“When it Feels Too Late to Start”

Firstly, I hope everyone is staying safe in light of recent events. If you’re like me you’ve probably spent more time on social media than usual and I’m sure you’ve seen this one: 

 

Let me start by saying that I don’t 100% agree with this. Yes, if you have the time to do new things do it! But not at the expense of your mental health. Pls it’s a pandemic not a contest. 

It feels like social media has been saturated with everyone showcasing their talents. Suddenly everyone is a baker! Everyone is a make-up artist. Now everyone is a personal trainer. Maybe you’ve had an idea for a while but it feels like now isn’t the time because everyone seems to be doing it? I don’t know if it’s just me who has felt intimidated to show things I’ve been working on, in fear of getting lost in the crowd?  

Some encouragement if you feel like you’ve arrived to the party late: 

It’s Not a Race.

Something I learnt from the Netflix show: “Self Made: inspired by the life of madam CJ Walker” it’s not always about who did it first, it’s about who did it best. This helps me when I start comparing myself to others. Just because I am not the first baker does not mean I can’t be the best. This does not mean I compete with others, but it means I don’t take myself out of the running purely because I started late. Or because someone else had the same idea. Produce the best quality YOU can, and let that speak for itself.

 

No One Can Do It Like You.

God has made us all unique and individual. Embrace that! it doesn’t matter if 100 people have gone before you. No one is going to do it like you. The way you think is different. The way you approach things are different. The set of people you influence is going to be different. There is a target audience that is meant for you. Take the time to develop your point of view. It’s important, it matters and that’s what will make you different from everyone else.

 

Stop Comparing Yourself!

When you’re looking up to someone, don’t skip the journey that got them there. One thing I like to do, is scroll down to someone’s first few Instagram post (especially bakers), a lot of the time you’ll see they were just like you. You can’t compare your starting point to someone’s middle or even end! Have the confidence to start and learn on the way! Consistency is key!

With love, Temi xx

THE POWER of a little

As you may or may not have noticed, I haven’t posted in a while. To keep it very real, I honestly felt like I couldn’t. I felt as though I was unqualified to do so. How can I be advising others when I haven’t got my life together? This self-doubt mentally paralysed me. Until I realised the power of a little. If we keep waiting until were “perfect” or at that stage where everything feels 100% right, we will never achieve anything.

A common misconception is that before we can embark on something new we must have everything we need. But that’s just not the case. To get anywhere requires a journey and that journey starts with a step. Along that journey is where we acquire what we need on the way.

Everything that grows starts with a seed. Never judge a seed by its size. You don’t always see the potential that in the seed you are carrying, but don’t let self-doubt stop you from sowing it anyway.

Don’t let self-doubt be a barrier, let it be a reminder that you need God.

 When Moses asked God, “what makes me good enough?” God’s reply was “I will be with you” (Exodus 3).

Our strength is not in our ability but in the one who has sent us.

We cannot allow our perceived limitations stop us from even trying to get more out of this life. You already know the outcome of not believing so why not give believing a try?I’m the type of person who can be so scared of making the wrong move that I find it easier to not make any at all. And I’m sure I am not the only one.

But it’s time to get rid of the pressure of trying to design your life, when God has already designed one for you.

Your job isn’t to create your own purpose but to allow God to lead you to the one he has created.

Unlike us, he doesn’t make mistakes.

 So if things aren’t going the way you’ve planned maybe to its time to ask God what he has planned. God does not expect us to do extraordinary things on our own that would defeat the purpose of needing him.

Our big dreams can be overwhelming and appear impossible. So instead of focusing on the big dream, lets focus on having a little courage to make that first step, a little faith (approximately the size of a mustard seed) in God, and a little belief that our best is good enough because our strength lies in God.

Is there something you wanted to do but felt unqualified to be doing? Let’s get out of the “I only have” mentality and start something great today!

With love always,

Temi xx

OCTOBER: THE MIND RESET

Hi everyone,

I hope you all had a blessed September. For me September was all about doing better. By doing so, I was able to realise how much the mind and how we think has an affect on the outcome of our behaviour. I was able to see that doing better involved changing the way I think.

I realised how many unhealthy beliefs I had, I constantly tell myself I am not good enough, smart enough even pretty enough. All of these beliefs have not allowed me to reach my full potential and I know I am not the only one.

Have you ever wondered why you believe what you do? Why do we believe the sky is blue? why do we believe red is red and 1+1 is 2? It’s because:

• We have been told by a credible source;
• The process of repetition.

Thats why my focus for October is about reprogramming the mind by challenging the negative self-beliefs I have so that they reflect what I want to achieve this year. Its going to require me to:

• Believe a credible source – Listening to what God says about me
• Use the process of repetition: Using positive affirmations everyday until I believe it

I encourage you to challenge you negative self-beliefs with these tools, and see what you end up achieving. If you decide to have the same focus as me or come up with your own do let me know!

