Sweet N Social

Tag: personal growth

  • Making a Comeback

    “Sometimes the hardest part isn’t letting go but rather learning to start over.” ― Nicole Sobon

    I have been having the urge to write again. I guess it’s something that never really leaves you, perhaps life just causes you to stop and re-evaluate what’s important to you.

    A lot has changed since I first started writing this blog many years ago. I started a YouTube and Anchor podcast last year just before the COVID shutdown. I wanted to see what I could offer to the world during the shutdown. I was on a walk with my dogs when the thought of how we were going to manage this “new normal.” I just keep looking at Chloe who I didn’t really want and I just pondered how this dog ended up in my life. My elderly neighbor was placed in a nursing home and she had asked my to keep Chloe. Chloe would growl and my husband when he would give me a kiss before heading off to bed. Chloe sheds a lot too! But here I was, walking this dog and actually enjoying myself. That’s when I realized that no matter what happens in life, we are always going to face change. Change is inevitable! What makes the difference is how we react to the change that is right in front of us each day.

    Now back to my podcast idea, I raced home and decided to make an offer to the coaches in my network. What advice were they offering to their clients during this time of change? The whole premise of the podcast was to present positive insight by offering the coaches an opportunity to be interviewed by me. My first interview appeared on YouTube in March of 2020. A whole year later, I am still interviewing and sharing positive insight that’s being uploaded weekly.

    My purpose moving forward with this blog is a way to provide positive insight that I gathered through the interviews as well as the insight I get while running. I invite you to join me on this comeback journey.

    Quote Source https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/start-over

  • What Are the Bennie’s?

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    Today on my morning run I was able to log in 6.62 miles. It’s a personal best for me so far.  I started running about three months ago.  I started running from my house to the local park which I estimate to be about one mile from my home.  I focused on either running to the park and then walking the rest of my normal trail. I have been an avid walker for over five years.  I believed as many other walkers that walking is better than running. I could list a number of reasons to support my thinking.

    I used to run cross country in high school. I grew up in the northeast corner of Connecticut where our high school mascot was a mountaineer.  I loved running the mountain trails but I was not a fan of running it self. I still don’t think I love running, I just love the benefits or the “bennies” that it provides.

    Thinking about it, the benefits of the things we do is what drives us to do them. It’s truly not the activity it self.  So when it comes to making changes in your lives, the one true question you first have to answer is, what is the benefit, or the bennie’s, I am getting out of this?  Without taking the time to reflect on each habit or change you want to make, it’s pointless without figuring out what it is that your are looking to gain or to eliminate.

    Think about this as we bring 2019 to a close. Now is the time to reflect on what is working and what is not.  Design your life the way you want to, not by the opinions of others! What benefits are you looking to gain in the coming year?

    Photo Source: Click Here

  • Show Up First

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    Show up authentically and synergy will meet you there. ― Sanjo Jendayi

    I started running about three months ago. I had been an avid walker for more that five years or more.  I really have no clue as to where this is taking me. I simply love being out in nature and it’s a great way for me to find clarity and creativity.

    What inspired me to start running?  Well the same park I walk at is the same location that one of the local high school’s cross country team practices at.  I remember on one Sunday morning, I saw a young man out running in the cross country course by himself. Wow!! This young man didn’t wait until the coach told him to practice or the rest of the team to be there, he just went out and did it.

    We don’t need to get other people’s approval to do and be who we are. It’s nice to have a cheering section but sometimes the fans won’t show up until we do.  What have you been wanting to do? Don’t wait, be like that young runner and go for it!

    Photo Source: click here / Quote Source: click here

  • Period of Transition

     

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    “Only those who stick around long enough to see the caterpillar turn into the butterfly actually get to witness the transformation.” ― Kristin Michelle Elizabeth

    I love this quote because it reminds me that there will be people in and out of your lives constantly.  I have been guilty of is worrying about those who didn’t stick around.  Let it go! The past is just that, the past.  Maybe, just maybe, their assignment was up and it was time for them, or you, to move on. Look for the blessing or the lesson and keep moving forward.

    Worry about who isn’t in your life anymore, keeps us from appreciating those who are.  This is nothing but a “period of transition”. For those who did not stay around to witness your transformation, wish them good will and release any negativity that may have surrounded their departure.  Holding on to the negativity is like holding onto an anchor, it just holds you back. Everyone, including you are on our own journeys.  All we can ever do is just keep crawling until it’s time to grow your wings and fly!

    Photo Source: click here    / Quote Source: click here.

  • Stay on The Lookout

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    Blessing are everywhere, you just have to stay on the look out for them.  There are countless miracles that go unnoticed everyday of every minute.  A couple of years ago I learned of just a tiny fraction of the blessing are bodies do for each of us.  For instance, if you exercise, your body has a built in cooling system that you do not have to program.  Your body can heal itself.  You have a build in counseling system consisting of the mind, body and soul.  You are literally a walking miracle each and everyday!

    With that little knowledge alone my life shifted.  When your start to learn just how blessed you are to wake each morning with life,  you begin to notice those things in life that are taking up your energy and time.  You start to value your time and the time of others.

    Time is our most precious commodity.  Take inventory of those things that not longer serve their purpose in your life.  Time is not promised to no one! Take inventory of your own unique gifts and talents and reflect on just how you can us those gifts to serve this world.  Remember: You are a blessing!

    Photo source: Click here.

  • I Won the Jeep!

    I Won the Jeep!

