Blessings and Breakthroughs©

"The worst thing you can do to yourself and your peace is to continue resuscitating dead situations." - JT Morris

Life has consistently shown me that you rarely ever find anything when you're looking for it or actually need it.

So seems to me that the key to always getting what you want and having what you need is to never want or need for anything. To not waste a lot of time and energy looking for missing or misplaced things. What you've lost you'll eventually find, what you need you'll even receive and what you want you'll usually obtain. What's for you is for you. The majority of the time, the thing that prevents us from obtaining the things that we seek or wish to have is us..... our impatience, our anxiety, our entitlement, our unbelief, our stubbornness and egotistical ways.

Your mindset, your habits, your work ethic, your insecurities, your perspective, your upbringing, your procrastination, your pride, your envy, and last but certainly not least... your circle of friends and associates plays a hand in determining the trajectory of your life. They all play a role in the determining the person that you will eventually become and the quality of life that you will lead.

That being said, there are two instances in life that teaches the best lessons: Adversity and Necessity. Adversity teaches you who you are and reminds you whose you are. Necessity teaches you who you can truly trust and makes your choices and priorities crystal clear. 

The world needs more people that speak positivity and life into and over situations. The world is already full of energy vampires and negative folks. Positivity and negativity are choices that are typically shaped by one's perspective and life experiences. We live and die by the choices that we make and the words that we speak. Choosing to operate from a place optimism and gratitude typically tends to attract blessings and breakthroughs. Negative self-talk and a negative mindset tends to prevent one's growth and block one's blessings. People try to tell me that life is hard and don't get me wrong, life can challenge every belief you hold near and dear.... So much so that it can actually break your spirit if you allow it to. 

However, in my humble opinion, I believe life is pretty simple:

• Appreciate what you have.
• Mind your business.
• Show empathy and kindness whenever possible.
• Live within your means.
• Never act or speak without fully understanding the consequences of your words or/ and actions. 
• Establish standards and a strict moral code and don't compromise them for anyone.
• Set boundaries that protect your wellness and peace.
• Create a support system that truly understands you needs and that continuously acts in your best interest.

That last one is extremely important. 

Your circle can push you to unlock your greatest potential or be the instrument to your greatest downfall. The people you choose to surround yourself with or give unlimited access to will ultimately determine your quality of life if allowed to. Now....me personally I believe there are practically only two kinds of people in the world.....givers and takers. Givers tend to be selfless, while takers - well - they tend to put themselves and their needs before the needs of others. While I'm all for self-preservation, it should never come at the expense of someone else's quality of life. Takers tend not to care about that kinda ish though. 

Try to look at it this way, would want to be treated the way that you treat people? If the answer is no, well.... you kinda have a decision to make. I mean because at that point you understand that you're observing the "Golden Rule." With understanding comes accountability, responsibility and consequences. Well, at least most of the time anyway. Apparently, there are loopholes and exceptions to the rule that I and others that kinda look me weren't made privy to (but that's another entry for another time).

Most people miss out on their blessings and breakthroughs because they don't understand these simple principles:

• Reciprocation - Reciprocation is the act of reciprocating—doing something in response to an action in a way that corresponds or is somehow equivalent to that action. 
• Courtesy - the showing of politeness in one's attitude and behavior toward others.
• Respect - a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements.
• Honesty - being free of deceit and untruthfulness; sincere.
• Integrity - the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles that you refuse to change.
• Loyalty - giving or showing firm and constant support or allegiance to a person or institution.
• Thoughtfulness - the state of thinking carefully about something, the quality of being kind and thinking about other people's needs.
• Mindfulness - the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something. A mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.
• Karma - the force produced by a person's actions in one life that influences what happens to them in future lives.

You tend receive what you put out into the world. I personally live my life trying to stay on the "good" side of Karma. I've spent a little time on the other side and I'm here to tell you that's not a place you want to visit (or that you want to visit you).

A place should be better for you having been there and not the other way around. Your life should be better for having a person in it. If that's not the case, you may want quietly (or not) exit stage left. The things and people you entertain says more about you than it does about the person or thing. You can't keep poking the bear then get mad at it because it wakes up and rips your arm off.

To be completely honest with you...…I'm truly tired of people being toxic AF and thinking that just saying "that's just how I am" or that's just me" excuses their rude and disrespectful behavior. The ish is not cool. Fix that ish. Do the work. We're all fighting some sort of battle. That doesn't give us the excuse to be thoughtless and insensitive. Someone once told me that your mood shouldn't determine your manners.

So in closing, as a rehabilitated negative self-talker I'm here to tell that words have power. Claim what you want. Speak life into situations and stop resurrecting dead ones. Understand that "No" is a complete sentence and doesn't require elaboration or verification. Set your boundaries and don't adjust them for anyone unless they earn it. 

God honors earnest and sincere effort and so should you.