Is Your Busy Mind Threatening your Vision?
Does life sometimes resemble a rat race? Unfortunately, it seems busyness is such a part of our culture that our minds remain busy even during downtime. This can be detrimental to your vision. Mental busyness shows up in many ways. Thoughts like how the week has been, replaying past conversations, or wondering what the future holds are just some of the thoughts that live in my mind. And it is non-stop. I discovered that people take up the most space in my head, especially people going through a challenging time. As an Enneagram type #9, my empathy levels go into overdrive sometimes. I end up taking on the sadness of others, leading me to feel sadder at their problems than they are. This means that by giving possibly 70% of my mind space to others, I have just 30%. That cannot be sufficient to fulfil my audacious goals. An interviewer asked Steve Harvey’s wife about her husband’s rigorous routine. Steve has a stringent daily exercise routine which will make the most disciplined person feel like a slob. Her response? “His vision requires it.” So if mogul Steve Harvey, feels the need to stretch himself mentally and physically beyond 100%, then I can’t expect my 30% to carry my vision. We cannot give less of ourselves to fulfil our purpose. Therefore, our purpose needs 100% of us. We need to stop sabotaging our chances of success while giving even more space to wondering why things are not working. This is not in any way rejecting helping others or being there for them; in fact, your purpose is connected to helping others on their journey. Instead, consider it a call to reject mindless, irrelevant activities that take up valuable space in your mind; that way you can give your vision the best chance of becoming manifest. This week, I am committed to being more watchful of my thoughts, which appear harmless, yet are taking up valuable space. How about you? Workshop Announcement: On Saturday the 12th of June, I will be running a workshop on Writing your Rock Star Story. The Rock Star Story is the story of your life, with its disappointments and regrets, retold from the perspective of an achiever. It pulls out the hidden successes you did not know you had, highlights your gifts and talents and makes you an all-around badass.🕺🏾💫 How you present yourself to the world is critical to how the world addresses you. Your Rock Star Story will open the doors God intended for you to walk through. 🔑 Book here: Eventbrite
Got Impostor Syndrome? Rewrite Your Story for Success
Impostor Syndrome is real, and if you have any doubts, read on and listen to the full podcast episode by clicking the link above. No two people were born with identical seeds in them and by seeds, I am referring to the fulness of who you really are. Your purpose, personality, gifts and proclivities are all squeezed into a seed and no two people were born with identical seeds. The reason we find ourselves comparing ourselves with others is that we don’t ‘feel’ like the success others see in us. Or we deliberately dumb down our achievements as we shrink under the admiration or recognition of others. Impostor syndrome is a real state of being that occurs in men and women, but more in women. It is when you feel like a fraud and refuse to accept ownership of your achievements- despite the evidence that you are responsible. There are circumstances and mindsets that create an ideal space for Impostor Syndrome to thrive and in this episode, we look at three of them: People Pleasing Fuels Impostor Syndrome When you live to please others, you will dumb yourself down to ‘help’ others feel good. Insecurity Encourages Impostor Syndrome Insecurity creates a fertile piece of ground for the impostor syndrome to grow, and it becomes a vicious cycle that you’ll keep trying to get out of it. You will question every win and support each question with your insecurity. False Humility Permits Impostor Syndrome to Remain Impostor syndrome is not humility. Many people shrink back from the attention their achievements bring. This is because they equate being celebrated or rather accepting celebration and recognition as prideful. And just in case you don’t believe it’s that serious, I share three dangers of not managing it. In a few weeks, the Write your Rock Star Story Workshop will be running. This has been one of the most powerful, life-changing events of my life. In the workshop, I will teach you how to re-write your story from the standpoint of a winner. You are not a victim. Your Rock Star Story is one you’ll be proud to tell over and over. More than that, it is a master key that will open the doors God intended for you to walk through. Register now and invite a friend– spaces are limited. Episode #39 References: Pawpaw & Mango Blog Where your feet shall tread scripture
Faith and Your Future
Does faith play a role in future living? Hindsight they say is 20/20. Another quote says Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. In Episode #38 of the podcast, I talk about how my Christian faith helps me trust the unseen and live as though I have 20/20 foresight.Did you know you can shape your future through prayer and expectation? Not the stoic, monk-like type of prayers, but through open communication with an unseen God. I share three ways in which you can use prayer to create your tomorrow.; one of which is understanding worthiness. This one came right out of my being scammed by an electrician two years ago. I also talk about why I believe we should not pray for healing. Buzz Phrases/Questions for the weekEach week I share an affirmation or a powerful question that will guide our steps to move us from simply being inspired, to making a change. I am worthy to become and to do everything God created me to do. My past does not define or have power over my future. Coming Soon The Rock Star Story WorkshopBy popular demand (drum roll..) I will be running a workshop on How to Write your Rock Star Story. This has been one of the most powerful, life-changing events of my life. In the workshop, I will teach you how to re-write your story from the standpoint of a winner, and not a victim. Head to toksaruoture.com/workshops and save the date for the 12th of June. References:Eisenhower MatrixYour Past does not Equal your Future– Lisa NicholsThe Lord’s Prayer– Luke 11:2 To subscribe to the Living Inside Out podcast, hit the subscribe button where you are listening. You can also join my friends’ list by scrolling to the bottom of this post and signing up so you can be informed of events, courses and all the things that inspire Living Inside Out. Talking about courses, I have been working on launching a programme and decided to try out one of the modules by making it prematurely available to you. For a nominal fee, you can attend the Write your Rock Star Story workshop on the 12th of June. Consider yourself my test driver- to the two-hour class 😊 Register at Eventbrite and in exchange for the discounted amount, all I ask for is your feedback. Spaces are limited but you can still invite a friend. Head to Eventbrite and see you on the 12th!
