Week 26 Taking Time To Reflect

What is reflecting? Taking the time to think deeply or carefully about something. To think about or give thought to, give consideration to, mull over, contemplate or meditate over. All things we encounter in life can be a teaching and learning moment. Ms. Kionna Perry hosted Monday’s call and posed this question and definition to the group. Reflection is a key part of our learning experience. It allows us to know ourselves and come to terms with what an experience actually means. When we reflect, we should always start with ourselves so that we have more self-knowledge. When we do this, we gain and are able to 1) accomplish more; 2) be more productive in the workplace; 3) become a better leader; 4) build self-confidence; 5) build better relationships and; 6) help us grow.  We should reflect on past performances and compete with our own personal best record. Ms. Perry challenged the group to envision ourselves as a top performer in business or area of expertise. She challenged the group to go back and reflect on the topics from the blog. When you take this time, you will find the silver lining. You owe it to yourself! Finally, Ms. Perry shared some reflections that included some questions from each facet of life and giving honest answers regarding the material, spiritual, physical and social aspects of life.

It’s Time To Reflect!

20 Questions To Help You Reflect The Past Year

Ms. Ruby Jackson hosted Wednesday’s call and shared with about using other experiences to reflect. She shared from Monday’s call that reflection is the tool to unearth lessons and it enables us to come into a place where we know ourselves and gain self-knowledge. If we aren’t good to ourselves then we can’t be good to other people. By three methods we may learn wisdom. First by reflection, the second by imitation and third by experience which is the most bitter. Self-reflection is one of the ways to obtain clarity and you gain an immense amount of power. There is power in clarity. It is important to get into the right state or environment, find out what is the best time for you, and ask the right questions which help to answer any inner conflicts that you might have.  Ms. Jackson shared about having more how questions which are more solution and action oriented versus why questions where you simply get a confirmation of why you can’t do something. Ms. Jackson also shared her personal story about coaching athletes and how she was able to teach on self-reflection.

The Power of Self-Reflection

Asking The Right Questions

The final Women’s Inspiration Circle call before the break was hosted by Ms. Tiffany Prince. She started the call off with a quote by Iyanla Vanzant, “everything that happens to you, is a reflection of what you believe about yourself. We can’t out perform our level of self-esteem. We can’t draw to ourselves more than we think we are worth.” Every moment of your reality is a reflection. You get credit for how the person that lives with you speaks to you and how they treat you. Learning to pause allows growth to catch up with you. Ms. Prince shared with the group on how you can reflect with intention and that this includes: 1) what was the best thing that happened; 2) what would I want to repeat; 3) what do I want the lesson or growth process to be; 4) what do I want to take away from this experience; 5) what would I like to enhance. We get the credit or blame for our own reality. We have so many checkpoints during the day and we give off energy. If you are getting a reality that you don’t want, then think about the reflection and how you feel about yourself. Either you are bringing this to them or you feel this way about yourself.  Ms. Prince encouraged the group to change their reality. Use your reflection or whatever it is to change the reality. This can also be done when interacting with others but you have to be clear on one thing you like or love about the person 2) focus on only that and; 3) wait for a change in reality. Ms. Prince also challenged the group to take some quiet time and sit in your reflection chair during this recess.

 

 

Week 23 Master Thy Self

Ms. Ruby Jackson started off the week hosting Monday’s call on “Master Thy Self.” We don’t want to just know ourselves for the moment or a short amount of time. Instead we want to get to a point of self-mastery! Ms. Jackson posed the question to the group, “what one skill if you developed it in an excellent fashion, would have the greatest impact on your life?” We need to know that we are heading in the right direction with our goals and who we are. “The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything…Fast” by Josh Kaufman reveals that you can master anything in twenty hours and there are four steps to do it. Ms. Jackson shared a personal story about training for the Olympics as a track and field athlete and the challenge of jumping over hurdles for a 400 meter race. She encouraged the group in learning how to master yourself, it is important to love yourself and celebrate the little things along the way.

The First 20 Hours

Wednesday’s call with host Ms. Kanika Gilmore posed a couple of thoughts for the group regarding two ways to live your life. You can either live as a victim and try to get back at people or you can master it and be able to handle whatever life throws at you. Ms. Gilmore offered great points from “Nine Ways to Master Yourself, And Therefore Life” by Kara Leah-Grant. Take the energy and apply it to mastering yourself. Here are the points: 1) catch yourself when you start the blame game. Don’t give away your power by getting other people to change; 2) take responsibility. Decide to claim power over yourself. Do what you can with where you are; 3) catch yourself when you are resisting life; 4) cultivate acceptance; 5) recognize difficult circumstances are there to test you; 6) establish practices that keep you connected; 7) learn to pay attention to what you need; 8) Learn to overrule your mind; and 9) love yourself. Ms. Gilmore shared her own personal story about a sickness but she prayed to God, wrote in her journal to convince herself that she would make it!

