Motivational Monday (V.5) — The Underdog

There are those people in your life or that you come across in life that live to see you fail. They want to see you fall. They act as if they care and smile in your face, but deep down they just want to watch you crash and burn. I come across these people on a daily basis and I’ve learned to just smile back because no longer am I in need of someone validating my existence. I am who I am and for those who do not like what I’m working towards, then they can keep going about their business because I know I will.

I came across this quote that is so real about how I feel about peoples thoughts on my life that I had to share:

Everybody loves the underdog, and then they take an underdog and make I’m a hero and they hate him. But as long as they can knock you back down it seems  like you’re an underdog again, and things do surface, and they think this is real, ‘these guys’ intentions are genuine and sincere. It seems they will embrace you again.

Fred Durst

It’s crazy how some people live off of the downfall of others. That boils down to the person not being happy with themselves. The underdog always seems to prevail and then there’s a party celebrating them, but as soon as they slip up they become the ‘underdog’ again and go back to not existing.

I feel that whether you are an underdog or not, don’t live to please others. Don’t live for others approval. It’s all about living for you and not needing anyone to validate who you are.

Motivational Monday (V.4) — Being Happy for the Success of Others

Sometimes when you’re not at the point you want in life and you have people around you prospering in their own lives it can dampen your mood and make you feel some way towards their success. It’s hard to have a friend land a new job and you’re sitting in your current situation waiting for things to happen for you. Yeah you’ve applied, yeah your friend could’ve gotten lucky, yeah you could’ve got that promotion… Why the excuses? Why not be more proactive in your decisions. Don’t be upset over the success of others when you have the same 24 hours in a day as they do.

I came across this article in the Huffington Post, Stop Hating: Five Reasons It Pays to Get Happy About Other People’s Success. Here’s their tips on how to not be a ‘hater.’:

1. Proactively look for opportunities to shine the spotlight on someone else.
2. Create a daily gratitude list.
3. Be aware of jealousy.
4. ‘Fake it till you make it.’
5. Start with the people you love.
6. Work you way up to dealing with the hard stuff
7. With practice, you’ll be able to tackle the more sensitive issue.

In all honesty it’s hard to look at someone, especially a good friend, and not be happy for them when they reach their goals, but if you’re not where you want to be feel some type of animosity, better yet, jealousy. There’s no need for that. Just take a different approach when going about what you want to achieve. Every one has the same 24 hours, make the most of it. With the tips stated above the least you could do is act happy. Friends, family members, etc. can tell just by the tone of your voice the excitement. Yes I have told friends that I’m happy, but not happy as a joke and that was wrong. I need to celebrate their success and continue to be proactive as I wait on my time to come. Success is not going to come to you. You must work for it. So instead of getting jealous when someone reaches a goal for you, celebrate, continue to work, and when your time comes others will celebrate with you as you celebrated with them.

Motivational Monday (V.3) — 7 Cardinal Rules for Life

Motivational Monday (V.2) — Making Time For YOU!

I’m a little late with this weeks Motivational Monday, but I have been so exhausted. I have been up the past week editing the blog’s archive and my sleep pattern went completely off. I would fall asleep after 2am, rush to be to work by 9am and be cranky throughout the day due to lack of sleep. This isn’t the first time I’ve done this. I procrastinated my way through college, truthfully speaking. All-nighters were a weekly routine for me especially for big projects. I always told myself I worked better under pressure, but I guess that was just another excuse. I’m always off doing other things and never taking care of myself. I always overlook how important it is to take care of my body. I always push off taking vitamins for the next day, calling the doctor next week, waiting until the last minute to pay bills. I have honestly spent a lot of my money on nonsense. I have nothing to show for it. At 22 years old I want to take learn to become a better me in all aspects, mentally / physically / spiritually.

