Welcome to my lifestyle blog, where I write about my favorite things: pop culture, travel, career, wellness, fashion, friendship and relationships.
Enjoy! Dareise
All in Inspiration
Naomi Osaka, the 23-year-old tennis phenomenon and four-time Grand Slam winner created a maelstrom of conversation around mental wellness when she pulled out of the French Open with a statement, posted on Twitter, on May 31st. This came days after she announced that she would not participate in the required press conferences that take place after the games.
Self-improvement starts with you and once you work toward being positive on a daily basis, you start to feel better. The power of a mindset shift includes living a happier more productive life that you are proud of.
When good things start happening to us, we have to let go of the scarcity mindset that will inevitably hinder our progress. Once we stop being scared of doing the work needed to become the best version of ourselves, the world we live in starts to look brighter.
Webster’s Dictionary defines party as a social gathering. I’ve redefined it as a spiritual gathering and decided to gather the people, things and vibes (socially distanced of course) that feed my spirit. Here’s what I did to create joy on my birthday during the pandemic.
Last year, I found myself in a valley season. Honestly, I had already been there for a while before the pandemic, so quarantine, uncertainty and having to adjust to a new normal exacerbated this low season in my life. A valley season is a time of struggle. It’s a low point in one’s life where many things may not go your way, you experience lack, depression, instability and fear. This isn’t an all-inclusive list because it looks different for everyone, but you will know when you are there because it’s a dark and difficult time.
This has been a very challenging year for all of us, but it’s also provided countless lessons and gems in the midst of loss, chaos and uncertainty. I chose 9 lessons to share, though there are many more, because as I reflected on this year and the wisdom it gave me, I felt the energy of 9 in my spirit. We have the wisdom and strength that 2020 gave us to aid us in this next chapter and now, at the cusp of the completion of this year, I can honestly say I am grateful for these lessons.
In 2011, she found herself very interested in design and started her journey to make a career switch to focus on branding, website development and graphic design. Brandi continued to work full-time in communications roles, while freelancing and offering her design services “as an added bonus” to the companies she worked for. In 2017, Brandi took the leap into full-time entrepreneurship with her business, Branding by Brandi (now Mebane Design Studio). Her mantra, “Everyone one deserves to be seen,” goes deep, and we had a great conversation about that, entrepreneurship, how the pandemic has impacted her business and Brandi’s experience as a BCAN Founder Fellow (Baltimore Creatives Acceleration Network) this year.
I also had trouble getting into the Christmas spirit this year. The spirit of joy, giving and gratitude just wasn’t automatically rising up in my spirit like year’s past. The normal family tradition of the us gathering for dinner and helping the kids of the family (there are a lot of them, ages 1-10) make and bake cookies and gingerbread houses on Christmas Eve isn’t an option. Things are just different and I found myself angry and discouraged about the changes. I knew I had to do something about that because there is so much to be grateful for and so many opportunities to create joy and connectedness in new ways.
I had already planned to write about what I am thankful for during this pandemic, but after listening to a podcast this past Tuesday, I was inspired to reframe this piece and not just talk about what I am thankful for, but how those things are gifts. Sparks of light to take action, live with purpose and savor every moment with those you love.
Change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end. -Robin Sharma
This perfectly captures the essence of this journey. The transition is very uncomfortable and you’ll try, and sometimes, go back to your comfort zone. But guess what, that may no longer feel comfortable, so you may find yourself at a crossroads with a decision to make. Keep going toward the new version of yourself.