Workshop: Write Your Rockstar Story
Has the time come for you to re-write your story? You have allowed past events to stop you from doing what you are convinced you can do. You are tired of watching people excel in a space that you know you were born to thrive in. Your heart won’t stop yearning to create that picture, that dream that just won’t go away. If this describes you, it is time to write your Rock Star Story. Twelve years ago I was living a nightmare. I lost every material thing I owned and had to move in with a friend- while expecting son number four. I went from living ‘the life’ to rock bottom and did not even have the means to start again. I was ashamed of my story and avoided telling it- until I learned about re-writing your story. I re-wrote mine, confidence went through the roof, shame turned to delight and today, I am the founder of an acclaimed baby furniture brand located in London’s most affluent and fashionable neighbourhood. The Rock Star Story is the story of your life, with its disappointments and shame, retold from the perspective of a winner. It pulls out the hidden successes you did not know you had, highlights your gifts and talents and makes you an all-around badass! In an experimental move, I have pulled out this single module from a course I’ll be launching in the future and will present it as a two-hour workshop on the 12th of June. Consider yourself my test driver- you can attend this event for a fraction of the cost by registering today. In return for this nominal cost, all I ask for is your feedback. Your Rock Star Story is one you’ll be proud to tell over and over, but more than that, it is a master key that will open the doors God intended for you to walk through. Register now and invite a friend– spaces are limited.
It’s time to address that fear
Have you ever been stopped in your tracks by fear? I don’t mean stop to ponder then keep going. I mean a total pivot- thank you 2020 for the word of the year- from the path you were travelling on. Well, in the last couple of weeks, anxiety has gripped me by the collar. I have been unable to move. It surprised me to be afraid of a situation I have been in and been delivered from multiple times, yet here I was doubting God again. So I put pen to paper and asked myself some questions, I have shared them along with my answers below. 1. What action are you currently taking? Answer: I am stalling. I am stalling because I am worried. This concern has stopped me from taking any action, it has paralysed me. 2. What do you believe? Answer: I believe this new venture I am starting could fail, just like my first business did. 3. What circumstances surrounded the failure at that time? At this point, I start to describe in detail who I was, twelve years ago. My thought process and how I made decisions then. As I wrote, God began to show me my twelve years worth of growth, twelve years of miracles, twelve years of growing in faith and knowledge, twelve years of building resilience. So in a nutshell, the fear of something that happened all those years ago is redundant, because the person that had the failure no longer exists. Perhaps you are facing some type of anxiety over an old or recent experience. Here’s the thing; every time you have a bad experience, you grow from it. Often we don’t recognise the growth because our focus is on the pain. I invite you to stop for a minute or two to recognise and embrace the growth, despite the pain. Episode 29 (whaaaaat?!!) is up and I draw lessons from the life of Ronald Wayne, co-founder of Apple who panicked and sold his share of the company a mere twelve days after its launch. What’s the deal with the number twelve today? The prior episode, #28 draws from the life of Tyler Perry, media mogul. Did you know that his motivation for success came initially from his anger and unforgiveness towards his father? Hmmm. Who knew that success could come from dark places- but there was no real satisfaction until he began to draw from who he was created to be. I think you’ll find Episode 28 fascinating. TBH, I believe you’ll find all the episodes you missed, fascinating:) Ooh! and this month finds me in Red Magazine. Pick up the January 2021 issue today 🙂 Thank you for riding with me, let’s connect on social at @toksaruoture
Break the Shell: Revealing your Hidden Gems
The most prominent feature of a tree is that it bears after its own kind. An orange tree produces oranges- unless some intervention has occurred such as grafting or genetic engineering. The same goes for seeds. An orange seed becomes an orange tree and goes on to bear oranges. You also have a seed inside you, and you grow from that seed and go on to bear fruit. In other words, your purpose was placed in you before you were born, and the bearing of fruit is the fulfilment of that calling. The results are that people are blessed because they crossed your path. Yet, we hold back from using what lies in us for a number of reasons. One is that we look for safety in numbers. We are only comfortable when we find that what we are about to embark on is tried and tested- so that if we fail, we fall with company. Another reason we don’t tap into our hidden gems is that we doubt its validity. So we head out to look for accolades and recognition as proof that our gems are as worthy as God says they are. Worse, we see the value of our gems appreciating or depreciating depending on where the accolades are coming from. What’s interesting is that it is impossible to bear fruit that you don’t have a seed of. An orange tree cannot produce apples- except if some grafting or genetic engineering has occurred. So if you’re in the habit of relying on the opinions of others before embarking on a journey, nothing will come out of your efforts. Listen to the full episode here: Ep#27 Break the Shell: Revealing your Hidden Gems References:Couch to 5KBible Verse: Producing much FruitBible Verse: I am the True VineBreak the Shell- India Arie
