Your Mind

Your mind is the forerunner of everything. Everything is mental! Anything you experience comes from your mind FIRST. Your mind is the beginning before you speak, before you act, and before you feel.

When you are in a moment, I mean a real moment where you are feeling doubtful or mad because something has happened that is just going to screw you up totally, ask yourself…..how can I turn this into a positive? It’s food for thought that can reshape your perspective.

I use to hear this saying a lot as a kid “Turn a negative into a positive.” It never phased me until I entered my twenties. For the most part, it always came off as a cliche’ that got overused by my teachers. That really could not have been far from the truth. Indeed, it’s food for thought: how do we turn negatives into positives?

Situations I Turned into a Positive

Unexpected Death in the Family

I experienced the death of a very close family member that just completely rocked my family to the core. We really did not know how we would cope with this deep grief. This death brought my family so much closer together. I know that would not have taken place had this incident not happened.

We talk to each other so much more than we ever did prior. To admit that death has to happen for families to become closer is a hard truth to admit. It is reality sadly, but it does bring loved ones closer, providing food for thought about life’s challenges and connections.

Putting my Son in Daycare

I knew before my son was born that we’d have to utilize daycare sooner or later. After seeing so may reports about kids harmed at daycare facilities, I was afraid to let him go. I knew we had no choice because the time would come when I had to return to work.

When he was 8 months old, the time had come. The first month of daycare was the hardest because my son cried so much when we would leave him. After a month, he started to like going. Daycare allowed him to burn that playful energy he had. He made baby friends and spent time outside. He was also introduced with new foods.

His teachers helped me figure out what solid foods he liked. They also told me that putting him on an eating routine (breakfast, lunch, dinner and in-between snacks) would help him to eat more solids. Daycare also helped him sleep longer through the nights because it tried him out during the day.

He now walks himself through the doors at daycare without crying. As a new parent this was hard to go through. In the beginning I cried leaving him a number of times. Now, that is a distant memory.

My Job

We used to have compressed schedules where we could work 9/10 days and have a three day weekend instead of two. Well, that was unexpectedly taken away from us. I was mad about it at first, but it actually worked out for me. Why? Instead of leaving work at 4 pm to sit in traffic for over an hour, I could leave work at 2pm and only deal with traffic for 30 – 40 minutes.

After a little time went by, I realized that actually worked out better for me, and it also gave me a chance to have a decent amount of time with my son after work. This was truly food for thought that helped me embrace change.

Every Child is a Small Enlightenment That Helps Adults Grow

It is always alarming to me when I hear adults speak negatively about children.

At times people forget that they were once young and trying to find themselves. Some people truly forget what it was like for them. Remembering this can be essential food for thought.

My ask to you as you read this: Don’t forget as you grow older, what it was like for you as a young child. If you see a kid just being a kid and it aggravates you, remember what it was like for you when you were little. You were simply learning the world! It’s no different from the children you come across now. Like you, once upon a time….you were learning the world around you. You still are!

Some of my Favorite Quotes that Keep me Up and Motivated

“Just because they want you to feel bad about it, doesn’t mean you have to”

“Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future”

“Look at your life through an adult lens and not the lens of the child you once were”

“I wouldn’t alter my past because it would’ve altered my future”

“Make your decision and stick with it”

“There is a right and there is a wrong, there is nothing in between”

” I don’t want to fall back on something, I want to fall forward so I can see where I’m falling”

“You’ll be fine”