THE EVOLUTION
“Let your knowledge lead to action and not a catalogue of facts”
HEAR YE! HEAR YE! PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE YEAR:
YOU HAVE THE PERMISSION TO NOT FIT SOMEONE ELSE'S STANDARD. YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO CHANGE, GROW & EVOLVE!
( Now before we get carried away this is not permission to be rude, elitist, dismissive, not be a good friend or neglect your responsibilities. Let's be easy now haha)
Swinging right from the gate this fine day I know! Hahaha, hello beautiful people!
It has been a minute y'all. It has been a good but crazy couple weeks, that the space to even sit and just write clearly was not happening. While I strongly believe in being consistent in content creation, I also believe in quality over quantity. Writing and more so words are powerful tools and have to be measured as such, so I have to make sure what I write isn't wack and you get something out of your 5-10 min read for the day.
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Now, in a world that can be judgmental, temperamental and short minded, self- growth sometimes gets lost in the shuffle.
I found myself thinking about who I was 1 year ago, 2, 5 even 7 years ago and my, wheew! What a change! So much has occurred that has literally shaped my life, but who would I be, if I did not evolve and grow in those moments, shoot or even recognize that they were moments worth acknowledging?
Its crazy how "used to our own selves" we get that we don't even see the need to grow until situations place us in a corner pushing us to go a different route.
Serious question though.... what if we did not always wait for life to push us to change and instead seek growth as part of our natural cycle? I know we naturally live to avoid conflict, hardship or discomfort, but what if we embraced it with a more open mind? Would we be better or worse for it?
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So fun fact, I am a shameless Marvel/MCU, sci-fi/ fantasy fan, like Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones are my top favourite movies/tv shows.
Not everyday reality show or drama sometimes alternate universe yeh? LOOL
A common theme that resides very strongly in these genres is that their characters usually embark on some journey, are then assigned a mission or task, encounter challenges, defeat enemies and all that good stuff to get to a profitable, momentous end ( minus Game of Thrones Season 8 eps 5 going, it still hurts and we are not going to talk about it) lol, nonetheless, these experiences take the characters especially our main protagonists through a process of self-development and by the time they reach their intended end, they are different from who they were at the beginning.
Some might say, they have EVOLVED.
Evolution by definition is: the gradual development of something; the way in which living things change and develop over time.
As living organisms , it is part of our natural process to develop and evolve. In fact if we do not, it is considered abnormal and a sign of something wrong that needs further investigation. Funny, that in our physical state that is understood but emotionally, spiritually, mentally and practically we do not embrace the evolution of self. Yet in contrast, we are reaching for more; more love, more acceptance, more opportunities, more money, more ventures just more, yet we don't want to grow and change to achieve it. Why is that? How can the two be at such opposite sides.
A couple of things come to mind:
Obvious notion, but we rarely want to grow because growth means change and change means discomfort
Stifled by the viewpoints of others
Our pasts shackling us down
Fear of the future is a real thing. As the infamous quote states, " our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us"
Low self esteem
You may not realize it but your " next" is tied to your willingness to grow.
When I think about what my next steps are, in my career, as a blogger and content creator, business woman, as a daughter, friend, partner, lover etc., I have to ask myself WHO AM I BECOMING to achieve these things. Am I willing to grow, invest and sacrifice to not just gain these things but SUSTAIN them? How am I embracing the time and process to get there? How am I evolving to be the woman I want to see in the mirror?
I think more than ever in this time, we are simply not asking ourselves these questions enough. More identities are getting lost, people are forfeiting opportunities, cancel culture has people stifled and approval seeking from insignificant people have people stagnant.
Remember, life is lived forward but understood backwards, how does your story sound looking back?
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It is God’s desire that we grow and mature not to the point of not needing Him, in fact needing him more, but to expand our call, to give you more grace to handle the next, to entrust in you the next vision and fun fact: You cannot be trusted with what is next if you are not at the level of maturity to sustain it!!
Can God trust you with what is next? Even more basic, can your company trust you, friends or family, community leaders etc? How have you evolved from being a novice student to a progressing individual, not one of perfection?
To evolve requires 3 things:
SELF AWARENESS
SUBMISSION AND PRUNING
TIME
Are you a good investment? Can God place in your hand a vision and work it through or do you just want to have things?
You have been redeemed, your experiences will shape your perspective but they should not shackle you. God wastes nothing
For those fearful of elevation, what it costs and what it means know that you have permission to be on a new level. To step away from things and people that no longer serve your journey. You have permission to make the sacrifices necessary to be potent and fruitful in your season.
The most beautiful aspects of our lives is not the things we attain, but the people we become through it all.
