025. Cards From E: 31 Life Hacks

With life comes lessons. Each one of us goes through various trials and tribulations, our ups and downs, and experiences and educational moments in life. As you learn valuable lesson along this journey it is nice you share your wisdom with others to prevent them from making mistakes you did or to encourage them while going through a particular life event. Below you will find some of the life lessons or gems that I have learned or that have been shared with me at some point in my life.

1. Every woman has a calling or purpose for her life.

Way before you were born unto this earth, God saw you and gifted you with an inimitable set of skills and talents designed specifically for you. Your unique skill set has been given to you with intent for you to use this unique skill set to positively impact the world around you.

2. Make your life decisions for yourself.

No one accomplishes their dreams alone but your dreams are your responsibility. Take control of your destiny and make smart conducive decisions to your happiness and success. You are your most valuable asset. Invest in you, your dreams, and your life's purpose.

3. Show gratitude.

Be grateful. Gratitude leads to more happiness and wellbeing. Life can and will be hard, there will be good days and bad days, but learn to see the good in all days and in all aspects of life. Attitude is altitude. On most occasions you attitude going into a situation will dictate its outcome. Practice positive thinking until it becomes your norm. Be a positive influence in any way you can to others. Even simple little helpful acts can make others -- and you -- much happier. Spend a few moments each day acknowledging the people, things, or experiences for which you are thankful. Verbally express your gratefulness to those around you. By doing so you subconsciously promote happiness. Before you go to bed at night, profess your appreciation and thankfulness for life and the things we often take for granted.

4. Create a life of your own.

As a woman that most likely wears many different hats such as mom, wife, daughter, businesswoman, etc., it is important to create and maintain your own identity. Don’t lose yourself in the process of attending to others.

5. Pride limits your purpose and success.

Pride has ruined many lives. Pride has ruined many relationships. Pride has even ruined many careers. Sometimes you have to be willing to put your pride in your pocket to make things happen. Say goodbye to your ego and see how much you really start to let things go, eliminate stress, and increase your happiness.

6. Success takes work.

Sure some women are born with sure dumb luck and anything she touches turns to gold. But, that’s not the reality for most people. Success takes work, hard work. Figure out your passion and purpose. Discover your natural talents and skills and allow that skill set to navigate your profession in life. Carefully and methodically work hard to figure out a career you will love. This will involve trying different things, but with each new thing you will pick up new knowledge and experiences that will continue to help you along the way. Understand that regardless of the path you choose, success will take a great deal of hard work, dedication, and perseverance. Success is not promised, it is earned.

7. Be happy.

Happiness is an internal state that only you can create for yourself. No matter what circumstance. Stay strong. Live your life. Be happy. Every woman has the right to become herself and do whatever she needs to do to feel accomplished.

8. Feed your faith and starve your fears.

I remember watching the movie After Earth. A quote by Will Smith’s character in the movie has always resonated with my soul. The quote goes, “Fear is not real. It is a product of thoughts you create. Do not misunderstand me. Danger is very real. But fear is a choice.” Faith is the evident of things unseen. Fear is your mind strategizing on all the possible outcomes are a particular situation. In most cases, the possibilities or fears that you develop never come to pass. When they do, they’re never as bad as you imagines. Having deep faith eliminates fear.

9. Believe you can and you are halfway there.

Breathe new life into your existence. You are the master of your abilities. God already knows what you are capable of, it’s up to you to believe in yourself. You were made for a purpose. Don’t be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality.

10. There will be haters and setbacks.

Don’t get stuck on adversity because God has strategically placed people or events in your life not to work against you but for you.

11. Take risks.

Step out on faith and trust your intuition. You have to be willing to accept the consequences of your actions whether good or bad. Always do your best. Give it 100 percent every time. Doing your best at this moment puts in in the best place for the next moment.

12. Love thy self and love thy neighbor.

Spread love, the world can always use a little more love, compassion, and kindness. The best acts in life are selfless. Let your actions showcase the shepherd in you. Actions speak louder than words. Each one of us has the power to make others feel better or worse. Making others feel better is much more fun. Making others feel better generally makes us feel better.

13. Favors yield favors.

There will be some people who help you along the way and also those whom will need your guidance. Share the wealth and knowledge bestowed unto you and others will do the same for you.

14. Live with passion and purpose.

Find your passion, whatever it may be and become it. Let it become you and you will find great things happen for you, to you and because of you. Every woman has a unique purpose in life. When you live life with purpose you serve others and encourage others to do the same. When you let your light shine it liberates others.

15. Live from your soul.

Listen to your intuition, it will tell you everything you need to know. Your soul is your best tool to access your true purpose and passion. Ask yourself what you love? Start taking steps to do what you love. When you are inspired and connected to your happy self, inspiration floods your heart and soul. When you lead from your heart, you are naturally more joyful and motivated to explore. By doing what you love, you will be inspired and gain insights into what brings you the most joy.

16. Your words have power.

Too many people speak defeat over their lives. You are who you think you are, you are who you say you are. Replace negative thought and language with positivity and watch how your life changing.

17. Learn to Say NO!

When you are not able to say yes, be assertive in your tone of voice and delivery of your message. This lets your recipient know you mean what you say without being intimidating or passive. (I.e. I’m busy that day.) Sometimes things fall in our laps due to poor planning of others in this instance be clear in stating the inconvenience to be able to get to it. (I.e. You should have given me more advance time.)

