25 Questions I Asked Myself Recently and You Should Too….

We are now 3 weeks into 2014 and I am already feeling so accomplished and I’m sooooo much better than I was last year.  I plan on keeping this feeling going on and on and on.  So I have been reading a lot and planning my future along the way. I have been making lists of things that I need to prepare for school and studying for the LSATs in June.  Within my reading I  was going through my Bloglovin’ feed and ran across a post from Life Is A Sunset called 25 Questions To Ask Yourself Before 2014. I felt it was a great way to start out the year but I didn’t really get to it before the new year but I DID it!! It made me think a lot about what I want this year and the following years to look like.  I read and answered those questions and wanted to share my answers with you. You should do this too! It is so eye-opening!! Here we go!!!

1/ What am I most proud of this year (2013)?

I’m proud that I have an amazing family.  They are my everything. They have been there for me more than anyone and they always will be. I just appreciate them more now.

2/ How can I become a better ________?

I want to become a better person all together.  I have learned that people’s feelings when they get to me is not about me.  It’s about them.  How I react to them is the only thing I can control.  I’m choosing to react better than I did before. 

3/ Where am I feeling stuck?

I’m feeling stuck in my progression of education.  It seems like everything gets in the way of me going back to school but Summer 2014 will be my start and I am not letting anything get in my way. I am determined to make it happen.  This is my future we’re talking about here. It WILL happen!!!

4/ Where do I need to allow myself grace?

I need to allow myself grace in enjoying myself sometimes.  I don’t allow myself those moments because I feel I haven’t accomplished anything to celebrate or have an enjoyable moment.  Oh but that’s going to change.  I’m going to work hard and play hard!!

5/ Am I passionate about my career?

I’m actually not in my career yet but I will be by the end of 2014.  I want to be working in a law firm by the end of the year getting experience in the industry I want to conquer…law! I’m beyond excited about my future and ready to get this show on the road!

6/ What lessons have I learned?

I have learned that I have to be more responsible in all aspects of my life.  I learned also that my family is the best part of my earthly life.  God is THE life of me. Period.

7/ What did my finances look like?

My finances in 2013 were a mess at the beginning because I was just buying anything I wanted and not thinking about having real experiences. Just things. By September though I was doing so much better.  In 2014 I will be doing exceptionally well because of my budget that I created.  I’m automating and saving for some BIG moves this year.  I’m working this plan I have to work for me and not against me.

8/ How did I spend my free time?

I spent my free time being really unproductive.  Not doing anything because of tiredness and stress from different situations that I had no control over.  I could have been doing something to get my creativity going and in turn allowing that to focus my mind. Now I’m focused man!!(in my Jay-Z voice)

9/ How well did I take care of my body, mind and soul?

I didn’t!! Simply put.  Period.  I was stressed all the time. I ate whatever I wanted most of the time. I didn’t create any type of solace for myself at all.  I know I’m right and left brained but I didn’t stimulate either side.  I didn’t progress or produce anything toward my future.  Changes coming though!!

10/ How have I been open-minded?

I have been open to allowing people to help me.  I ‘ve mostly been open-minded to other people’s situations because I now realize that God placed that person in front of me for a reason.  Now I just search for the reason behind that meeting. 

11/ When did I feel most creatively inspired?

I felt most creatively inspired when I went home to visit my family in November and felt like writing so much there and I did.  A lot of those writings have yet to be posted and some of the inspirations have yet to be written but I was inspired nonetheless.  Look out for my inspirations.  Hopefully they will inspire you too!!

12/ What projects have I completed?

I helped my sister move into the dorms for her freshman year of college and that was a really emotional thing for me because I just realized that she was growing up and becoming a young lady. I also went back to pick her up for her Fall break and for us both to see our mother together.  I really want her to be better than me. Thought she’s not a project, I feel like I helped her which is my job.

13/ How have I procrastinated?

I have missed opportunities to go back to school by not being able to decide what I want to do with my life and also not being focused on what I should.  Not doing anything at all, honestly.  Done with that crap!! You’ll see!!

14/ In what ways can I re-structure my time?

I can buy a calendar with time slots to schedule everything by time frame so that everything has a place and I can stay consistent with what needs to be done and moving forward.  Little steps are better than no steps. A schedule defined is what I need.

15/ How have I allowed fear of failure to hold me back?

I have allowed it to stop me from cultivating new friendships and having new experiences.  I’ve allowed it to keep me from reaching my goal in life which is becoming a sports attorney/sports agent.  I’m reaching for my dreams without fear holding me back. I’m shooting for the stars!

16/ Where has self-doubt taken over?

I’ve doubted myself because of not knowing exactly what I wanted to do so I didn’t do anything but I always thought about it and now I know.  Working toward becoming an attorney will take years but I will get there. No doubt!!

17/ When have I felt the most alive?

I have felt the most alive when I’ve been with my friends back home because I miss them when I’m in Atlanta.  I’m most alive with my huge family because I love them and we always have fun together. We are going to keep that party going because it is LITERALLY a party every time we are together!!

18/ How have I taught others to respect me?

I have always been pro-respect because everyone deserves it from the beginning but I demand respect from everyone.  I don’t have to yell or be mean or tell people to respect me because I respect myself.  Don’t tell them, show them!!!

19/ How can I improve my relationships?

I can improve my relationships whether personal, friendship, or familial, by staying in contact with them.  I’ve had an issue with sometimes being so far in my own world that I forget about my relationships that matter to me so I’ll do better at that.