Nine Ways to Master Yourself and Therefore Life

The Women’s Inspiration Circle call on Friday was hosted by Ms. Tiffany Prince and closed out the series. Ms. Prince directed the group back to the exercise of looking in the mirror and telling yourself that you love yourself and get to know yourself. Discover how to use the mirror and what we see to master what is within. Ms. Prince shared the book, “Tapping the Power Within” by Iylana Vanzant and mentioned an old saying, “what you draw to you is what you are.” We try to fix what we see and change people and conditions. However what we are seeing is truly a reflection of who we are. Learn to fix ourselves and not what we see. Ms. Prince shared her own story of being a spiritual teacher and delivering information that she had not mastered herself. What a profound thought — we teach what we most need to learn. Additionally, who is in our world is a reflection of ourselves. As we are mastering ourselves we need to really look at who is in our world. A lesson will continue to repeat itself until we learn or master it! As you go through your day-to-day, remember the people you come into contact with are a reflection of yourself!

Master Thyself 3

Master Thyself 4

Master Thyself 5

If you missed any of the calls this week or you’re interested in recapping some great inspiration, feel free to playback the calls at your convenience!
Playback number: 605-477-3099
Access code: 1063557#
Reference numbers: Monday- 139, Wed-140, Fri-141

Week 22 Love Thy Self

Ms. Kionna Perry kicked off the month and week by hosting Monday’s call on the topic, “Love Thy Self.” Ms. Perry shared a very familiar old saying, “kill them with kindness.”  This saying goes a long way as it covers so many areas — work, personal, and new customers.  This also applies to how I treat myself.  We are all works of progress in our self-development journey. Your challenges will make you grow and develop your self-love! Her personal testimony included — comparison with others; questioning all of her decisions; letting guilt get the best of her; staying in relationships too long; and worrying about what others thought of her.  Don’t have sabotaging thoughts, learn how to value yourself. Ms. Perry learned how to “be kind” to herself and accept everything about herself with kindness, love, and compassion. Ms. Perry embraced her flaws and learned that the moments she experienced didn’t define her. You might have to walk some roads alone but that is okay! Here are some suggestions to kill those sabotaging and self-critical thoughts: 1) Make a list of all the positive qualities and capabilities about yourself.  Magnify your strengths and not your flaws, 2) Forgive yourself; 3) Grow from every meaningful experience; 4) Appreciate & value yourself; 5) Set boundaries & learn to say no when saying yes doesn’t serve you well 6) Set goals for yourself. Go past the negative committee in your mind; 7) Take good care of yourself and treat yourself special; 8) Be proud and admire yourself. Without sustaining you, there is no chance of sustaining a fulfilled life!

 

Ms. Kanika Gilmore hosted the call on Wednesday and started off with some very transparent moments about a time when she didn’t love or care for herself. Ms. Gilmore shared about her mother’s battle with drugs and how this impacted her relationship with her sisters. This even impacted her relationship with her father. She would question herself and why no one loved her? Ms. Gilmore looked herself in the mirror and made a declaration that she would love herself. She also imparted that she wanted the type of love that God has for us! She encouraged the Women’s Inspiration Circle to dwell on the 1 Corinthians 13 love on today which is the God kind of love! You will see the amazing God love has for you. Loving yourself is not selfish. If you don’t have this love for yourself then how can you give it out to others? When you love yourself this means you want the best for you. Remember God’s thoughts of us are better than our thoughts.  God loves you because he loves you (repeat this to yourself because he loves you, because he loves you). Ms. Gilmore shared from the book, “Love Out Loud” by Joyce Meyer about how we should desire peaceful relationships with people. Love yourself in a balanced way. If God loves you so much surely you can learn to love yourself. Take that step of faith to say that you love yourself. Be that confident person and enjoy yourself more. What a profound thought…getting along with yourself is important because you spend more time with yourself than anyone else!

Love Out Loud

Self Love 1

 

The Women’s Inspiration Circle call on Friday was hosted by Ms. Ruby Jackson. She recalled the song, “I’m Feeling Myself” by Beyonce and how this resonated with her! Ms. Jackson shared from Ms. Iyanla Vanzant’s, “Acts of Faith” on a self-love devotion. When you don’t feel good about yourself, then it’s hard to feel good about anything or anyone. Self-hate is a vicious cycle, believe that you are worth love…you are a loveable being! Do you know who you are becoming in life? You are amazing and beautiful. Begin this journey of self-love. Ms. Jackson shared her story about dropping out of college, the verbal abuse that she experienced in high school, and her divorce. Additionally, this transparent moment involved her moving around a lot and thinking that getting away would help. However, she recognized it wasn’t her world but the view of her world. Ms. Jackson took a moment to describe a story when someone told her, “I love the shape of your nose.” Where this person saw beauty she saw flaws. The moral of her story is that her vision was dirty but she changed her lens. Given her love of poetry, she seized this opportunity to begin writing about how she loved herself. Additionally, Ms. Jackson took the time to change things and started telling herself a new story which was inspired by the audio recording, “Act Like You Know the Truth” by Iyanla Vanzant. Accept the reality of what is! You should take your rightful place. Love being with all of you. Your actions should be self-supporting. You are love!

