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Showing posts from August, 2017

Black Panther Trailer

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Marvel dropped the Black Panther teaser trailer a couple of months ago, and like everybody else I was ridiculously hyped. So much melanated goodness all on my screen that I did not know what to do with myself. As someone who has really enjoyed almost all of the Marvel movies (there was that one Hulk movie that I could have done without), I am so out of my mind over the combination of Marvel and melanin love. So even though it is late, I had to share the trailer.

Get Stress Tested

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Many people go through life stressed out but not even really knowing it or knowing how stressed they are. It is important that we do a self assessment and then go beyond to figure out how we are going to deal with our stress levels. In the medical field when a person comes in with complaint of chest pain or heart problems, one of the diagnostics that the physicians may do is a stress test. This is a controlled medical procedure that looks at how your heart handles physiological stress. If they find that the patient goes into distress and the heart cannot handle it, additional treatment is then arranged. Stress in one's life can bring about physical illnesses because that individual does not have the right outlet to release the stress. Heart conditions are just one of the ways. In order to avoid this and know where to start, a person has to know how much stress is affecting his or her life. A great place to start is through stress tests. There are plenty free ones that you c

Justice League Final Trailer

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I cannot wait for this movie to come out. DC has not been actually keeping up with Marvel's success nevertheless, I am hoping for something phenomenal. Unlike most, I did not absolutely hate Batman vs. Superman. I enjoyed some of it, particularly Wonder Woman. I am keeping my fingers crossed that The Justice League is %200 times better. The release date is set for November 17, 2017. I do not go to the movies as much as I would like to but I will be there for this one.

Hone Your Skills

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The greatest thing you can ever give anybody is a skill. Beyond earning a living it gives them pride. - Ken Paves The teachers and educators of the world get a big shout out for this one. The patience that it takes to teach our young minds in the age of social media and immediate gratification with less and less parental support it beyond my comprehension. Kudos to our educators. Beyond that,I would say the greatest gift you can give yourself is a skill and beyond that is honing that skill. I talk about how accomplishment is a wonderful stress reliever because it provides us with a sense of belonging and pride. Anything that boosts our self-esteem helps to decrease our stress levels.  Now if we cultivate our skills we will forever have a source of accomplishment. If you discover what you are good at and love doing, engage in it, practice it, share it. Live it.

Yuna's got a Crush

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Ever get butterflies when someone you like is around but they do not know it. It has been a long time since I have had a crush but Yuna and Usher capture that feeling really well in their single, "Crush." It is funny watching my kids grown up and go through their crushing phases. How do you tell your kids to cherish these moments. They do not get it. They want to rush through life. Then they will rely on nostalgic songs to remind them of their childhood.

5 Quick Stress Busters

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If you do not want to be a killer, work on reducing the stress in your life. Stress does indeed kill. Maybe not the people around you but it can be a very harmful catalyst in bringing about other chronic health conditions that can contribute to illness and death. I love the meme because, I'm sure, we can think of certain points in our lives that we wished we did not have to be around certain people. It is cute and funny and we get it. Of course that is not the solution. More over, we want to preserve ourselves and our well being above all else. However, it remains imperative that we find constructive ways to deal with stress. The below suggestions are not new of course but it cannot hurt to highlight them again. Hopefully, the more we are exposed to them, the more likely we are actually going to implement them. 1.   Know what your stressors are. Take a moment to analyze your stressful moments and see what triggers you. Then either work on how you react to those things or work

Shine Bright with Beyonce

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Shining Beyonce Shinin', shinin', shinin', shinin', yeah (Shinin', yeah) All of this winnin', I've been losin' my mind, yeah (Losin' my mind) Oh, hold on, hold on, baby Don't (don't) try to (try to) Slow me down (down) Hold on, don't (don't) try to (try to) Slow me down In order to accomplish big things in this life or go for higher goals, we have to have a level of confidence that is not going to allow others to deter us. It is not about taking advice or listening to wisdom, but about blocking out the haters. Sometimes the negativity could come from those that are closest to you, sometimes it can even be yourself. We have to get to a point that we do not let our efforts get dampened by the naysayers. That may mean putting on a great song that gets you motivated and pushing forward like Shining by Beyonce does for me.

Go Beyond Expectations

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If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome. - Michael Jordan Confidence is key to taking control of your life. I believe in the power of positive self esteem. That will be an ongoing theme with me. Self doubt can be crushing. It can lead you to give up on  yourself which is unacceptable. You have to be confident enough not in your ability, not in your skill, not in your talent but in your existence. You have to be confident in your presence. Be confident in the fact that you are created, you are here, and you draw breath and that alone makes you worthy of fighting for your place in this life. Abilities, gifts, and skills can be acquired but our existence is a gift in itself. It is worthy, you are worthy of your best effort. You cannot let what others expect of you to deter you. Ever! How do other people know what you are truly capable of? How do they know? They do not. If the great leaders of yesterday stopped a

Obliterate Stress with Your Mind

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Our greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another. - William James Do not relinquish control of your life to worry and stress. We have the power to exercise our minds and will power over the negative thoughts that can erode at our stress resilience. Recent studies have shown that how we cope with stressful situations is largely impacted by how we view those situations. How we approach them and plan to solve them. Stress does not always have to be a negative aspect in our lives. We should learn to use it as a fuel to motivate us to get more done and be more productive. Take worry out of the equation and focus more on finding solutions. Be a problem solver in your life. Be a doer. I have often times looked back at my journaling and thought to myself, how much I have complained about the circumstances of my life. In my younger years, I rarely journaled about how I was going to change things. I look at that and think that although I made plan

Get High on Love with Ledisi

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This is just a beautiful song. Ledisi's voice has always been phenomenal. If you have love in your life, be thankful for it, treasure it, nurture it, get high off of it.

