What I know for Sure Sundays: It is never too late to put on your crown

Hello my loves,

Sorry this post went up a bit late today. I had an amazing time with my family today celebrating all the amazing mothers, including my own:

picture from our Broadway show date

We were blessed with a beautiful day here in the city and so my entire family planned a last minute BBQ in the park where we all got to spent some quality time. I just got home!

I could have skipped this post. However, today I had a conversation with one of my cousins that was a true eye opener. She is about to be a mother herself (currently expecting) and although she is not with the father, she is completely ecstatic to bring a life in to this world. We were talking about relationships and we got to talking about a 7 year relationship she had- the guy became part of the family after a while and then one day he was gone! I never got to ask her what happen with that but today she shared with me a lot of stuff and for that I was very grateful.

She advised that after some time she realized her life with him would have been a disaster and so, after 7 years, she had no problem breaking things off. She emphasized the fact that we only live once and there is no time to be wasting with people we know are not good for us. I loved her optimism and enthusiasm as she told me the story. It really made my day.

...and so, in the middle of that conversation I had a personal aha! moment:

Is never, ever too late to put on your crown <3

source

What does this mean? It means that regardless of what we've been through, regardless of how many times we have fallen, regardless of how many times we knew we had to move on but did not, regardless of how many times we put up with things we shouldn't have, regardless of anything you can think of-- is NEVER too late to realize your true worth, put on your crown as the queen that you are and keep.it.moving. As my cousin stated over and over--- you only live once. people will always have something to say. Live for your own personal happiness and no one else's.

And so, I couldn't end this day without sharing this amazing message with all my wonderful followers. I will keep it short. Have an amazing week!

Love,
Mabelle

What I Know for Sure Sundays: Do what makes YOU happy

One thing I have learned in life:

Regardless of what you do or don't do people will ALWAYS have something to say-- Either you're too skinny, or too fat, or too tall, or too short, or too arrogant, or too shy, or too ambitious, or too careless, or too loving, or too dry. People will always have an opinion. Hence, do yourself a favor and make a conscious effort to always do what makes YOU happy. As long as you aren't hurting anyone, your happiness should always come first.

Remember that at the end of the day, you're the one that will have to deal with the decisions you make in life. No one else. You are the one that will go to bed at night and wake up in the morning with the consequences of your actions- or lack thereof.

Dont smother your dreams, don't smother the best in you-

Steve Jobs had some incredible things to say about this:

If you haven't seen the commencement speech he made a Stanford years ago, please take some time to watch it. You'll remember this message forever. Check it out here.

How ironic, I just realized he made this speech, the same year I graduated from college.

So, in summary, this is what I know for sure:

Everyone always and will always have an opinion. Hence, for life decisions, listen to yourself, to your instinct and follow your own heart. <3

Tell me-- have you ever done something (or not) based on someone's opinion? what happened?

Love,

Mabelle

What I know for Sure Sundays: Emotional Independence

Hello my loves,

It is one of the most beautiful days of 2015 today in NYC. Hope that wherever you are the day is just as beautiful and if not, that you are making the best of it regardless.

Today's WIKFSS post will be short, sweet, and straight to the point. One of the people I follow on instagram, posted this question the other day:

"Who are you waiting for to be happy?"

Having Emotional Independence should be one of the most indispensable, sought after, valuable traits for anyone in this world. Having loved ones around us- an spouse, parents, siblings, quality friends, and/or people we love in general is amazing. We all should have people we love around us.

However, there is a huge difference between letting someone have so much power over us that our happiness or lack thereof depends on them V. having someone that complements our naturally happy state and just makes our life that much more amazing.

Life experiences have taught me that we should all focus on being happy within ourselves, loving our solitude, having a blast on our own.

Learn to be happy on your own and only allow people in your life that make your already wonderful life even more wonderful.

With that said, this is what I know for sure:

NEVER allow your happiness to depend on a person, or a thing, or anything else that's not already within YOU.

In this life, we should spend time with people that love us (and show it), that make us more joyful, that empower, motivate and excite us. People that make our stand-alone amazing life even more amazing. Everyone else should be love from a distance. 

We should all discover the power of Emotional Independence. 

And that's all my loves. Hope you all have an amazing Sunday and an even more amazing week.

Love,

Mabelle

What I know for Sure Sundays: The Choice to resurrect in our own lives

I wrote this post about 12 hrs ago on the blogger app but didn't post. My apologies for the delay.

