self-care.

  • Promotes positive feelings
  • Helps to focus on the future
  • Allows for quality reflection
  • Maintains self-confidence
  • Decrease stress
  • Increases resilience
  • Brings a level of happiness
  • Rejuvenates inner thoughts and well-being
  • Increases the ability to focus and complete tasks
  • Keeps you motivated
  • Improves happiness, thought process, and decision-making
  • Increases the ability to be patient with others
  • Demonstrates saying YES to YOU as you LOVE YOURSELF TO LIFE!

Self-care prevents us from pouring from “not enough” after we’ve given our all to others. When we don’t rejuvenate ourselves, it decreases our abilities to genuinely be available for others. When not genuinely available, one can find himself/herself simply going through the motions to make it through the moment and day.

A few examples to practice self-care include:

  • Getting enough rest
  • Healthy eating
  • Drink plenty of water
  • Positive self-talk and affirmations
  • Maintaining a manageable schedule
  • Delegating to others—you can’t do it all
  • Exercise
  • Annual physical exams
    • Men—Monthly Self-Breast Exam (yes, men should be doing this as well) and Annual Physical—including prostate exam if included depending on age and family history
  • Get dressed when you go out of the house. Please, please don’t go out in pajamas, wrinkled clothes, and hair not combed. Always be presentable because you never know who you’ll see.
  • Releasing yourself from toxic relationships. Toxic relationships are draining and will take away any excitement, energy, and effort to be around the person(s).
  • Develop and practice healthy boundaries.
  • Forgiving others—not for them, but for you.
  • Don’t lose yourself in a relationship. Maintain your own identity and continue doing things that bring happiness.
  • Take yourself out on a date. During COVID-19, that may be a stay-at-home date. Have food delivered, choose a movie or playlist, get dressed, and enjoy time alone.
  • When you feel it’s safe, take some time to go on a vacation. Whether it is driving somewhere or flying, travel, and go someplace new. A getaway for a few days is refreshing.
  • Take a day to just do nothing. No computer. No cleaning. No shopping. Just rest and relax. I’m still working on this myself.
  • Learning to use the short answer of “No.” By the way, a “no” answer doesn’t require an explanation.
  • Step away from difficult tasks to allow time to refocus.
  • Changing your environment when things get overwhelming or stressful. Examples include—turning off the television, playing calming music, burning candles, dimming the lights (if possible), going for a walk, aromatherapy, sitting quietly to meditate, or journaling.
  • Create a home spa for relaxation
  • Clean and declutter your home
  • Take a break from social media

Healthcare professionals, as we provide care to others, it is equally important that we take time to nourish our bodies and minds. When was the last time you had quality time for self-care? Do you practice self-care by taking the required lunch break? This will allow time for you to step away and recharge. The people we serve need us to be healthy, happy, and whole. Have you had a massage lately? If not, what excuses are you making? Not enough time. Forgetting to make an appointment. I guarantee someone reading this has a spa gift card that hasn’t been used. Wow! I just remembered that I have one tucked away that hasn’t been used for self-care. Making an appointment tomorrow!

If you’re an entrepreneur, have you made a self-care list to prevent yourself to keep from getting overloaded as you continue to grow your business? I’ll say it again, the people we’re serving need us to be healthy, happy, and whole.

All-in-all, self-care is necessary to keep a balance in all areas; physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and financial. This may require not doing some things to focus on self-care.  Why? Because YOU ARE WORTH IT!

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Who or What Has Your Power?

In today’s world with everything going on around us, it’s easy to lose ourselves and forget how to use our voices. It has become easy to lose our POWER. How? I’m glad you asked.

  • We lose our power by watching what others are doing and try to keep up with them in our personal and professional lives.
  •  Not knowing our true value and how we can help others
  • Allowing others to degrade our self-worth, which negatively affects our self-esteem
  • Lusting after what someone else has and wanting to obtain it at any cost.

By staying in the past and allowing whatever happened to hold us hostage and prevent us from moving forward We lose our voices because of something that was said to us in one environment or another. Our voices are necessary. Our voices are powerful. Our voices and stories will help someone else. Use Your Voice! Snatch back your POWER! If you have already given your power away, I demand you to take it back. Why? Because YOU ARE WORTHY!!

Sing it with me “I’ve got the POWER!”