With love always,

Temi xx

SEPTEMBER: THE MONTH OF DOING BETTER

Hey everyone,

I believe there is something so important in acknowledging new beginnings, whether that be the beginning of the day, month or year. I am a strong believer in starting how you mean to finish and failing to plan is planning to fail. Because of this, I like to acknowledge every new beginning in my life by setting goals and expectations for the new period ahead.

An idea that I adapted from my church is setting a theme/focus for each new month. I have been doing this for a while now, but I’ve decided that every month I will share my theme/focus of the month on here.

SEPTEMBER: DOING BETTER

Personally I feel that in certain areas of my life, I have not been the best version of myself nor have a strived to be. In my last post I shared how important it is to grow from mistakes and how we need to focus on doing better rather than just knowing better. So this September I really want to act on this and form new habits.

I encourage you to try setting a focus/theme for this month, and actively use September  as a chance to grow. If you decide to have the same focus as me or come up with your own do share them with me!

With love always,

Temi xx

HAVE YOU LEARNT YOUR LESSON?

Do you ever feel like sometimes life is just passing you by? Like everyone around you is moving forward, but your life is at a standstill? You know you could be better, you could do better, but it feels as though you keep hitting the same walls but in different ways?

What God made me to realise is that we are at fault and are preventing our own growth. We are consumed by the distractions of life that we don’t acknowledge the destructive behaviours that our holding us back.

The same problem will keep reoccurring in different ways until the lesson is learnt. In order for that lesson to be learnt something about your behaviour must change. Majority of us can acknowledge when we have made a mistake but how many of us can say we have actually made changes to our behaviour to prevent it from happening again?

GROWTH IS NOT KNOWING BETTER BUT DOING BETTER.

 We need to take the time to evaluate ourselves and the habits that may be preventing you from moving forward. God will not take you to the next level if you are not ready. Sometimes we are so disconnected from life spiritually that we don’t even realise that we have been in the same spot for too long.

Time is the most precious thing on this Earth. It cannot be duplicated, bought or sold. It is more valuable than money. So how are you using your time? Take a look at how you’ve spent your day for example. Have you used it to invest in yourself? Or have you spent it all on social media investing in others? As much as God is in control, we need to take responsibility for our own growth.

We need to be evolving all the time to keep moving to the next level. We need to constantly be evaluating our behaviours to see if they are preventing or promoting growth. For example, over the last two weeks I decided to dedicate 30mins each morning to reading. I realised that if I can spend 1 hour watching Love and Hip Hop that is adding nothing to my life and possibly even reducing my IQ, I can spend 30minutes reading something to impact my life positively.

If you look back over your life, and your challenges and bad experiences have not changed you in a positive way, then you run the risk of experiencing them again until something about you has changed.

If we do not engage with the lessons God is trying to teach us through the challenges of our lives, then we will never move forward.

There is so much we can do to be better yet we spend so much time on things that aren’t helping us to be better. Do not underestimate the power of making small changes each day. Every investment you make in yourself is never wasted.

As always, with love,

Temi xx

DON’T THINK, JUST DO IT

What if those dreams you have aren’t just meant for when you’re sleeping? What if those passions you have are for a reason? What if that ‘silly’ idea that came into your mind could impact a generation?

Society tries to put us in a box, it tries to make us all the same. It tries to make us small minded and it tries to make us ‘realistic’. As a result, the thought of greatness begins to scare us. In the words of Marianne Williamson:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”

It is our potential for greatness that overwhelms us. But when we have been taught all our lives to be realistic, to set ‘sensible’ goals, that people who have done great things are ‘lucky’ why wouldn’t the thought of us being just as great scare us?

The longer we ponder, the more we come up with reasons not to get started.

Sometimes life requires us to take a leap of faith without thinking of the consequences and just know that someway somehow, everything will work out.

How many times have you convinced yourself not to do something? It’s time for a new strategy. Instead of talking yourself out of it talk yourself into it.

If you think about majority of the role models and people we aspire to be like, they all had the same starting point as us. They all had what seemed like a silly idea or a dream that seemed to big to carry.

Don’t think, Just do it.

Don’t waste your time thinking about everything that could go wrong. Don’t wait for a convenient time to start (there will never be one). Don’t worry about where you will get the money (especially when there is a God that supplies all of your needs). If something is meant for you, then everything will fall into place. Every hardship will lead to a greater blessing.

There will always be a reason why you shouldn’t do something. There will always be a reason why you could fail.

Dreams are not meant to be realistic. They’re not meant to be sensible. They don’t even need to make sense. They are meant to be bigger than you.

Don’t think, just do it!

With love,

Temi xx