Hello all!

I am happy to say I was able to attend early mass with my mom and heard such an incredible message about the meaning of resurrection.

I was inspired for today's "what I know for sure Sundays" post.

In today's word, it was explained that "the cross" can be a metaphor for many things-- sadness, depression, hardships, overall hard times. We have to remember that just as Jesus had to carry the cross as he was forced to make his way to being crucified; he eventually freed himself from it- from all the pain and hardships- and came back stronger than ever before. 

Hence: moral of the story; when facing hard times, remember all is temporary and everything comes to an end (something I've mentioned many times here on the blog because I know this for a fact).

Work hard to free yourself from that cross. Keep a positive mentality. Is not an easy task by any means! I know this is easier said than done, but make a conscious effort and take it one moment at the time if you have to. Walk towards freedom. Walk towards a better present and future. The past is done. Is dead.

Leave it behind and start fresh with each step going forward.

With that said, what I know for sure is:

"If we have the privilege to be alive in this wonderful world; we have to remember that from time to time we will have to face hardships (our cross)- however, we'll ALWAYS have the choice to prevent the cross from damaging us and instead, choose to resurrect in our own lives". 

And that's all my loves. I will keep it short and sweet today. Happy Sunday and happy Easter.

What hardships can you start resurrecting yourself from today?

Love,

Mabel 

What I know for Sure Sundays IV: Everything has a solution, except if you're dead

Hello my loves,

Hope you're all having a great Sunday. Sorry this post went up a little late. I just got in to my apartment after a nice get away weekend.

While away yesterday, I found out some terrible news--- an acquaintance of mine with whom I spent good times with (close friends with my sister) Passed away a couple of days ago. This girl was a 23 year old gorgeous, smart, Columbia University graduate student. May she rest in peace. Appears heaven was ready to welcome an incredible person.

Although I have no clue of the details as of yet. Apparently she made the decision to end her life. This very sad situation made me reflect on how the mind can be such a powerful force-- we can be dragged through the mud of misery and depression or we can be raised to the ultimate high of greatness and glory, simply based on the thoughts that we think or the things we say to ourselves.

I cannot speak for her. I have no clue whether she was depressed, whether she was going through some serious problems that she did not want to share with other people. I don't know and maybe we will never know. 

I have to admit that Ive gone through situations in my life where I felt that maybe ending my life would be the only way to go. I am sure many of us have had that thought cross our minds at one point or another. Maybe is human nature. However, acting on those thoughts is obviously a completely different story. Once you are gone, you are gone. All that is left behind are the people that love you and their incredible pain for the loss (I cant even imagine the kind of pain her family is going through right now).

However, as long as you are alive and well, everything has a solution. Life have taught me this more than once. And so, this is what I know for sure:

"No matter what troubles we are faced with in life; everything has a solution. Except if you are dead. At that point, there is no turning back."

I wish she would have taken the time to speak to someone about her troubles. Sometimes we feel so incredibly consumed about an issue that we may feel there is no turning back and we may get to the point where we worry ourselves to death (literally). However, if we take the time to maybe journal about our issues to help get them all out or if we talk to a confidant, a good friend-- often times these approaches may help us put things in to perspective to the point where the problem may not seem as serious anymore.

Whatever her reasons were, may her beautiful soul rests in peace.

one of my favorite bible verses

And that's all my friends. This post is dedicated to that life we lost. She will be missed <3

Tell me, how do YOU cope with challenging situations?

Love,
Mabelle

What I know for Sure Sundays III: Commitment & Consistency

Hello everyone!

Can you believe March is here? I realized it this morning when I took a quick glance at my Ipad and the date on the screen indicated the # "1"--  took me half a second to realize "its march 1st". This means spring is almost here. One of the things I am looking forward to is nicer weather so I can start running outside again, something I haven't done in quite some time. Mother nature has been a little tough on NYC this winter.

But anyways, here we are again with another edition of "What I Know For Sure Sundays". If you missed the other two posts, check them out here, #1 and here, #2.

Today I want to talk about the power of commitment and consistency. In all my life accomplishments there's always been a common theme. And this is what I know for sure:

"I've realized that when things get challenging as we work towards our goals; keeping a mentality of commitment & consistency is what allows us to keep going and push through".

