Tag: Write 2 Be blog

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What’s The Worst That Could Happen?

December 21, 2011 jcladyluv

“Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true.”
~Leon Joseph Suenens

I am typically an overly cautious person who has to literally think of every single positive and negative before saying yes or no to anything, usually ignoring my first instincts. I tend to talk myself out of wonderful opportunities and rationalize it with legitimate excuses (lack of money, or no time) that hold me back from doing a lot of things that I would love to do. I have found myself wondering lately, what if I just said yes to every opportunity that came my way. I mean what’s the worst that could really happen?

Now I don’t mean literally to just anything because I’m not in my early twenties with no responsibilities and no one to be held accountable for. I mean opportunities that I would normally find any reason that seems legitimate to say no to. I think about the movie Jim Carey played in called Yes Man and even though he had some not so good experiences in saying yes to everything, he had some really good ones too, some life changing experiences. I guess I will never know what it is I’m missing if I just keep finding an excuse to say no.

So I think that I am going to challenge myself for the year 2012 to say Yes to any opportunity that comes my way (within reason of course). I am not going to let what I don’t have stop me from exploring what it is I could have if I just said Yes. Now I don’t know how effective this is going to be because I don’t think I have ever done anything without giving it an excessive amount of thought but I sure am going to try to live up to this challenge. After all, what do I really have to lose? Until tomorrow…What do you think would happen if you just said yes to your next opportunity?

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

Where Credit Is Due

December 20, 2011 jcladyluv

“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”

~Mahatma Gandhi

I am reminded every morning when I go to the gym to workout that I am a lot stronger than I think I am. Each day when I do something else that I never thought that I could do or that I said that I would never even try, it reminds me that I sometimes don’t give myself enough credit. A lot of us tend to do that in general during the course of our everyday lives. We get it in our heads that we are only as good as the limits that we set for ourselves, not realizing that we often set the bar too low and don’t give ourselves nearly as much credit as we deserve.

If we think about it, each time we reach an obstacle and find ourselves saying that we can’t handle anything else, not only do we surpass that obstacle but it builds us up stronger for the one that is sure to come after that. They say that which doesn’t kill you can only make you stronger, and while sometimes I find myself wanting to throw a certain finger up at whoever started that phrase, I find it to be very true. My struggles have not only made me stronger but made me more ambitious and determined. I feel that with each road block I face during the course of my journey I am made to be hungrier and more driven to reach my destination.

Someone at the gym told me that I have been coming to the gym lately with a new drive and as if I was on a mission for the year 2012. I am on a mission. I plan on setting that bar increasingly higher for myself and raising my own expectations right along with it. I am strong enough to achieve anything I desire despite the struggles I have to face along the way. I am going to stop counting myself out before I even make it to the starting line and start giving myself the credit that I deserve. Until tomorrow…Ask yourself if you are giving yourself enough credit?

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

Don’t Throw in the Towel Too Soon

December 19, 2011 jcladyluv

“Don’t let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was.”

~Richard L. Evans

Did you ever wonder if you gave up on something that you wanted too soon? Sometimes we hang in there so long that we start to get the feeling that maybe we just weren’t meant to achieve that goal or dream we long for. We start to become doubtful and discouraged, and to put it bluntly, we get impatient. We forget (at least I know I do) that there is not a specific time table on when your dreams can come true. More importantly we forget that sometimes we have to put in our dues and struggle to get to the point of our destination. We have to exhibit perseverance and not be too quick to throw in the towel. Remember that if it is in your heart to accomplish your goals and you were given a purpose then it will all be worth the wait in the end. Nothing that is worth having has ever come easy and with great struggles there are also even greater rewards. Don’t give up on your dreams. They are more than likely right around the corner and well within your grasp. Until tomorrow…Don’t throw in the towel just yet!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

A Lesson in Losing Gracefully

December 18, 2011 jcladyluv

“I get it now; I didn’t get it then. That life is about losing and about doing it as gracefully as possible…and enjoying everything in between.”

~Mia Farrow

You know as a parent you only hope that each talk that you have with your child makes an impression, but more importantly that it makes the right impression. You hope that you communicate the right thing (what you intended) and not that they only hear the opposite of what you are saying. I guess most of us are all winging it in the parent department because the fact is that the rules keep changing with every generation that comes along.

Last night I found myself having to explain to my daughter (probably for the hundredth time), after she started pouting because I beat her in a video game, that it is important to know how to be a graceful loser. Her first response was ‘huh?’ and she clearly didn’t understand what that meant (she’s 8 so that’s understandable). She said that she always wins that game and didn’t want her record as champion to be erased. I reminded her that she’s not going to always be able to win and when she does lose at something she needs to learn how to do it gracefully and without pouting about it. She claimed that she understood but I could tell by the pout that she failed to remove from her face that she didn’t.

So without taking away her determination to always be a winner (because she’s going to need that in this world) I sat her down and tried to impress upon her that we all want to be winners at everything that we do but it is impossible to win at everything, all of the time. I reinforced that while it is important that she always tries to do her best at every single thing that she does, that she shouldn’t get discouraged, or throw a tantrum because she doesn’t win.

Now I don’t know how good a job I did at making her understand the art of losing gracefully (seeing as though I’m still trying to master that myself) but I can only hope that I didn’t suppress her determination to succeed. Lord only knows that my mother never talked to me about the art of losing or winning with grace so I am really just praying that I’m saying all of the right things. Until tomorrow…What lessons are you winging it on when it comes to your children?

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

Let’s Talk About Courage (Pt. 2)

December 17, 2011 jcladyluv

“One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.”