Allow Happiness in Your Life

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Happiness is the default state of mind. Happiness is not something you pursue; it is something you allow. Happiness is just being. -Chade-Meng Tan We want to be happy. Our bodies want to be in that good place where everything is right and we are content and at peace and happy. However, things get in the way of that state. Half the time, we are fighting against our own happiness. We are not allowing that happiness to come into our lives and grow. We let life circumstances steal our joy by worrying too much about the outcome. It is something that we cannot help. How can we preserve and protect our feelings if we do not anticipate the negative things that can happen? How can we protect ourselves if we do not mount a defense against the unknown? We are supposed to live in the present. We are supposed to remind ourselves that although we plan for the future our happiness and our state of being is now. Worry is the bedrock of stress. Making possible scenarios up and then worrying abou

These Hands

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These hands  they move slowly  thoughts transform from fragments  floating in my mind onto the  pages -Wanda M. Toby

Put Energy into your Dreams

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Where are you spending your energy? Today, put more energy into your dreams to make them thrive. -Vicki Morris. What are your dreams? What are your goals? What is it that you love? Are you engaging in those things? Are you activating that power or are you going through life like a hamster on the wheel, churning out an existence? If you are gainfully employed, making a good living, taking care of yourself, your family, your business or whatever, I applaud you. You are contributing to society whether you are just getting by or making big bank and keeping up with the Jones. I appreciate the value added that you bring to your surroundings by being yourself and actively engaging in this life. It is a wonderful thing and a blessing that many do not have. With that being said, it doesn't mean that you are happy or fulfilled. If you are not, what are you doing about it. My oldest brother is absolutely my hero. He is phenomenal and amazing to me. He is probably one of the smartes

Connect

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Connect When the  inkling ruffles  the wanderings of your  soul respond to the calling with  I will -Wanda M. Toby

Follow your Intuition

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Connect When the inkling ruffles the wanderings of your soul respond to the calling with I will Follow your intuition to contact someone. You never know when you could be the answer to someone else's problem. This is so true. In this case, kindness can go a long way. I see so many things in social media and the news that are sometimes disheartening because it is mainly a showcase of people who are not being kind to one another. In the news they highlight all the negative that we do against each other. In the comment section of practically any social media post, we get yet another showcase of how mean can we be to each other. Where is kindness and empathy? I always talk about the importance of mindful living especially when it comes to aiding in stress relief, but know that being mindful of our reactions to others will help curtail some of the negativity that we always see. Like Carol Adrienne states, you never know. You never know what someone is going through or what y

Never Stress over what you can't Control

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There are times when it seems as if stress comes out of nowhere. However, it may seem or even feel, stress does not come of out no where. Stress response or reaction usually starts with a trigger. Something has happened to throw us off balance and now our bodies are activated to get things back under control.  Where we can have an impact on how stress is activated in our life, is by assessing and being aware. What was the trigger? Why are we having this reaction and how can we change the course towards a positive end result. One thing that we should not do regardless of the trigger is worry. Worry only leads to more stress and most of the times it comes without hopes for a solution. Worry particularly can get over activated if you are stressing about something you have absolutely no control over. Never stress over what you can't control. Instead, think of how to solve the problem, brainstorm and engage in team work, if there is a team. What ever it is, know that time wil

Stress Relief Tip: Create Your Future

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Create your future There are few things more stressful than uncertainty. At least one other thing is a lack of control over one's own life. These things disrupt our mental homeostasis, increasing that off-balance feeling. Our body's main physiological goal is to stay balanced in that place where everything feels right. When we are out of balance we will find ways to cope with those feelings and regain that level of equilibrium that our nature desires. The idea is to cope with the imbalance via healthy activities that help instead of resort to things like drug, alcohol, or destructive behaviors. Taking control of your destiny before things get out of control is one way to help. This is not to say that every aspect in one's life is in order or the way you would like it to be. Instead, it is about taking control of your life back. You can do this by taking a step back and looking at things in your life objectively. Take the time to assess and decide which aspects of your

Stressless Tip: Engage your gift

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Happy Feet Some days I'm not walking in or towards purpose with love and peace, I'm just happy to walk I am big on walking in your purpose or at least working your way towards it. We all have special talents and gifts that once we unlock and realize what they are, we can flourish. Actively engaging and practicing our gifts is like tapping into an infinite well of energy which can lead us to joy and peace. This space is where we can thrive. Even if we are not making a living at it, at the very least we can enjoy the benefits of exercising our gifts and benefiting from  the stress relief it can bring to our lives.