We all face challenges in our lives when we are on our way to accomplishing our goals. Things may start out okay and easy to handle but many times they may start getting difficult and complicated. There will always be opportunities for us to get discouraged and take our eyes off the prize. However, if you make a deal with yourself from the very beginning to stay committed and consistent, you will get through the difficult times a lot easier than if you give yourself a chance to give up at the first sign of trouble.

From reaching my fitness goals, to passing super difficult classes in college and grad school, to accomplishing other life goals-  I've had many opportunities to throw in the towel either because I wouldn't see the results I wanted soon enough, or because I felt that despite my efforts I wasn't getting anywhere. In the times where I kept pushing through and remained committed and consistent despite my doubts, I eventually saw the light at the end of the tunnel and everything eventually fell in to place.

The mind is a powerful thing--- it can drag you to desperation and anxiety or it can motivate you to push through and thrive. So, during difficult times, I'd choose the latter and kept my eyes on the prize NO MATTER WHAT. Eventually, I'd see my way through.

Hence-- word to the wise: don't give yourself the opportunity to give up when things get difficult. Remember commitment and consistency are the key ingredients to get to where you want to go. It's worked for incredibly successful people in this world, its worked for me, and I'm sure it works for all human kind.

Tell me, do you have an example of a time in your life when it would have been easier to give up and you didn't? What did you learn from that experience?

What I know for Sure Sundays II: On the Topic of Happiness

Hello my beautiful followers,

Happy Sunday! As I do every Sunday, I start my day with a delicious breakfast, some reading, and then grab some tea to enjoy another episode of Super Soul Sunday (one of my favorite shows). I should be getting reading to head to church but wanted to leave you guys with today's 'what I know for sure Sundays' post. If you missed the first one from last weekend, you can check it out here.

The other day I was taking a shower after the gym and the following thought popped in to my head:

"I want to be the sole creator of my happiness. Anything else should be icing on the cake". 

Wouldn't you agree that often times we give the power of our happiness to others? I've read (and heard)  countless times that if we depend on outside forces to determine weather or not we will be happy- that is grounds for inevitable disappointment. Why? Because we don't have the power to control others. As the saying goes: "Each head is their own world". Thankfully, we have 100% power over ourselves and that is fabulous. 

I believe this quote (one of my favorites) may put things in to perspective:

"...The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude...I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our attitudes.” 

― Charles R. Swindoll

So, remember this:

"....Tie your happiness to goals not people or objects" 

With that said, this is what I know for sure:

"We are the sole creators {and destroyers} of our happiness. Everything else is icing on the cake".

Tell me, would you agree with this? Why or why not? Would love to hear your thoughts!

What I know for sure Sundays I: People and acceptance

Good morning lovelies,

Hope everyone had a nice day yesterday-- whether you spent it with family, friends, a special person or simply on your own; I hope it was fabulous.

I woke up around 9-ish and made myself a quick and easy breakfast:

PB&J on sprouted wheat cinnamon-raisin bread, cafe w/ soy milk.

I miss almond butter dearly but haven't been able to get my hands on a jar. Hopefully that will change soon. Peanut butter is okay but nothing compares to almond. Would you agree?

Anyways, the purpose of this post is to share a series I have been thinking about for a while. We all have life lessons; experiences we feel have taught us a lot and sometimes we feel the need to share those 'valuable lessons' with others. If you read Oprah magazine, the name of the series might sound familiar. The last page of every issue is entitled "what I know for sure" and is a space where Oprah herself shares her own personal life anecdotes, what she's learned and what she now 'knows for sure'.

I would like to kick off this series with the following:

What I know for sure:

...people are who they are. You either take them as they are or love them from a distance. 

I've had instances in my life where people showed me their true colors from the very beginning. I kept hoping these people would change either by 'magic' or influenced by me. I soon realized that's not possible. People rarely ever change their ways. If the do is because they personally want to change not because anyone tells them to. 

Sometimes people have wake up calls when is too late. Sometimes they understand their actions and make a conscious effort to be better. However, we should never take it personal if someone refuses to do better for themselves or doesn't "listen to us". We should let people be free to be who they are. Thankfully, we ALL have the power to control our own actions. Hence, whether or not we want to keep that energy in our lives is entirely up to us.

"You cannot change the people around you, but you can change the people you choose to be around".

Tell me, would you agree with today's message? Does this situation sound familiar? if so, how?