~Maya Angelou

I think that creative people are very special. I say this not just because I am a creative person and that I surround myself with nothing but people who are also immersed in their own creativity. I say this because being someone who’s life’s purpose centers around the creative arts is not really something that one can learn or that can even be taught if it is not ingrained somewhere deep inside of them. Take a singer for instance. You can give someone vocal lessons and the techniques and coaching that they may need to make their voice better and stronger, but if that natural talent and ability was never there in the first place, if it did not live deep inside of them, then it would never be able to be taught.

There’s something else that lives inside of a person who is creative at heart, courage. I think that being a creative person takes massive amounts of courage; the courage to withstand rejection, the courage to be patient and never give up while waiting for your turn, the courage to step out there and take the risk of being rejected to begin with, the courage to sacrifice comfort ability to serve your purpose no matter how crazy your loved ones may think you are.

It takes courage to be your true self even if it is not what is expected of you or what is perceived as something that will be a more immediate success. So today’s message is for all of you out there who are fulfilling your creative aspirations and enduring people looking at you or questioning your choices as if you’ve lost all of your senses. Keep wearing that badge of courage because in the end it will pay off and you will be glad that you remained true to yourself. Until tomorrow…“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the resistance to give in to that fear.” (Mark Twain)

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

Planning Means Nothing Without Action

December 15, 2011 jcladyluv

“Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into action.”

~ Napoleon Hill

Someone told me the other day that you only get good at what you do, so if you do nothing then that’s what you’ll be good at. Now granted that he was telling me this in reference to the suicides that the guys in the gym had me doing yesterday but I’ve been thinking a lot about how this applies to a lot of things in our everyday lives. How many hours of the day do we waste doing nothing?

We spend time planning what we are going to do but then lay around trying to figure out how to carry out our plan. Why is it that we can’t just cut out all of the time we waste planning for months on end, instead just jumping right into action? Now of course there has to be a plan, so I’m not saying that planning in general is a waste. What I am saying is that sometimes we can get so completely wrapped up in the planning stages (and believe me, I do it all the time myself) that we seemingly become inactive.

We get excited about our plans and try to make sure that all the details of those plans are ironed out. But we only can be good at we do, so if we do nothing (but plan) then that is what we will continue to be good at. My message to you all today is to go take those plans that you’ve got hidden in your desk drawer, or tucked away in a box, or saved in a file that you don’t touch often, and put them into action. Until next time…Don’t just be someone who plans to make things happen!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

A Brief Note For the Day

December 14, 2011 jcladyluv

Okay I am going to be really brief today. I really wanted to talk about success today but after the suicides I did in the gym this morning, followed by the hour on the treadmill, and coupled with the weights on top of that, my body is completely tired. But I didn’t want to let the day go by without posting anything at all so I found this wonderful quote that I wanted to share with you all. Hope it speaks to you like it spoke to me.

“If you wish success in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother, and hope your guardian angel.”
~Jospeph Addison

Until tomorrow…Be blessed!

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

No Shortcuts

December 13, 2011 jcladyluv

We all seek something meaningful out of life. We have a sense of purpose that is sometimes beyond all rationality. And when it seems like it will take forever for us to reach that destination that we are striving to get to, we all sometimes wish that we could just wake up one day and be there, right where we feel we need to be in life. Unfortunately life does not work that way. Or maybe it’s fortunate for us that it doesn’t.

I was watching my soap opera today (Young and the Restless) and something was said on there that really struck a chord with me. What good is reaching your destination without having the experience of getting there? What good is it, it means nothing, and you learn nothing? I never thought of it like that.

If I were to just wake up one day and have it all handed to me, everything that I want in this life, without having the struggle of actually getting to those proud and joyful moments, then would it mean as much? Without all of the blood, sweat, and tears put into making my dreams come true, would they mean as much and would I work just as hard to hold onto them? I can say that I would but I don’t know that.

Sometimes it is the struggle of the journey that makes the end result worth every bit of hardship that you went through. Sometimes there are no shortcuts in life, and I am discovering (though it took me a while to realize) that taking the long way to your destination can sometimes be the best thing you could ever do to satisfy your purpose. Until tomorrow…Don’t always go looking for the shorter way around things.

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jimmetta-Carpenter/1069480310

http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/thediary.htm

Lessons We Can Learn From Our Children

December 12, 2011 jcladyluv

It’s easy for us as parents to get annoyed with children who just keep pestering you until they get their way, and to get frustrated with their complete disregard for danger or consequences. Sometimes what can also get on our nerves is when children go from one activity to the next as if it is their money that they are wasting on that particular activity. However, we as parents can learn a lot from our children and their sometimes annoying behavior.

Children have such persistence and resilience within them. Their fearlessness allows them to try a multitude of things without the thought of failure. What we see as their indecisiveness and constant change of activities should be acknowledged as them trying to find what interests they are better suited for so that they can master what they are truly good at. Children are really good teachers sometimes and perhaps we should take a few pages from their book.

If we didn’t think so much about the failures that we might encounter, we may be more inclined to seek out more adventures and endeavors. If we were as persistent as our children to get what it is that we want out of life, perhaps we might learn to always go after what it is that we want and to never settle for less then what we deserve.

Just imagine what we could do in this world if we followed the words that we often tell our children; to always go after what you want and never let anything get in your way; to figure out what your purpose is and then be the best that you can be at it; and to never be so afraid to fail that you never try to begin with. Until tomorrow…What lessons could you learn from your children?

Jimmetta Carpenter

Writer/Editor

The Diary: Succession of Lies (Now Available)

Writing as “Jaycee Durant”