Hey Protected babes,
If you read Self-September blog post then you know what the month of September theme is. It's all about SELF. This is the beginning of week 4. I am grateful for all of you that participated in the Self-September challenge. All though our month is closing out does not mean the self care have to stop. Remember dedicating time for yourself, allow you to pour from an overflow. For week 4 I will be focusing solely on the Personal section on the self-care wheel. This section on the self-care wheel encourages you to focus on Learning who you are, Figuring out what you want out of life, Plan Short and Long-Term Goals, Create a vision board, Foster Friendships, Going out on dates, Going to a coffee/Tea shop with a friend or alone, Getting Out Of DEBT, Relaxing, Writing a poem or a book, Spending quality time with Family, Cooking yourself a meal, Learning a new skill.
Although the Personal section has many categories that you can focus on you can choose one area to focus on for week 4. Also remember the Personal section does not have to be your area of focus. There are five other areas: Psychological, Emotional, Spiritual, Professional and Physical. This is just the area where I felt called to do next. This week I am going to do all of the categories in the personal section. I'll be doing one or more on most days, so I would be able to address every area.
Personal development is one of my favorite areas to spend my time. There's something about going deep within to push yourself to see the new heights you can grow and stretch into. There's a quote that I keep on my desk in my office that I use as a daily reminder to myself : "Don't Settle For Safe, GOD Is Trying To Stretch Your Faith." Being able to see this quote daily remind me to continue to stretch myself and never to settle in any area in life.
Personal development will always look different for each and every one of us. For those that know me, know I'm a nerd low key and I love that for me. I got introduced to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs years ago and I was always left intrigued to grow and learn more. According to Maslow, your basic needs need to be fulfilled in order to reach your fullest potential. Here are the eight basic needs:
Biological & Physiological (air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc.)
Safety (protection from elements, security, order, law, stability, freedom from fear.)
Love and Belonging (friendship, intimacy, trust, and acceptance, receiving and giving affection and love. Affiliating, being part of a group (family, friends, work).)
Esteem (which Maslow classified into two categories: (i) esteem for oneself (dignity, achievement, mastery, independence) and (ii) the need to be accepted and valued by others (e.g., status, prestige).)
Cognitive needs (knowledge and understanding, curiosity, exploration, need for meaning and predictability.)
Aesthetic needs (appreciation and search for beauty, balance, form, etc.)
Self-actualization (realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth, and peak experiences.)
Transcendence needs (A person is motivated by values that transcend beyond the personal self.)
My current goal is to continue to learn and grow to reach self-actualization, which is reaching the highest level of self awareness, self confidence, personal growth, and self-realization. Mindset play an important and major role in personal development. Being able to develop a growth mindset instead of walking around with a fixed mindset will allow us to shift and change the trajectory of our life. Focusing on the growth mindset can lead us to challenges and new experiences—experiences which would help us stretch, grow, improve ourselves in important ways and co-create the life GOD already created for us. Remember we are all created by a creator to create.
When it comes to personal development the world will constantly pressure you to conform to its ways, but for the greatest personal development, you will need to consistently resist the pull of the world. Instead, you can renew your mind and transform your thoughts with daily bible study, prayer, and meditation on Scripture. When you are close to GOD in these ways, you will have a greater sense of his will for your life. We all have blind spots that need correction. When we are honest and ask GOD to point out these blind spots to us, we can experience greater personal growth.
Just as it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17- "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come". This scripture encourages us to continue on the journey of personal self development but, we're unable to do it alone. Partnering with GOD is the key factor and the most important with doing all things. Remember "I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me." Philippians 4:13. We often become impatient with GOD timing as we are growing into that self-actualization stage of life, we may become frustrated with the process. Personal growth and development requires trust, faith and a great deal of patience to grow through the process. Every season is not going to look like or feel like you're in your winning season but, GOD will often give us a glimpse of what life will look like once we reach the self-actualization stage long before we are prepared for it. You have to be fully rooted with your discipline, faith and grace and use it as fuel to continue to grow and stretch yourself. GOD plan is to prosper us, not to harm us. If you are in a season of growing and stretching allow this to be a reminder that GOD is stretching you. You have to withstand the test before the testimony.
Protected babes I pray that GOD continue to cover you, protect you and prosper you through your life. Remember life is not a sprint it's a marathon. There are going to be many different areas in our lives that we have to continue to grow personally. Although the theme of September was SELF, know that forming a deeper relationship with GOD is going to be your anchor to keep you grounded, motivated, in peace, Protected & Paid.
For those of you that have asked me privately about my walk with GOD, I do have an E-Book "A Walk Into Purpose". In this short E-Book I created 5 short chapters that provide tools I equipped my faith walk with: Identity, Intention, Faith, Passion & Purpose. I left the link below for you to check out my E-Book. I hope you enjoy and can use it as a guide to help you with your Walk in Purpose.
Until next time stay safe, stay blessed and most importantly stay Protected & Paid.
Sheema W.