In trying to become a better ‘Me’ I have to become more conscious of everything I’m consuming, and I’m not just talking food. I want to consume things that will make me happy, challenge my brain, and most importantly boost my energy. Being that I commute to and from work daily it can be troublesome and by the time I get home I’m done and all I want to do is lay in bed, watch videos on YouTube and if I happen to fall asleep so be it. This leads to an irregular sleeping pattern and when I wake up after 1am from taking a ‘nap’ at 7:30pm I want to get up and get something to eat. I want to get up and do something. Then by the time I fall back asleep it’s too late and I’m literally fighting for sleep before I have to get up for work. To me and making time for myself I have to be on some type of schedule. I have to give my self an allotted time to watch the videos / TV shows I want to watch and still make time for my 8 hours of sleep and waking up early enough to make breakfast or have it already made and ready to go.

I’ve realized that I feel so much better with not just ample hours of sleep, but when I have everything ready for the next day with my purse having all my essentials, my lunch is packed, and my outfit laid out. It’s nothing worse than waking up late, having to fix lunch (or opt to buy fast food; money wasted), and digging through your closet for something to wear and hoping it matches.

It becomes a balancing act and trying to figure out your day with getting work done, but always finding time for yourself. Always finding time to take care of yourself whether it is pre-making lunches, checking in with the doctor annually, maintaining organization in your home, etc. Your surroundings affect your mood quickly and if you’re always in a rush and living in a mess that’s the energy you exert to others whether is purposely or inadvertently.

In essence it’s just about giving yourself time, JUST FOR YOU! Not thinking about work, kids, family, boyfriend/husband, mom/dad, sister/brother, friends, etc. It’s about making time for you. Put the phone down — that means get off the blogs, twitter, Facebook, & Instagram. Take a shower, relax, no technology at all. Just pick up a magazine, a newspaper, a book you’ve been meaning to read for months that’s collecting dust. Paint your nails, listen to that album you’ve been meaning to listen to, but never found the time. Get your mind right and just relax even if its for 5 minutes. Not everyone has the time to give themselves a lot of ‘me’ time. You have to though and make it a part of your daily life. It’s great to be there for others from whatever aspect, but you have to be 100% to do so. That ‘me’ time is the first step.

Motivational Monday (V.1): ‘Commitment’

I meant to post this earlier, but I was in a tad bit of a rush this morning. As I sit here at job #2 (babysitting) I have a little bit of time on my hands. My message for today revolves around what the title says, commitment. I’ve been finding a lot of great quotes via instagram and this one stood out to me.

Commitment is that turning point in your life when you seize the moment and convert it into an opportunity to to alter your destiny.

 Denis Waitley

Commitment is something that is essential in life and with the new year in full swing its easy to lose sight of the goals that you set for the new year. It might only last for a month, two, maybe three. How long do you stay committed to eating right? How many times do you keep telling yourself you’ll go to the gym? How many times do you tell your self that you’ll organize a room in your house? The list can go on and on. It all ends up in procrastination and pushing it off for the next day.

Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today

Murphy’s Law

What is the point in setting goals when you aren’t going to commit? I am guilty of this a lot and that is one thing I want to work on. When it came to writing this post I was like eh, I don’t feel like it. No one will care, I’ll do it tomorrow. It’s not about someone caring. I don’t care anymore if anyone were to do this. I said I was going to blog every day and admitted to missing one day, but I want to become committed to this. Whatever you put your name on should be done with 100%. Give everything you do your all. It’s time to stop putting in half of your time on something you signed up to do. Even if you’re not happy where you’re at, be it your job, you signed up for that so until you find something new, or make something new, give it your all.

I was thinking about how much I dread Monday mornings and I came across this quote:

Having a rough morning? Place your hand over your heart. Feel that? That’s called purpose. You’re alive for a reason. Don’t give up.

You might not know what your purpose is, but in due time you will. It’s time to be persistent, stop the procrastination and fully commit to becoming a better you. It’s a daily journey for myself and this blog is helping me embark on that journey. Don’t put yourself in situations that you might want to back out of. If you’re in it be in it. No other way around it.

Until next time…