Blessed & Re-focused

Entry 7/9/2020 9:58am

Hey Fam!

I hope that you and yours are well, healthy and safe. 💕

As I was getting my day started this morning I thought, what are some things in life that we may need to release as they are no longer feeding us or allowing us to pursue the next stage in our journeys? If you stop and think for a moment; what habits, conversations, behaviors or beliefs continue to be distractions and time-stealers? If you recognized these things as the deterrents from reaching your goals that ultimately shape your destiny, would you still entertain such actions, people, places and things? I believe that many of us would say NO, maybe even HECK NO but in reality saying no to distraction and YES to what will truly fill and fuel you is hard. It requires accountability, strength, focus and forgiveness. Forgiveness is probably the most important of them all because there will be days when we fall short and will need to grace ourselves, dust our shoulders and hone in on the goal again, then "rinse and repeat". This is where fasting can serve to help us sift through the weeds and time-stealers to recommit and refocus on our true desires, purpose and the tasks that will allow us to reach them.  Although I am not personally a fan of platforms like Instagram and Facebook, I do know that there is often a wealth of good information available there, networking opportunities and many people have built a career using their social media influence. All great things! However, I've personally found that I've spent valuable pieces of my day "scrolling" to find inspiration, current trends or to even check in on the lives of those I admire. On the surface these may not seem like bad things and they aren't "bad" but when we pull the onion all of the way back, how did any of my social media "discoveries" truly add value to me? Did this time scrolling assist me in checking off one of my life goals? Or did peeking into someone else's life add to or subtract from my own? Ask yourself these questions... I'll wait. The reality is that although these outlets may offer some good we have to be mindful of how much we allow it to take away from our main agendas. Today I've challenged myself to a social media fast. By fast, I mean willfully refraining from this activity for a period of time. Afterall, what good is there to squander any amount of time that we can never recover? It's simply wasteful. Now am I saying that I will never go on Instagram and Facebook again, no, that isn't realistic nor my point, the bigger picture is recognizing what is zapping our time, energy and focus, then choosing to realign with what will optimally serve our highest good and intentions. It's a choice to choose ourselves and what will add or multiply our lives and our value. Along with this, I'll add another thief to this mix..... Complaining! Oh my God, when I realized how often I complain (just yesterday lol), I had to shake myself! What good is complaining when I could be spending time writing, dreaming, planning and being thankful? No good. I even realized that when I complain, nothing changes, the complaints just make me feel horrible about life and the truth is that life is GREAT!! No matter the circumstance, the job, Covid (ugh, I wish this one would just be done), relationship, the screaming kids, piled dishes or the extra 10lbs you may wish to lose. Life is still GREAT! It's great because we are here, living, breathing and able to experience what many wish they could. Most of us are even living lives that if you truly look at them are quite praiseworthy. We raise our children, manage our households, everything that we could ever need/want is within a fingertip's reach, we have those that love us and platforms (like that dang social media that I'm fasting from) to allow us to reach people, sell our products/services, free nutrition advice and so much more. When we think of it that way, what is there to complain about? Not much huh, or are you just nit-picking and being petty, are you looking for something to complain about? Be honest. I challenge you to join me in an effort to stop complaining for at least 1 week and see how much better you feel and observe the other useful things you come up with to do with your words and intentions. Also, select something to fast from, something that is truly distracting you from your goals or from who you are truly trying to become. I'm so excited about this! I believe that the action of counting our blessings and fasting from what distracts us will truly catapult us to a new, more fruitful direction. I wish you love, light, abundance and the constant perception of gratitude for all that is around you! Warm hugs, -Candace