How To Save Room For Growth In Your Life To Sustain You Forever | #SoftLife

Have you recovered from the events of Valentine’s Day yet? I honestly think it’s hella sad that there’s usually quite the build up towards Valentine’s Day and then everything goes back to routine the day after. I mean, at least people still keep their Christmas trees up to ten days after the actual holiday.

Okay, I’m getting carried away.

Voices behind “Phenomenal Life with Vicky Meg Podcast”

Let’s get to it. But before we do, head onto Phenomenal Life with Vicky Meg Podcast on anchor.fm (or from wherever you get your podcast) to catch up on our previous episodes.

Honestly, if you didn’t listen to Love Me Now last week, you missed something big.

You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” —John C. Maxwell

This could be your meal if you could simply dare to try Vicky’s Chapatis. They have a way of turning regular home-cooks into pro chefs!

The direction of our lives is decided more by the daily choices we make than anything else. And these choices are more influential to the person we are becoming than we often realize. But let’s be clear, to change your daily habits for the sake of personal growth, you must be ready to sacrifice something – you must lose some things to create room for the new.

Vicky’s Chapatis before packaging

Habits become ingrained, automatic, and often slowly creep into your life so subtly that they become routine. So if you want to change your life, start by changing one thing that you do each day.

But change can be hard. So let me offer today, a list of 7 simple, daily habits that will positively change your life forever.

Most of these habits can be completed in just a few minutes each day. And each of them I have seen personally alter the trajectory of my life.

Find this article on this website via menu.

6 Universal Enemies of Personal Greatness

You know how technology has kind of made things so easy yet complicated at the same time?

This was my stand at the Farmer’s Market on 30th January 2021, showcasing my chapatis and a few fillings, for sale. Hope you join me in the next one on 27th of this month!

If you’re an avid reader of articles from this website, you should know the drill by now; listen to the recent episode of our PODCAST before you continue reading or you’ll be lost in oblivion.

Too far?

Sorry!

As I was saying before I interrupted myself to remind you to listen to the podcast, you’d think that just because we’re more connected now than ever before in the history of mankind, we would actually feel connected, right? But no, sorry . . .

Even before Covid-19, online dating, cyber bullying and the cancel culture made it impossible for basic human connections to be meaningful.

According to an article on singlecare.com on 21st January, 2021, the World Health Organisation has stated that clinical depression levels have hit an all-time high of 264 million people worldwide, compared to the same period, say, 10 years ago. In retrospect, that isn’t even a long time ago.

Even before mandatory social distancing brought about by the pandemic, we were already so distanced from one another – emotionally, mentally and spiritually that making meaningful connections were a thing of the past (refer to Hot Girls Wanted – a Neflix DocuSeries) – what with online dating, cyber bullying and the cancel culture.

If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll the get the same results you’ve always gotten.

If you live within and around Windhoek city, order your big batch of my chapatis and bring your inner Gordon Ramsay out play as your creativity flows with possibilities Vicky’s Chapatis can provide – recipes galore!

So it got me thinking; what is it about our society right now that is limiting us from stretching to the point of desired growth, regardless of the pandemic? What stunts our personal development thus hindering us from living free from the shackles of limitations that only exist within?

Then I came across an eight year-old article by Jessica Hagy on Forbes.com that put things into perspective…

“These six factors can erode the grandest of plans and the noblest of intentions. They can turn visionaries into paper-pushers and wide-eyed dreamers into shivering, weeping balls of regret. Beware!” She writes.

9 Dangerous Things You Were Taught In School | #SoftLife Series

As we journey onto to learn, relearn and unlearn new ways of ‘doing life’ in the middle of a pandemic, in order to attain our versions of “the #SoftLife”, regardless, let’s be cautious as to what those are.

First and foremost, be aware of the insidious and unspoken lessons you learned as a child. To thrive in the world outside the classroom, especially in these trying times, you’re going to have to unlearn them.