Affirmations:
I am love
God is love
God lives in me
The love of God surrounds me
The love of God engulfs me.
My actions are self-loving and self-supporting
I love and accept myself

 Know Thy Self 2

50 Ways to Self-Love

If you missed any of the calls this week or you’re interested in recapping some great inspiration, feel free to playback the calls at your convenience!

Playback number: 605-477-3099
Access code: 1063557#
Reference numbers: Monday- 136, Wed-137, Fri-138

Week 21 Know Thy Self

Ms. Ruby Jackson began the week and hosted Monday’s call on the topic, “Know Thy Self.” She took an introspective look back at her journey and a quote from Walt Whitman about getting the idea to know the world and understanding yourself. When you know yourself it helps you to become unstoppable! Starting the journey will present challenges but continue learning, growing and desiring to be a better you. Ms. Jackson shared information from the Self Creation website, on how you are the one subject that is comprehended on a master’s level – this can affect your long term happiness. Self-awareness is understanding your behavior and having self-knowledge. All the answers you are seeking are already in you! She posed the questions to the group, “what types of people do you enjoy being around and why?” There are questions that you can ask yourself on a financial , spiritual, and personal level.

Self Creation Website

Know Thy Self 2

Know Thy Self 4

The Women’s Inspiration Circle call on Wednesday was hosted by Ms. Kionna Perry and started off with a powerful statement, “it’s a great thing to know thy self.” Not only do you need to know yourself but you also need to be truthful. You are who you are so embrace yourself and don’t hide it! Why is it important to know thy self? The eternal key to happiness, success and becoming who you are in life is the key to your destiny. Once you focus on the potential of yourself this is how the magic happens. Ms. Perry mentioned there is not a magic pill or 1, 2, 3. It’s not that simple. You have to work through your journey to discover and unearthing who you are! Some things that will help you to understand to know thy self are! She highlighted powerful insights from the book, “I’m a Piece of Work” by Cynthia Hale which included understanding that we are all a work in progress. You have to be free of all the baggage that weighs you down. When you don’t know who you are then you will settle for less than what you deserve! God gave you the personality for the purpose in which you have been created! Finding yourself and seeking the answers within is about asking yourself those tough questions so that you can find out who you are!

Know Thy Self 8

Know Thy Self

Ms. Tiffany Prince hosted Friday’s day call and referenced a prior topic of “Finding the Spark for Life.” She mentioned about forgetting who she was and not having passion.

Ms. Prince highlighted the 5 Steps to regain your self-knowledge: 1) The mirror – do you really look at yourself and love who you are? Look in the mirror into your eyes for more than 6 seconds and tell yourself “I love you, unconditionally” and “treat yourself how you want to be treated.” 2) Distinguish your thoughts from the thoughts of others – remember that you are responsible for your own happiness. Repeat the affirmations below: “I am responsible for my own happiness. Others or __________(insert name) is responsible for theirs”
“I am in control of my thoughts. I choose to think only good thoughts and an impervious to any thoughts that are not uplifting. 3) Start relying on yourself – it takes confidence and reliance. Be sure to regain knowledge of yourself. Confidence and reliance are at the heart of finding yourself. Take responsibility for your life and stop blaming others for your mistakes. They are your mistakes so embrace them and learn from them. Through mistakes we find ourselves growing, learning, and reaching our “real self.” 4) Organize your world – clean up and straighten up any clutter that is emotional, physical, or mental so that you can focus on you! 5) Embrace your difference – we were all put here to make a difference and we make extreme strides to make a difference. Ms. Prince shared her own personal journey regarding her height and how she was able to embrace her “difference.” She is now comfortable and confident. Ms. Prince also commands respect and honors her power. Take your different and make a “difference!” You have to know yourself and your power! When you know yourself then you know your power.

Know Thy Self 5

Know Thy Self 7

If you missed any of the calls this week or you’re interested in recapping some great inspiration, feel free to playback the calls at your convenience!
Playback number: 605-477-3099
Access code: 1063557#
Reference numbers: Monday- 133, Wed-134, Fri-135