Give yourself a damn minute!

This life is absolutely crazy. We crave for simple, yet we fill our plates with things to make us feel more important, more necessary, just MORE.

The best way I can explain how I am feeling today is, when I reflect and look back on pictures of "younger me", I wish I could have told "younger me" slow down, Tiffany. Take this moment in because soon, you will be working 3+ jobs to keep your head above water, barely holding it together when everyone just thinks you're so strong and all you want to do is just breathe for a minute without worrying about the mortgage, the broken toilet, the overgrown grass, the empty refrigerator...are ya getting where I am going?

My focus this year: Balance. Not just physical balance (which, in actuality, a little celebration here...I'm down 23 pounds since January 5th and feel fantastic!), but emotional and life balance. FOMO, a.k.a. fear of missing out, had to go to the waist side. I needed to focus on getting myself in a place where I could choose what mattered, take time for me, truly grasp what my kids needed from ME, and on the flip side, what I needed from THEM.

Not only did I begin a very simple gratitude journal, I truly started taking note of what did matter. There are so many things we wrongly believe we can control but we cannot. We actually control very little, and realizing that in itself will change your thinking almost immediately. When any crisis hits, ask yourself: "Will this matter a day from now? A week from now? A year?" These questions alone will help you prioritize and work through crises more effectively, as well as open the door for healing. In my daily journey, I look around and see where I can improve, where I can change, and where I can inspire. Those are things I can control. How I respond to all challenges is 100% up to me. How others behave, what others do, and all of life's happenings are things none of us can control. So, give yourself a damn minute! Allow yourself a lazy moment. Say "no" or say "yes" but, say it with the knowledge that it is in your best interest.

My simple list of 9 (ongoing work in progress):
1. Wake up and thank God you did.
2. Open the blinds and look outside to a brand new day.
3. Hug your family and kids when you can.
4. Remind yourself and them that no matter what the day brings, you love them and cherish them.
5. Be proactive in your emotional and physical health.
6. Forgive yourself. Forgive others.
7. Embrace that everything is temporary; success as well as failure.
8. Discover your talents and use them.
9. Follow your instincts, and don't allow fear to block your journey to greatness.


Thus says the LORD:”Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls."
~Jeremiah 6:16