18. Be optimistic.

Celebrate the small moments of joy you encounter throughout the day. Did you find a heads up penny? Celebrate. Did you get a close park at the gym? Celebrate. Did you get to work on time? Celebrate. Even when mishaps occur… celebrate! Did you oversleep for work? Celebrate, maybe you were tired and really needed that extra sleep. Now when you do make it to work you will be well-rested and ready for a more productive day. This might seem ridiculous but celebrating little moments like these builds momentum and has a positive impact on you outlook.

19. Exercise.

Exercise is a natural mood booster. Exercise releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter to the brain that’s necessary for feelings of pleasure and happiness. Doing something a short as a 10-minute power walk can brighten your day, as well as boost energy and improve your well-being. Additionally, exercise is known to ease stress and anxiety and boosts confidence.

20. Live in the moment.

Participate in joy. Enjoy the moments that life has to offer. Stop and smell the roses. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Laugh, a lot. Don’t stress over the little things. Establish meaningful relationships and spend time with family/friends. Studies have shown staying connected and building constructive meaningful relationships can make you happier instantly, even for introverts; especially if you are fostering valuable relationships with other happy individuals.

21. Forgive and forget.

Put ALL failures and conflicts in the past. Let it go. There is healing in forgiveness. While forgiveness can be beneficial for the person you are forgiving, forgiveness is mainly beneficial for you. Forgiveness is a process. It is about you letting go of a grievance someone has inflicted onto you. Forgiveness is a healing process that allows us to grow as a person, but most importantly spiritually. Don’t hold grudges. This is perhaps the most difficult task for us to accomplish, but it is achievable. Foster forgiveness and learn to let bygones be bygones. Forgive every one of past offenses and resentments. This includes yourself. Don’t hold yourself hostage to past negative experiences. By holding onto negative experiences or feelings you are hurting yourself. We all know harboring such negative feelings can lead to mental and physical ailments.

22. Life happens.

Much like every other modern day woman, we deal with the obscurities of work and personal life balance. Life is full of unpredictable and sometimes even inconvenient moments. You have to learn to just roll with the punches and learn to navigate your way through the circumstances life throws your way.

23. Money nor Success Brings True Happiness.

In order to achieve true happiness and fulfillment, you must live a life with meaning and purpose. You can buy the material things, even fundamental, but if you are not living a life with meaning you will always be trying to fill a void in your soul. Happiness dwells in the soul.

24. Never let them see you sweat.

You can break down in tears, ugly cry in the mirror or dance the pain away, but have your intimate and vulnerable moments in private. Whenever you’re the presence of others always appear poised and well put together, with your emotions intact. Every woman is entitled to a good cry every once in a while, but when it is your time to perform, darling, you must do just that! Do not ever allow yourself to lose emotion control in any situation. Always have your emotions in check. Be present in the moment, of all things you wear your expression is the most important.

25. Live in your truth.

Acknowledge who you are in this moment, define your truth and live boldly and proudly in your truth. Call it exactly how it is. A joke is a joke, a spade is a spade and a cuddy buddy is a cuddy buddy. There is no need to sugarcoat anything. Live in your reality, your REAL reality. Living in your truth is all about self-acceptance, knowing your true self and living in that truth. Accepting your truth allows you to identify your strengths to use them to your advantage and makes you aware of your iniquities so that you may be able to live freely in truth and complete openness, not only with yourself, but with your family, friends, and the world around you.

26. Believe in YOU!

The world is open to you. Develop belief in yourself. You can do anything and everything you want in life, but you must believe you can achieve it. Confidence is the key to just about everything, learn to be confident in who you are, your morals and values and it will get you what you want in life. The world is full of endless possibilities, yes life may get tough at times, but you are equipped with everything you need to go out into this world and be great!

27. Create a healthy body, mind, & soul.

The mind, body and soul are deeply connected. My grandmother used to have a saying be of a sound mind in a sound body. In order to have a balanced life, you must focus on your mental and spiritual wellbeing just as much as your physical health. This means not only maintaining a healthy diet and routine exercise, but establishing a lifestyle with positive thinking, regular rest and recreation as well. You want to always make sure you are taking care of yourself, so that your mind, body, and soul are all healthy and able to operate in harmony as one.

28. Life is a journey.

Use your life plan as a template to navigate your journey, but also be flexible. Life does not always go as planned. Get used to change and embrace it. Seek change. The only thing consist about life is that it is always changing. You are on a journey, which means things will change. Even important things will change, sometimes shockingly. But it is nevertheless a good journey, and it's worth every step.

29. Know God.

God is God, everlasting, yet never changing. Get to know God and allow him to not only know you, but use you. You can't pray too much. You will never waste any moment you spend on getting to know God. Read the Bible thoughtfully, open-mindedly, prayerfully, with discernment. God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.

30. You cannot please everybody.

Don’t spend time trying to please other people, regardless of your decisions or actions there will always be people that agree and disagree. Live your life your way. Don’t worry about what people think or what people have to say, everyone will have their own opinions but it should not dictate your decisions in life. Everyone’s opinion is based off of an accumulation of their own beliefs, values, culture, and life experiences. Therefore, each person’s views are likely to be different and if you seek to please everyone you will end up wasting too much time trying to seek validation, respect, or approval from others. Aiming to continuously please others will only cause your personal dreams and desires to fall by the wayside, making it difficult to enjoy true happiness and fulfillment. You can be a cheap imitation of the ideal of the moment; or you can be a unique individual. The choice is yours.

31. Live for today.

Engage in self-reflection, but don't let it become self-deception. Don’t spend too much time dwelling on the past or put too much emphasis on things happening in the future. Life takes a healthy balance of learning from the past and preparing for the future, but you should not let either overtake your contentment in today. Allow yourself to take your experiences of the past as lessons to help you build a better tomorrow, but do not dwell in the past or the “someday” melodrama. Live for today.