Before we go any further, however, go and listen to the recent episode of our podcast, as we find new ways of personal development in a world that seems to be going to the dogs . . .

Your Calling, 20 Ways | #SoftLife Podcast Series

We’re still delving into what it means to live out your calling in this season of life, especially in these trying times in history.

It’s more satisfying to dig a ditch with friends than to design a skyscraper with a team of sociopaths.

Last time, we addressed where you are likely to find your calling; that ‘forgotten place’ in the intersection between your passion and your gifts (refer to previous article).

And if you haven’t listened to Season 2 Episode 1 of our podcast, which was published last Sunday, you’d better do so, to gain some insight into what this series about ‘calling’ actually entails – the kind of purposeful drive that will propel you to live your ‘heaven on earth’ aka the #softlife.

Today, let’s look at the 20 tools I have thoroughly researched and found to stand the test of time in our quest for that divine purpose that will yield the #softlife.

Not sure what to be when you ‘grow up’ (whenever that is)? Fret no more.

We can figure this out together. Let’s get started…

The Intersection Between Your Passions and Your Gifts . . . | Happy New Year!

What a journey it has been for the last 11 months, am I right? What with all manner of loss, coupled with unfathomable mis-happenstances and uncertainties.

But hear me when I reiterate that as long as you still have breath in your lungs and have made it into 2021, God’s not done with you yet!

What would be the point of faith (in God, or whatever it is you believe in) if you knew the ending from the beginning.

I know with every new year come resolutions and vision boards and what have you. Boy, don’t we looooove those – to know the ending, at the beginning. But riddle me this; what would be the point of faith (in God, or whatever it is you believe in) if you knew the ending from the beginning. If you ask me; hope adds life a little sass!

Without hope, you wouldn’t have a career.

Without hope, you wouldn’t have a family.

Without hope, you wouldn’t have whatever it is you hold dear in this season.

Think about it…

Oftentimes, we fail to ask the correct questions and then wonder why our answers are so dissatisfying.

There’s something about hope that makes life worth living. It’s the confidence in the unknown for me. It’s knowing that whatever happens and however things turn out, God is good and He had good plans for me; plans to prosper me and not to destroy me, to give me a good future and a hope! So I keep my eyes on the promise that comes with my calling, confident that He will make allllll things work together for my good, without reminding me of my past mistakes but filling me with sufficient grace and wisdom daily… ’cause He’s God like that!

Know Your Calling

Finish with Favor; Begin with Wisdom

It’s December 2020! Can I hear an “AMEN and happy new month!” for this far you and I have come? Wow! This year has been quite the ride.

First of all, my sister’s getting married today. Congrats, sis!🥂

And have you listened to our podcast lately? Find the link here.

So, about this year; I mean, we transitioned between decades – ending one and starting another – with such high expectations especially from God, like He is some kind of genie (gags!), most of which were for personal advancements . . . what with vision boards and what not (more gags!).

Then came March, God went, “Syke!” By July 1st, He was like, “Kids, y’all gotta re-read Isaiah 55:8-9!” In December, in everything we do, He says; “Sweet child, read Romans 8:28 and Jeremiah 29:11. I know what I’m doing. I got this. I got you!”

But hear me when I say that no matter how this year went for you, you didn’t start the year thinking; “this is gonna suck!” If you’re honest, you [must have] posted on social media #newyearnewme #newdecade #thisisgonnabegood . . .

I’m trying to say nobody plans to wreck their life or their entire year any more than they plan to wreck their car. On the road, we have guardrails in place to keep us from straying into dangerous or off-limit areas. What if we had guardrails that could do the same thing in our lives?What if you could have a kick-ass December holiday in the midst of a pandemic?

To be honest, some of our biggest regrets this year could have been avoided or at least minimized if we had personal guardrails for our money, relationships, morality, and especially, emotions.

Place your chapati order for whatever occasion this holiday!

