When you set your mind to something, you’re more likely to accomplish it, right?
 
If you don’t have a plan, then you’re probably just going along with the flow, letting whatever happens, happen.
 
It’s easy to do that, and then if something good happens, then well that’s great. If not, then it’s okay because you didn’t exactly have a plan that couldn’t work out or get messed up.
 
At the start of this year, I tried looking at my life from a different perspective. 2016 brought a lot of ups and downs, and I was ready for a fresh start. I’m trying to be more  intentional, more goal-oriented, and routine. I hadn’t been working out on a regular basis, and my body could tell. I’ve had back problems for as long as I could remember, and going to the chiropractor hadn’t really been helping me much lately. When January hit I really started making sure going to work out and doing my back exercises wasn’t just an option that I thought I could do if  I “had time.” I have plenty of time, it’s just making it a priority and following through with it.
 
And you know what? Once I started making that a priority, waking up and getting out of bed by 6:30 didn’t seem like such a drag. I started looking forward to it (most days, usually not so much on rainy days), but I know that afterwards, I’m so glad that I did. And those problems with my back? I’ve realized that they start to bother me only when I haven’t been active in a few days, so that gives me all the more motivation to get there and stay consistent.
 
It’d be easy to tell myself I should just stay in bed when I’m tired, to make excuses for why I don’t need to go. I made my mind up, though. Once I started to see and feel results, it’s given me all the more excitement to keep it up. It didn’t happen right away, and that’s when it’s easiest to give up. We live in a generation where we think everything should be instant. We don’t have patience for much. We’re used to overnight deliveries and instant messages and just aren’t accustomed to waiting for results, waiting for the right opportunity, the right significant other, the right time and place where you’re meant to be.
 
We have to reset our minds to think patience, think long-term. It might not seem worth the wait now, but we have to remind ourselves that it will be- that giving up now won’t make us any better.  We’ll look back one day and see how much it paid off that we had trusted God’s timing, because He knows what He has planned for you and me.. He’s known since before we were born or even thought of. He knows what’s going to happen today, tomorrow, and throughout our entire life. We just have to wait for it to unfold.
 
Whether we think we know what’s going to happen and have something all planned out, it could turn out completely different. We can think we’re in the job we’re going to stay in forever, that we’re with the person we’re going to marry, that the body we have now isn’t ever going to be any better or less achy, but God could have a totally different plan for us. He created the heavens and the earth and everything in it, so if He could do that, wouldn’t it be so easy for Him to change a small seemingly insignificant part of our lives that completely changes what we thought we knew was certain?
 
We can be upset when something happens, something unexpected or unwanted, or we can be open and courageous, making the best of it and being excited about it. Being excited that we’ve been given the opportunity to take on whatever it is. It could bring you down or make you feel defeated.. OR, it could make you stronger; make you more able or qualified, more thankful. You get to pick how you handle it. You control what you think and how you think.

I’ve been learning to erase the negative thoughts. Erase the defeat, the negativity, and instead replace it with optimism and the will to persevere, even when it’s tough, even when the wait for something seems to be never-ending. It’s not easy and there’s times that I do struggle with it- that I get discouraged and disappointed. When I do that, is when those that hold me accountable to achieving my goals step in. They remind me to keep going, to not give up or get down. Who you surround yourself is who you’ll resemble, so make sure you’re spending time with those who will build you up and encourage you in your daily walk. That hold you accountable and help you reach your goals.
 
When we set our mind to erase the negativity, I’ve realized it becomes easier day by day to actually believe what I’m thinking. That it will work out. That the work will pay off. That  the wait will be worth it. That the rejections can’t defeat me.
 
Only you can change the way you react to things. Don’t let it bring you down, but let it bring you higher. Let it give you the motivation and inspiration to continue on and shine brighter than you ever dreamed. Set your mind to it, and you will do it. There won’t be any stopping you. 

No.
 
You’re not good enough.
 
You don’t have the qualifications we need.
 
You don’t treat me like he/she treats me- I can do better than you.
 
You don’t have enough experience.
 
There’s SO many ways we’re told why we can’t do something, that we didn’t get the job, why someone doesn’t want to be in a relationship anymore, why we’ll never amount to something “big.” We don’t like being told no. Most of the time it’s hard because it is something we want and we hear the words that we don’t want to hear- that it’s not going to happen. No matter what we say or do, that it’s not going to make a difference in the decision.
 
Sometimes we do all we can and it still isn’t good enough. BUT. It is good enough. That’s what we forget to realize. We start looking at ourselves as the world does and actually start to believe what everyone else says. How awful is that?
 
We forget that we’re the person we’re supposed to be at this very moment. That God’s timing is perfect and we’re so much more than good enough. In His eyes, we are perfect. All of our flaws, all of our mistakes, whatever we think we’re lacking- every ounce of who we are is perfect to Him. The world might see us as lacking, but in reality, we have everything we need. The characteristics, the qualifications we need to succeed and be who we’re supposed to be. God wouldn’t put us somewhere with someone or doing something without equipping us with everything that we need to carry it out.
 
One time a professor told me that I wasn’t going to make it in what I was studying. It threw me into a whirlwind because well that was my major and it was the middle of my junior year so how was I supposed to do anything about it now? I let that control so much of my emotions for awhile- I let myself believe her. But now that I look back at it, how could I fall into that idea when she knew so little about me? She saw me in class for maybe 3 hours most a week, and that was it. She knew nothing about me outside the classroom. But still, I let myself feel inferior. How easy is it for us to get caught up in something like that and to convince ourselves that we aren’t good enough. Pretty easy I think.
 
