Tag: Be Present

Hold Yourself Accountable

Accountable. Responsible. Obedient. Believe. These words are all one in the same to me. You must take ownership of your situation in your life. If you are an entrepreneur, or in management at your company, you must take ownership of your situation there. As people, we own the work that we do and the path that we take. You must believe in yourself. If something in your area of responsibility is broken, no matter what it may be, you should quickly take steps to fix it.

We all have dreams. What we have to remember is that the dream is OURS. That we hold the responsibility for making those dreams come true. We can have a support system, but ultimately it is our responsibility to make the dream come true. A huge part of believing in the dream is believing in yourself. You can achieve it, if you believe it.

Often the best and most rewarding decision you can make is to stay the course even when it would be simpler to turn and walk away. You have to find a system that works for you. You also have to have accountability partners. In this 38th year of my life, I finally have that all worked out. My partners are the sweetest, kindest people I know and they softly speak to my soul with encouragement. Words of affirmation and kind acts are my love language, so this system works well for me.

Let’s be honest, it is also a great help to have someone that believes in you while you chase your dreams. Someone that will sing your hearts song back to you when the going gets tough. I have previously posted “Friends?” I am convinced that we are not meant to do life alone. It is not always our qualifications on paper that help us get to the things we want to do, there are people we network with that pull or push us along.

Believe in yourself enough for the impossible to occur. Be accountable to yourself, to your dreams. Don’t let YOU back off from doing the things you want to do, qualified or not. Period!

#SDG

by Layla Earlene Williams

Baby Steps

I am fortunate enough to attend Central Missionary Baptist Church of Detroit, MI where, Robert E. Bolden, I, is Pastor. Currently our Midweek Oasis (Tuesday night Bible class) Series is on the topic of Healthy Habits. One of these nights, Pastor Bolden (or PB as we know him) told us that little changes add up to big changes and that’s how you conquer change and create new habits. Then we wrote down 3 things that we wanted to change on a card and turned them in before we left the service. Our homework was to go home and make a list of what little things we could do to help us achieve the three things that we placed on the card. I have no doubt that PB has been praying over our lists and this teaching has really stuck with me.

Here’s the profound example that PB shared. A plane was leaving Los Angeles, CA heading to New York, New York. If the pilot turned the nose 3 degrees south upon departure from LA, over time it would change the trajectory of the plane to land in Washington DC. Consider that something as small as 3 degrees could do that!

Now imagine, changing your lunch meal on Thursday one week. Then the next week changing lunch on Thursday and Friday. Or, going to the gym one day a week and walking for 10 minutes then increasing your increments each week or each time you walk. Over time you will have made small steps that add up to change over time.

I think we get side tracked like the memes below:

Baby steps are not mutually exclusive to changing your eating habits or working out. It could be about learning something new at work, a new language, a new hobby, arts and crafts, essentially anything! I was so moved by this teaching that I am taking baby steps in several areas of my life and I don’t feel overwhelmed. I feel successful. I feel like I can finally be successful moving forward because all of my baby steps will combine to make great progress!

I hope you count your baby steps as small victories and move forward!

#SDG

by Layla Earlene Williams

What Energy Do You Bring?

Why is the energy that you bring into a room so significant? It’s because it’s your identifier. I didn’t understand that until I was smartly redesigned to a development opportunity at work last month. My manager looked at me, smiled and in summation said, “I moved you to this group because there’s a difficult task ahead and we felt like, since everyone loves working with you, you’d be able to handle it and cheer the people up that are already in this group.”

The humans in my department call me “smiley.” At 38 years old, I am still a kid at heart. I sing. I dance. I am random. I giggle, but if something is really funny, I snort. I ask lots of questions. I make faces. I laugh out loud. I am up beat. I am optimistic. I am loving. I am caring. I am compassionate. I let my light shine so that everyone can see the God in me. All of this is who I am, but I am not limited to these things. These things are my personality. They are my energy.

So, when I attended a meeting earlier this week, I was stuck in a social tragedy, and appeared distracted and withdrawn. I felt like this meeting went on forever. No sooner than the last Excel cell was filled in and the meeting concluded, the 13 people in the room shifted their attention to me and asked, “what was wrong?” I was totally thrown off and responded, “Nothing at all, I am fine.” In unison, they retorted, “You are not!” See, my energy was off. I didn’t make a peep or crack a smile. My off energy or lack there of, threw off the energy in the room, thus making this meeting painful for more than just me.

I said all of that to say this, your energy precedes you. We spend so much of our time at work and we want employment enjoyment. It can be hard to read the energy in the room sometimes, and though it’s important to do that you should also bring your own energy. And the positive kind. I like to think of my energy as a cool breeze on a warm summer day that makes you tilt your chin upwards, smile, take a deep breath and pause while fostering a spirit of excellence, cohesiveness, inclusion, positivity and being results driven. This way, when you aren’t in the room, your energy will speak for you.

When your energy is good, people remember you. Your name comes up. Your name will be in rooms that your feet haven’t even touched yet. Allowing the God energy, the positive energy to shine through comes in handy when it’s time to elevate you. Remember this: David had good energy. He was either sent to or sent for as he elevated to king. Be mindful of your energy.

#SDG

by Layla Earlene Williams

Heart Smiles

 

I can’t remember the last time I spent a day doing nothing. As far as the eye can see, I don’t have one of those days coming up. I’ve been privileged to hang out with some amazing people this year. My heart is swelling at the positive energy and love!

#GetYouAFriend is something I started saying to my friends about a year ago. It’s what I say to everyone I meet now. You’re never to old to make new friends or build new relationships. Some people are scarred and have hurts and disappointments as a hurdle, but you’ve got to do the work. Remember if Judas betrayed Christ and Peter denied Him … you can expect the same.

It’s all in how you process relationships and whether or not you can enter into them with an open mind. You have to treat people differently, according to their talents and positions in your life. Everyone doesn’t get unfiltered access to your life.

That’s the main rule I live by now. I must be present in every moment and let the Joy of my Soul shine through my Heart. I love to recap time spent with folks. I catch myself smiling at the thoughts… HEART SMILES ♥️😁

by Layla Earlene Williams

Not Meant To Fit In

I’ve know for sometime now that I don’t fit in and that’s OK with me. I’ve been in groups of friends and felt like an outsider. I’m adaptable and transparent. I “Show Up” (see previous blog post) because I gain so much from being present in different atmospheres.

Not fitting in is a blessing. I can’t get comfortable or overly involved in ‘one thing’ thus being distracted and not working towards my God given purpose. My best friends know that I don’t fit in and the beauty of these ladies warm my heart. They encourage me to be present while reminding me that I’m on assignment.

I’ve come full circle with trying to be everything to my friends/associates and now, I’m everything to me. For me, the beauty of not fitting is knowing that it is OK. Your uniqueness, individuality and talents should transcend philosophical, social and economic statuses.

 

by Layla Earlene Williams