20/ Have I been unfair to anyone?

I have been unfair to my family for a long time because they have given me so much and I feel like I owe them so much.  I can never repay them for all they have done for me.  I will try though!!

21/ Who do I need to forgive?

I need to forgive myself for not following my dreams when I was younger.  I have felt defeated for a long time and that is because I didn’t know what I wanted to be and it took me a long time to figure it out.  Now that I know better, I’m doing better.

22/ Where is it time to let go?

It’s time to let go of bad friendships and relationships that aren’t benefiting me as much as I’m benefiting them.  I have always been a supportive friend and partner in relationships but the other person hasn’t always been supportive of me.  I realized that I’m just a nurturing person and everybody is not.  I can live with that now.

23/ What old habits would I like to release?

I would like to release my habit of procrastinating.  It has kept me from reaching my full potential and moving forward in my life.  I’m tired of being in the same place so I’m planning and taking action on those plans.  Gotta work on this thang called my life and make some moves!!

24/ What new habits would I like to cultivate?

I would like to know more about saving money and investing.  I would also like to cultivate my consistency with my relationships.  The people in my life are very important to me and I just want to get my close relationships back.  My friends help me grow and our connections inspire me.

25/ How can I be kind to myself?

I can treat myself to better relationships and more experiences in my life.  Experiences are more meaningful than things and I am learning that so this year 2014 I will be 30 and I will be experiencing more rather than loving things.  I will love my experiences and create more moments with my loved ones!

Those are the answers to the questions from 25 Questions To Ask Yourself Before 2014. I answered them after 2014 but I feel I received a lot from the questions and my answers because it made me think about things I tried to forget and didn’t really want to bring to the front of my thoughts. I’m not sure if Life Is A Sunset created the questions but whoever did had a great mind to think of those questions and knew that people like me NEEDED to bring these thoughts to paper and put them in front of our faces to give ourselves reality kicks in the butt!! 

I have officially been kicked!!!

If you have answered these questions, please post a link to your post so I can read your answers. I feel like that would be really interesting.

Resolving To Be….?

It’s that time of year again where everyday is feeling brand new and wanting to improve their lives.  It’s a time of “I will exercise more”. It’s a time of “I’m going to save more money”. It’s a time of “I’m going to find love”.  It’s a time of “I’m going to follow my dreams”.  It’s a time for New Year’s Resolutions.

Photo credit: health.com

January 1 is when most people start the journey of their new year and their resolutions.  Some people are great  at setting, starting and following through on their resolutions.  Some people set, start, and don’t follow through on their resolutions.  I am one of those people that don’t make New Year’s resolutions because I feel that when I want to change, I will.  I just change.  I can’t wait because normally my habits just change without me really thinking about it.

When it comes to healthy living and eating right, I am okay with that.  I actually have a nice love affair with vegetables and fruit and don’t have any trouble eating them.  Exercising, however, is not my favorite thing to do but I know I have to do.  So I do **side eye** sometimes.

Photo credit:  deborahjerome.com

As far as money goes, I ended and am starting the year off right already.  There are things I want to do this year as far as vacations because this year I will be celebrating my 30th birthday and I have to, just must, take a trip to New York City. NO question or doubts!

Love in the year of 2014 is me loving myself more.  I’m open to loving someone else if it happens and God blesses me with that person but I’m not looking for it.  It will come when it’s time.  I’m focusing on strengthening my relationship with God first.  That is the most important relationship in my life.  That is the ultimate love.

I’ve been sleeping for a long time and it’s time to wake up from my dreams and start living in them.  I’m going back to school and I started this blog and I LOVE writing that I’m doing.  I just have so many things career wise that I want to accomplish so I’m doing it.

I guess the way it’s sounding I actually have a couple of things that are like resolutions that I want to accomplish but I refuse too call them that.  I will just call them “future accomplishments”.  I like that.  If you have any “Future Accomplishments” that you aspire to, leave them in the comments.  I would love to read about them.

By the way,  I’m actually thinking of changing the name of my blog.  2014, time for new things, right? More on that later!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 2014 is YOUR YEAR!!! Make it count!!

At The Stroke of Midnight….2014!!! Where Was I?

2013 was an interesting year for me.  It wasn’t great but it wasn’t horrible.  The beginning of the  year was worse than the rest of the year for me.  I got over the beginning and got on firm ground for the rest of the year.  By my birthday in September, I was okay and making strides.  The end of 2013 concluded with me being in a good position in my life and looking forward to 2014.

Image via Ruff Neck Scarves

When the clock struck 12 midnight I was sitting on the couch watching television and painting my nails.  Reason being that I worked New Years Eve night and got off at 10pm and decided while there that I would have a nice night in reflecting on 2013 and planning for 2014.

I also wrote a blog post. Not this particular post but one for later.  This one I wanted to write much after the New Year so I waited.  I’m starting this year of 2014 off right with making a decision to write a blog post for the first day of 2014 and hopefully keep it going throughout the year.

Image via The Pioneer Woman

I am not exactly where I want to be but I’m changing into the person I want to be and I’m getting better and better everyday.  Sometimes I may not make all the right decisions but I’m consciously trying to be better and last night and in future nights I will be right where God wants me to be.  From this point on, I will be actively letting God lead me and creating a better relationship with Him.

I hope everyone of you were where you wanted to be but most of all where you needed to be last night when 2013 turned to 2014.  I also hope all you “future accomplishments” are in line with the life you want to lead.  HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!!! 2014 is YOURS! Claim it! I AM!!!