What about when we get the email saying that we didn’t get the job we applied for.. That they’ve decided to pursue other applicants. Let me tell you, I’ve gotten plenty of those. Plenty to last me quite awhile. (I actually just got one as I wrote this). Do I let that get me down and discouraged? Absolutely not. Yeah, it stinks that I might not have gotten something I wanted, but that just means that God’s telling me: “No. Not right now. I’ve got something better for you up the road. Just be patient, have faith, and wait for it. It might not come today, next week or next month… but it will come. Trust me.” And when you do finally find the job that He created you for, you’ll look back and be so glad that you waited, that you didn’t settle for anything less. It’s tough, believe me, I know.. but I know 110% that it’ll be worth it. Worth every rejection email, worth every interview, worth every long application process that you’ve gone through. He’s created you for a special purpose, and He won’t let it not happen. He’ll bring you to it and He’ll get you through the times that you sit and wonder if you’ll ever find your “dream job.”
 
How many times have you been in a relationship and it ended- unexpected, mutually.. either way, it’s usually not a fun place to be in. It can leave us feeling sad, lost, and hurt. It might be the timing, it might be feelings faded, there might be another person in the picture. It hurts and it’s the worst feeling in the world knowing that there’s nothing you can do to change his or her mind. That might cause us to feel not good enough and send us into a bad place for the future. If we take the words someone says to us and replay them in our minds enough- they start to take root in us. We have to know that no matter what, no matter how wrong or right a relationship is, that we’re precious. Everyone has feelings and we have to remember that.
 
When you feel disheartened by a failed relationship, it’s another no from God. While we might not want Him to tell us no- because we believed that this person was right for us- we have to trust Him. It might not happen right now, but you never know. Maybe in the future things will work out. If not, He’s taking that person out of your life right now for a reason. There’s someone else out there that He created just for you and that person is going to be so much better than you could have ever dreamed up. In the mean time, don’t forget your worth. You’re precious and you’re loved infinitely. You’re beautiful and you’re handsome and you’re perfect. Don’t ever let anyone’s lack of feelings for you make you feel anything less because you are a gem. And you’re cherished. So much.
 
Next time you’re declined for some reason, look at it from a different perspective. Look at it with excitement and optimism because that wasn’t the right opportunity or person for you. God has something else planned for you, and it’s going to be the right thing for you. It might be a long path with lots of waiting, but just keep walking and don't lose hope. It’s hard to be patient sometimes, sometimes I just wish I could have what I’ve been praying for, but I remind myself that I must have patience. That when the time is right, God will reveal to me what He has planned and it will fall into place.
 
No more sorrow, no more tears. Let’s look at no as a way to be eager- to open our hearts and have faith that whatever we’re wishing and wanting for is going to be SO much better than we imagined. 

​The start of a new year brings so much fresh perspective to mind. A blank page, a blank slate.. we can wipe the board from last year clean and start over new. How many of you are a week into 2017 and already blew your new years resolutions? I don’t do the whole resolutions thing, but I do write down goals each year… I figure “goals” is better for me because it’s more of a work in progress kinda thing and I’m more inclined to work on something and make myself better than to completely try to kick a habit or do something all at once.
 
2016 brought a lot with it- good times, bad times, smiles and tears, sickness and health, new friendships, love and heartbreak, new jobs, new experiences. It taught me patience, it taught me forgiveness, it taught me endurance through the hard times and gratefulness for the simple, happy moments.
 
As we’re a week into 2017, I want you to know something. It’s a new year. For all of us. Last year is behind us. The things that happened to us that broke us down, the moments we lost faith and wanted to give up, the moments we didn’t think we’d get through.. it’s done. It’s over. It’s behind us.  Stop looking in the rearview- no matter how pretty, how ugly it might have been. Let us put it in the past and leave it there. It’s there for a reason. Whatever it was, you’re still alive and breathing, and you made it through.
 
Let me tell you what you’re not.. You’re not inadequate. You’re not a failure. You’re not insufficient, weak, or any less beautiful or handsome than the girl or guy next door.
 
But you are... You are enough. You are strong, capable, you are more than enough. You are loved infinitely. You are perfect. Just the way you are. You were created as you are for a reason and you are in the place where you are for a reason. Every moment you’ve experienced has made you into the wonderful human being that you are at this moment.
 
Whether someone made you feel inadequate in the past- told you you couldn’t do something or be something, or made you feel insecure for any reason.. Don’t let that stick with you. You have to erase those negative feelings that they tried to create within you. It’s a new year. Replace those incidents with optimism. You CAN do it. You WILL do it.
 
I’ve been flipping back and forth between reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan and Think Better Live Better by Joel Osteen and they’re both SO good, hence why I’m reading both of them at the same time because I can’t put them down. But they’ve changed my perspective a lot and it’s been good for my outlooks on the new year because they’re helping me learn more about who God is and how great is love is for each and every one of us. To remove the negative perceptions I have on things, and try to see it as God wants me to see it.
 
As this year begins, couldn’t we all use a little of that fresh perspective? To know that we can do anything we put our minds to.
 
Let’s make 2017 the year. The year we forget about what’s happened, but remember what it taught us. Let’s overcome the negativity and spread love and happiness. Let’s be the light. Let’s make the world a better place because there can never be too much kindness. You’re enough and you always will be.