How to Choose Joy on the Hard Days

It is hot. Again. It feels like it’s been hot for ten years straight without a drop of rainfall here in Windhoek. I’m so desperately craving wet, dewy days and gray skies and big puffy pregnant clouds.

At the dawn of 2020, with the all the “new year, new me” frenzy, I decided that I would praise the Lord in the good. And in the bad.

But that’s not all. There are just so many little things weighing on my heart. Areas where I feel like I’m failing . . . Like I’ve been failing for a very, very long time but for so many reasons, I couldn’t bring myself to accept the obvious tell-tales. That’s a story for another day . . .

I’m not talking about the mundane things like what my OCD self considers a dirty house at present, and/or piles of laundry. Or the fact that “training my children in the way they should go” all on my own is just oh-so exhausting. Or juggling mommying with breaking my back to make my businesses take flight, oft times wondering where the next meal will come from.

These are just the tip of the iceberg . . .

Speaking of, have you listened to our podcast lately? Well, if you’d like to hear us carelessly pour our hearts out, then don’t miss a new episode every Sunday afternoon.

P/S: You can now order these pretty Tees via phenomenalmag1@gmail.com to remind you that even on those hard days, you can choose joy over pain.

Many of these things aren’t big in the grand scheme of life. But they matter to me. And as I find myself in this place of just being ill and frustrated and bleh at the present moment, I know that I have to find joy. I have to choose to find joy. Because my babies are watching.

At the dawn of 2020, with the all the “new year, new me” frenzy, I decided that I would praise the Lord in the good. And in the bad. As I read in Habakkuk today, I came across this beautiful reminder that he made the same choice long ago:

“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord!” Habakkuk 3:17-18 NLT

Wow. His list is tough. Really tough! Way more serious than my hot, scorching, sweaty days, two little girls battling so many of life’s aspects, hungry tummies, unpaid bills, a dirty house and businesses to effectively and successfully run. And still, in the midst of a situation that could be a matter of life and death, as Habbakuk’s list came to an end, he said, “yet, I will rejoice in the Lord!”

Yet!

Such power in three little letters. It means “but at the same time,” “nevertheless,” “in spite of that,” or “come what may.”

There are people struggling around us every day, especially in these trying times. Every day – with scary, unfathomable mis-happenstances (I hope that’s a word). And if they know that I know Jesus, surely I have to live out “sharing the reason for the hope that I have.” Right? I have to truly find my joy in God and model that “yet” in my own life.

For them too . . .

Not to show off that I’m ‘more’ joyful than they are but to give them that “yet-kind-of-hope” Habbakuk speaks of. To encourage them that come rain or shine, today matters and we have to choose to be present in this moment, with joyful hope.

I have to show them that because of God, the hard things are not the end. And we can all find joy in the middle of the yucky days. So, here are three ways to focus on creating your own “yet” when those tough times come:

4th Law of Success That’ll Help You Make Sense of Your Failures | EQ IQ SERIES

If you’re a bookworm like me, you’ve heard of the three basic laws of success: the law of of purpose, the law of organization and the law of innovation. But ever heard of the law of wasted effort?

I don’t know about you but these are the times when it feels like we’re all in some kind of a rat race.

As long as there’s still breath in your lungs, there’s still hope.

We work ourselves to the bone, pray, keep our faith alive and still, it’s hardly enough. We stare at the dark for hours before we fall asleep, wreaking our brains over how to conquer tomorrow. Just when we think we’ve figured it out, we fall into a deep short sleep only to be rudely awakened the following day with a panic attack at the light of day, afraid that if our feet hit the floor off our beds, the nightmare shall continue.

So we pray. We beg the heavens. We consult our feeble wisdom. Then we realize it doesn’t quite suffice, we begin to consult God, the source. And when it feels like He’s not even on the receiving end of our earnest prayers, we begin to battle with “why thoughts”, and pray some more, hoping . . . We do our part . . . if only in vain.