    59720707_10218431886056543_4573895537492754432_oFor anyone who has followed my blogs over the past few years knows that I had an auto accident in 2013. It was a rainy Halloween night when I lost control of my BMW and hit the cement divider wall and totaled my car.  My BMW was my retirement gift to myself. My husband and I were going through some financial challenges at the time and my car was the only thing I refused to part with.

    I remember the evening well because it was the beginning of my spiritual journey.  That night of the accident was when I first noticed the tiny whispers of the Universe.  As I sat in the back seat of the police car, I remember a calming presence within that was saying everything is going to be alright. I remember thinking “God, you have my attention now!”

    Fast forward to 2019 and I am sitting in a huge convention center. My company is about to do a drawing for a 2019 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk.  As I watch the tickets being mixed up, I am thinking my chances of winning is not looking good. There must have be thousands of pink raffle tickets being mixed up in the large clear rotating raffle drum. But I decided not to focus on that, instead I started thinking about how it would feel to be seated in the Jeep, taking in the new car smell.  I could hear them calling the numbers.  I started thinking, I’m still in the running as they called off the first four numbers. By the 6th number, I was thinking, the winning number is really close to one of my four tickets I had.  It wasn’t until they announced the name of the winner that it hit me…  I won!

    I believe that the Universe is always speaking to us.  My accident in 2013 was a wake up call to what life is trying to get me to notice. I make it a practice to stay present and enjoy the beautiful blessing that surround me.  I know this post can not express the sheer gratitude, faith and appreciation I have for such a loving, generous, and supportive Life Force, but what I want to say is Thank you!

     

  • The Path

    The Path

    38787826 - woman jeans and sneaker shoesIn life ,we can get so caught up in the opinions of others.  We worry that we are not doing the “right” thing. What I and so many others fail to recognize is what feels “right” to you is not always going to feel “right” for someone else.  That’s the beauty of life, because their life purpose or path is not for you and vice versa.

    One of my favorite guided meditations is The 21 Day Meditation Challenge – The Energy of Attraction by Deepak Chopra and Oprah Winfrey.  It is on Day 16 – Trusting Nature where the Centering Thought is “Everyone’s spiritual path is perfect.” To me, it is a reminder that not everyone is meant to do what it is that you are here to do.  We are all here with our own divine purpose and mission.  It is up to us to determine what that purpose is.

    What is the key factor  is we are only allotted so much time on this Earth to discover and live our purpose.  Time is the only precious resource that we can never get back.  So my point is this, don’t get so caught up in living someone else’s life.  Live your life purposefully. It’s the only one we have.

  • Creeping Through My List

    Creeping Through My List

    Each year brings a new adventure. This year, I decided to recommit myself to my network marketing business.  Like many others, I associated negatively with network marketing. I never bothered to see if I was perhaps a contributing factor to past failures.

    One of my goals has been to re-connect with people. I have been reaching out to people who are on my contact list to see if they are interested in coffee. This story is about a failed attempt.  Here’s what happened:

    Me: Coffee, next week?
    Woman: No
    Me: Thank you
    Woman: For what?
    Me: I appreciate you responding back.
    Woman: Who is this?
    Me: Tonia Tyler
    Woman: Who
    Me (I thought I knew her): I used to manage you social media account when I worked with …
    Now, I am trying to remember if this is a person I met back in my PR days, so I look at her FB page.
    Me: Pure Romance?
    Woman: How old are you?
    By now, I realize I definitely got her confused with someone else.
    Me: Never mind. I realize you don’t know me so please forget it.
    Woman: Okay
    Woman: You are a creeper (something along those lines)

     

    I almost decided to respond, but then I just deleted our text conversation and her contact information. I was one of those people who use to collect business card and fail to follow up.  I know now that just because we don’t do business today, does not mean we might not do business later, if at all.  It’s not about how many names you have on a list, it’s about the friends you make from your opportunities.

  • All Present

    All Present

    I honestly think we can learn something new each day. The biggest challenge is usually staying present in the moment to notice.  I started getting out and reconnecting with friends.  What I often finding myself doing before we met up was worrying about what were going to say.  It’s at those moments when you have to tell that little voice inside to “be quiet.”  If you are present in the company of others, you can always find something to talk about.

    What does it mean to be present?  That’s always a great question when people ask me.  It’s giving the other person you undivided attention. I always like to define what it is by stating what it is not.  Let me give you some examples.  Being present is not worrying about what you could be doing with someone else. Being present is not scrolling through your phone when someone is sitting with you.  being present is not thinking about what you are going to do once you leave.  Being present is saying to the person you are with, that they are important enough to listen and let them be heard.

    Once I learned what it meant to be present, my marriage and all of my other relations greatly improved.  The power is in your hands. The one thing that is always in your control is yourself.

  • Share Your Music

    Share Your Music

    One of the best messages I read on the message board out side of the gym was “the only bad workout is the one you didn’t do”.  That message is not only great for workouts but anything you choose not to do in life.  The only bad book is the one you choose not to write, or the only bad song is the one you choose not to record.

    I think about the messages I come across and can listen to now that’s available through YouTube.  Whatever you have an interest in, you can find.  I listen to speakers that no longer are with us but had great messages to share. Think about what you have been through in your life. Only you can share that story because only you have lived that life.

    We all have a message and a story to share.  I think you do the world a dis-service by not sharing you story.  You might be the one with the cure for cancer. Don’t leave this thing we call life with your song still in you. Share your music with the world.