What Stops Us??????

What Brick Wall do we always slam into??

What negative thoughts are always invading our heads???

What do we fear?

What troubles us?

What are our dreams/desires??

What gets us down??

Unusual questions to ask on a blog im sure....but i just wanted to get everyone thinking.......why??? because its something i did about a month ago and i continue to do all the time and it has changed my perspective on life, me, goals/dreams etc.....

What exactly am i talking about??? Im talking about being totally honest with ourselves, not faking or pretending everything is fine.....getting it all out there and facing our fears!!!

about a month or two ago, i really felt like God was challenging me on renewing my mind......(i talked about this briefly in another blog post about the way we view ourselves...like with weight and appearance etc......)

One thing I really felt compelled to do was write a list!

and that is what my challenge is for today.....so Ladies go and get a pen and a couple pieces of paper and do something for me :)

What i did was;

on one piece of paper i put the heading "things im grateful for"

another words i was going to write a list about all the things in my life that i consider a blessing, things im grateful for, things that bring me joy and happiness.......and dont say you can only think of a handful because i dont believe you....im sure we can all come up with stacks...

even things like

-I live in an amazing country

-I have a beautiful family

-I have great friends

-I have God in my life

- I have a great job

-have material possesions -(car, furniture etc etc)

-i live in a nice house

and on and on and on...................

now you might not have some of those things, everyones lists will look different......but just take some time to really think, think deep and write yourself a list.............

Now

on the other side, write down what gets to you in life at the moment!!

Like what is troubling you or what would you like to change??

at the time i was writing my list i was a little worried about finances, i wasnt getting much work so that was one of mine.....think you get the idea.....so go write that list :)

now next to each thing that is troubling you, write next to it how to fix it, or how it may not be as bad as you think, really break it down and consider it in light of life....ie, yes i was troubled about money, yes i was troubled about not working enough, yes there were things i wished we could afford or do..........but.............we didnt have any major debts, we had a house, food clothing, we lived in a great country and we had great health.....i had been through financial difficulties before and i had never had to live on the streets or beg for food, God has always taken care of me through every trial and if any good can come out of it it has taught me to budget and to save and to really value what i have!!!

see what i mean??

now im not saying that there is no reason to be upset or worried.....everyone goes thru different things and is at different stages in life...,some people may be facing a death of a family member, losing their job or could be really really sick...and im not trying AT ALL to trivialise that (is that the word?) or to say "its ok, it will be ok".......because until you have been thru any of those things yourself we dont really know what its like........but im simply talking about out everyday worries and troubles!!!

Now, look at your lists.......your happy list should far outweigh your 'troubled' list....and in my case it did!!! in just the space of a minute i came up with about 15 positive things in my life and only 4 real worries, and when i looked at my "worries" i realised that yes even though they did get to me.....i was still alive, i was still healthy, i still had God, family friends etc etc..........

do you see what i mean!!!

never throw this list out.....anytime you forget about all the joys in your life......or the routine of our days gets on top of us.....go back and look at it!!!! whenever someone gets to us or something happens in our day that gets us down and depressed..........look at it.....and do this often until it sticks in our heads!!!! seriously it helps to change our perspective!!! Yes we may still have things upset us and get us down, we cant control everything but we CAN control our minds and the way we view our lives!!!

Now....one more of my lists!!! hahaha

write a list of fears!!! what makes you tremble, what scares you??? and no i dont mean write a list of every bug and insect you can think of-LOL- but on real issues in life that make us fear and shrink away.... Maybe its going for that job you think your not good enough for?? or talking to someone your intimidated of? or going for a job promotion? or taking that step towards your dream but having that fear of failing? or a fear of rejection????

there are so many real fears in our lives that can literally scare us to the core and they will continue to do that until we face them and overcome them!!!

through facing fear, we grow stronger and more bold and courageous! We say to ourselevs that 'yes even though we are scared to the core of what we are facing, this is not where we are going to stop in life, we are not going to quit at this point and chuck in the towell.......but we WILL be brave, We WILL fight on and we WILL overcome this fear until it becomes a distant memory'

our fears can be small to huge....they can be strange and also commen amongst everyone, but whatever they are, they are there to be faced and overcome....and in doing so we become FEARLESS!!!!

we only live one life on this Earth, and if feels the older im getting, the faster its going!!! sometimes that scares me......I do want my life to count!!! I do want to make a difference in so many ways.....and i want to face my fears until what once made me tremble..... makes me laugh!!

so go ahead, write you fear list, and then write next to it what needs to be done to overcome that fear!! Maybe your frightened of the ocean and large waves......then go to the nearest beach and jump under every wave until it becomes fun and all fear is gone!!

maybe your frightenend of meeting new people and talking one on one.....then at every bus stop, waiting line, bank, shop....whatever..... say hi to the woman next to you (maybe dont chat up the guy next to you cause he mite think your coming on to him-hehehehe), everytime you go to church say hello to someone you dont know....etc etc

If your fearful of going for your dream job, then suck it up and apply....no you may not get it but keep trying until something gives!!! Every fear we overcome can bring so much growth to out character and life....and who knows what is around the corner waiting to be discovered........Maybe in life we will always have fears there.....but view it as a good thing, that means there is always room to be enlarged and to grow stronger and stronger!!!

So, my goals for this week (and for life from now on....)

1. control our minds!!!!

2. Dont be negative about ourselves and our lives, control that thought pattern, its not doing us any good anyway!!

3. Look at our 'blessed' list over and over and over until it is imprinted in our minds and believe it...remind ourselves whenever life is tough and hard....and be grateful for what we have because there are so many people in this world that would love to trade places with us!!!

4. Continue to add to our blessed list, if it isnt as long as we want it to be, just continue to add more and more!!

5. Look at our "troubling" list and realise maybe what we spend so much time worrying about isnt that bad after all, maybe its just a season in our lives that will eventually fade, and learn whatever we can from it!!

6. Look at out FEAR list, and one by one.....face and overcome each one.....some will hurt and feel so scary and overwhelming.....but WE CAN DO IT....seriously, maybe it is so uncomfortable and scary, but it will be so worth it in the end!!! some fears may need to be faced a few times until they are overcome.....but just dont quit, dont give in......keep going until the fear is gone!!!

Who wants to be a timid, shy, frigtened woman???? no-one wants to be that.....wouldnt we all like to be courageous, fearless, confident and bold??? Of course we would........then who is stopping us from being that?????????? NO-ONE BUT US!!!!! only ourselves can stop us from who we want to be, or what we want to achieve!! sure it helps to have the support of those around you, but not everyone has that luxury....so whether we have a little team of supporters or not....live the life we want, be the person we want to be and RENEW OUR MINDS on a daily basis!!!

change the way we talk about our lives and ourselves.....dont be fake, be real.....but quit the negative talk!! Yes im still not getting many hours at work.....and yes i really want to get into makeup here in Sydney!! Its very competitive here, i was very intimidated when i first decided to get into makeup, all the women going for jobs seemed so glamourous and beautiful and knew what they were doing.....i felt like i wasnt as good as them etc etc......so GOD challenged me and i faced my fears and went for interviews......i now honestly dont think like that AT ALL....i am just as good as the woman next to me, i have just as much to offer and I am worthy of a job!!! have i got one yet??? No, but am i still trying?? you bet!!! and im not going to let myself get disheartened and just change careers.....everyone has to start somewhere.....this is where i want to start and its a step closer to getting to my dream job!!

So come along with me on this journey....lets face our fears together, whatever it may be....we will take each step together until the day we can laugh about how we used to be fearful, we used to be scared..........but not anymore!!!

All my love Ladies

HollieD

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