FALLING IS NOT FAILING

If I were to write the definition of a successful person, it would be someone who fell many times, got up, dusted themselves off, and kept going. Falling is not failing. Falling is and should be seen as temporary. Our strength, our grit, our ability to persevere, to get stronger, to sharpen our skills are manifested when we are faced with challenges. 

In the biblical story of the exodus, the Children of Israel are faced with the red sea before them and the persuing army behind them, little did they know that through this experience they would witness their biggest miracle.

What is the challenge you are facing that have you feeling like you have failed? It may be a job, a business, a health issue, no matter what the challenge, allow yourself to become refined like gold. Gold can only be refined as it goes through extreme heat. My guess is that this big challenge of yours, this fall, this temporary stop is producing a finer, more refined version of you.

To my Aunt J, facing her biggest challenge yet, you will emerge stronger. I love you.

One Love

Danni

A REALTOR, A MOM, A DAUGHTER OF THE NORTHSHORE.

WHAT COVID TAUGHT ME ABOUT GOAL SETTING

 

No doubt we have learned a lot in 2020-21. But what have we learned about setting and achieving our goals. Here is the most important lesson I have learned about goals through my covid experience.

The challenges of 2020/21 did put many of my goals, dreams and desires into perspective. They were tested in ways many of us never in our lifetime expected. But what I learned is that the path may change, you may be rerouted but the goal must remain the same. Even your microgoals leading up to the big goal may be modified, and that is ok, whats important is keeping our eyes firmly on the prize and still moving towards it.

So do not allow the challellenges of 2020/21 keep you feeling like giving up, or if you have fallen off the path, do not become discouraged. Get back up and find your path.

One Love

Danni

A REALTOR, A MOM, A DAUGHTER OF THE NORTHSHORE.

STAYING FOCUSED, POSITIVE AND CELEBRATING

The relaxing view of the sun setting through my upstairs window.

Can you imagine we are still going through this worldwide pandemic? Inspite of all this, it may seem hard to focus, to be positive and even to celebrate. Here are some of the things that I have been doing to stay focused, positive and to celebrate.

1. I stay focused by doing checkins on my goals. I have various goals spiritual, family, wealth, health. Within each category I have steps that I take to complete these goals. 

2. I stay positive by setting a positive tone as part of my morning routine which includes prayer, bible, gratitude. I also am a big advocate of keeping negativity out. I only listen to the news to stay updated with world events, but eliminate it as much as possible. The news has a ways of invoking negative vibes. 

3. I celebrate by doing those little things that bring me and my family joy, and taking the time to reflect on those moments. An evening at the park flying our kite as a family or going to the beach with friends for me is celebrating. I also take lots of pics and reflect on these later. I ensure that I do not work on my childrens birthday and I have a small inexpensive family gathering for them. 

Although these may seem small and simple, enjoying these moments are extremely important.

One Love

Danni

A REALTOR A MOM A DAUGHTER OF THE NORTHSHORE.

ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, GO

 

We usually hear the term on your mark, get set, go. But what does that really mean? Most importantly, what does it mean to you? 

In my Jamaican culture where track and field plays a big part in our culture, we understand this term to mean "preparation and run to win". 

The small moments of winning at the olympics are usually backed by hours of preparation. 

Are we preparing for a win or is our lack of preparation bringing us towards a sure loss? I would encourge you to pay keen attention to the preparatory periods in our lives. At times we are not given opportunities, not because it wasn't for us, but because we did not fully prepare.

Prepare for your win and unleash your inner olympian.

One Love 

Danni

A REALTOR, A MOM, A DAUGHTER OF THE NORTHSHORE

LESSONS IVE LEARNED IN LIFE AND PARENTING

I must admit I have been around since the 80s (I know I look younger). But throughout the years I have picked up a thing or two that I would love to share. Here are five lessons I have learned in life and in parenting.

1. Be childlike in my view of life. What I absolutely love about kids is they were born seeing possibilities, majority of our limitations came from the uninformed concepts of adults. 

2. Never take NO from someone in a position to tell me yes. That includes my relationship with God and my level of faith. (Borrowed from Mignon Francois of the cupcake collection). 

3. View the cup as half filled. Yes there is distress, chaos and problems in life, but if I focus on the solution vs the problem, the problems will be resolved. 

4. Passionately love myself. As a woman living in NYC its so easy to compare myself to others. Love myself includes loving my skin, my hair, my personality, the things that makes me different and the things that make me the same. Appreciate and love it all. Never base my perception of self on other peoples opinions of me. 

5. I have to go through situations to grow from situations. As I go through hard times it is hard to understand why I am being challenged. But looking back I am able to see how much those situations strengthened me and helped me grow. 

One Love Danni

A REALTOR A MOM A DAUGHTER OF THE NORTHSHORE

MY MENTAL HEALTH AT STAKE

 

My kids flying their kite.

A few mornings ago I woke up mentally stressed, slight headache, physically exhausted, and breathing heavy. But what was worse were the thoughts going through my head. Every single negative thought was racing through my mind and literally forcing through my veins. Although this I am sure is a far cry from a mental health break down, I knew if I continued along that path, eventually I would get there. 

After soul searching and praying here is what I decided to do.

1. Turn off the noise- I consume a lot of self help, or self improvement content. That over time had me telling myself that I was just not hitting the mark and need to work harder and set bigger goals. Yes thats great information, but it too has its place. Another source of noise was the news. As I read what popped up on my news feed and scrolled through social media, my anxiety level only increased. 

2. Increase entertainment- something I hardly do, but I had to find ways of giving me a belly laugh or at least send some positive hormones through my veins. 

Please share, what are the ways you destress and how do you take care of your mental health?

One Love

Danni

A REALTOR A MOM A DAUGHTER OF THE NORTHSHORE. 

WHEN FAMILY AND FRIENDS REJECT YOUR DREAM

Recently I had a conversation with my dad about years ago when I decided I wanted to migrate to the US. At the time my dad had lost his job, I had dropped out of college because I couldn't afford it, yet I had a dream of migrating and studying in the US. 

I remember my dad  applying to teachers college in Jamaica on my behalf. I was absolutely upset. Don't get me wrong, becoming a teacher is great, becoming a teacher in Jamaica is great, but that was not the vision I had for myself. I was highly offended that he felt so little of the vision I had for myself and instead was promoting the vision he had for me. The truth is, my dads vision was the easier route and the more "sensible" route. But it was not the vision I had for myself.

Why am I telling you this story? Well, because, when we begin to dream BIG UNCOMFORTABLE DREAMS and we share them with others, they try to dull it down. Its nothing personal, most times it comes from family and friends who love us and want whats best, and our big dreams scare the crap out of them. 

My advise, if you are open to it is; have big audacious dreams, set massive goals and work at them like your life depends on it. You know why? Your life does depend on it.

One Love

DANNI

A REALTOR A MOM A DAUGHTER OF THE NORTHSHORE