#TBDaily Monday High... but does it go downhill from there?

Sunday evenings when I was younger meant a bit of mixed feelings. While what was on television was great, sundays meant I would have to go to school the next day.
I hated school.

When I started a job I loved however, Sundays came with a promise. I was usually rearing to go; like let us do this! 8 years later, still the same.
I love Mondays. On Mondays, I can fly, I feel productive, I tick most of my to-do list FOR THE WEEK.

Sadly, it starts to go downhill from there.

Sometimes Tuesdays are so anticlimactic that I wish they would end just as they begun. My Tuesday shows can be below par in my estimation; like I gave my all on Monday and I am now just handing out scraps.

It picks up on Wednesdays but yeah, by Friday, I am on another high- last day of the week, bring the weekend on type of high. Then I start it all over again on Sunday.

Is it like this for you or you're pretty much the same all week?
Let me know

#TBDaily Let me tell you about a Prisoner named Joe

Okay let me be honest, I do not remember his name. I think it was Joe but let's just still call him Joe.

I was watching my new addiction, 'LockUp', a series that takes a look at prisons in America. The tv crew will go to a prison and spend time there, finding stories about love, dealing with addiction, gangs, punishment and more, within the prison. If you can, catch an episode; it is on Fox Life and I watch it on Kwesé TV.

I watched an episode over the weekend where there was a prisoner named Joe. Joe had been in and out of prison for most of his life, starting from when he was 18. As at the time the show caught up with him, he was nearing his parole period. For some reason, he then began to act up. One of the guards said to the producers that it might be fear causing him to keep misbehaving.

Does that sound weird? Fear of being out? You would think it would be more a case of joy and anticipation right?

Apparently not.

Finally, his release day came and Joe was so excited! He changed into non-prison clothes excitedly, ready to start afresh and definitely not come back.

He came back.

Infact, he ran away from the halfway house he had been placed in, and was found at a petrol-station near the prison. He will now serve the remainder of his term behind bars.

We might be tempted to laugh at Joe but think about how like Joe we are sometimes in our own daily lives.

1. How many times have we done or said things we shouldn't have out of fear? Sometimes instead of letting ourselves be vulnerable and express our fear, we cover it up with anger.
What can we do? Do not deny things you feel; acknowledge the fear and then try to work on it.

2. Joe had freedom but couldn't handle it; he had got so used to another life and went back to it.
Sometimes we let routine become a prison for us and run back to it instead of facing the unknown and using our freedom wisely.
Be careful about things and situations you hold on to simply because that is all you know. Try new things and see what may come from that.

I hope you all have a great Monday!

How Staying in the Moment can Hurt

If there's one thing we may not do well, it's this staying in the moment thing.
The idea is to be present in the moment you're in and not worry about what's coming an hour later or bothered by what happened an hour before.

Now that's sound advice.  It's great advice people!  Stay in the moment.
But!

There's a balance needed.

Ever gone for a party and eaten everything on offer then had to battle a stomach ache all night long?

We may forget that things we do, say and eat (or not do, say and eat)  have an effect on us; effects we may not notice till later.  Like how not sitting properly when we were younger means battling back problems now or road rage biting us in the behind later.

Living in the moment is great but be sure to make your present full of benefits.
What do you think?

#MondayMotivation Protect your happy

I know if i wanted to really be grammatically correct, i would have said, 'protect your happiness' but i am using a bit of poetic license so please bear with me.

When people die, they do not take anything with them (that we know of).
They leave their possessions, their ideas, the unfulfilled dreams and the happy memories.
If we truly die alone and have to deal with consequences of things we did and did not do, how come we leave ourselves so vulnerable to others?

Make a decision that your happiness is important, and understand that this does not mean you will never be sad, nor that you will always get what you want, but what it does mean is
- You do not look to others for your joy.
Stop letting partners, colleagues, friends or strangers affect you so much and do not depend on them to make you happy.
- You stand by the stance you take
Be it your choice of what to do, where to go, who to date or views to hold, please be sure that you base this on how you truly feel or what you want, not the dictates of man.

Protect your happy. Guard your heart. Noone has the right to make you sad. Do not give them the satisfaction of seeing you down!

#TravelThursday Beware the slump

Travelling is fun but always beware the slump.

That's when you come back and everything just feels 'bleh'.

The holiday helped you forget but now you are back to school / work / search and same ol' same ol' routines.

So how to beat the slump?

1. Come back early.

I find that the difference between when i come back the day my leave ends and a little while before is clear. They both suck (who wants to ever come home from a holiday) but the latter sucks less.

2. Ease into it

When you come back and immediately meet and try to deal with a heavy work load, you run the risk of physical and emotional trauma. Take things slow, especially for the first few days!

3. Bring your trip with you

Souvenirs and other memories from your trip will help keep you 'there' while you are here. Be it something as simple as a seashell or something as big as local art, anything that reminds you of your trip helps beat the slump.

Believe me, i'm taking my own advice!

#TBDaily 3 Ways to Kickstart your Day!!!

Hi everyone,

It's been a busy day today and I'm writing this on my way home.

I wanted to give you some tips on some things I do (sometimes the day before) that help my 'get up and go' and general core daily.

For this post, I'll do a mix of physical and mental.

1. Plan today yesterday
I take out about an hour each day to prep for the next day. This includes writing out my to-do for the next day, prepping for my show, laying out my outfit and sometimes, even thinking about how I'm going to style my hair.

Let me explain.

I noticed that some days I left home late because I hated the jeans I had chosen or I just couldn't think of what to do with my hair. Then I'd go through the day hating what I'd picked.
So now I lay out my clothes and think about my hair. It actually helps.

2. Eat!!!
My friend was telling me at 5pm today that she just realised she had not eaten all day because she left home early. So I told her to buy cereal and take that in the morning.

Like her, I used to leave home with nothing in my tummy, not even water. It meant I would be at work hungry and end up eating snacks or being unhealthy.

Now I drink tea or have some cereal and it actually helps. Have handy things at home for when you have to leave early (yoghurt, sliced bread, coffee / cocoa mixes, fruits etc).

That way, you at least have something in your stomach!!!

3. Pray!
When I don't start my day off with prayer, I feel lost and listless.
Take at least fifteen minutes to yourself every day to pray, meditate and centre yourself. I find Lagos to be the kind of place where anything can happen so be careful! You want to be emotionally and mentally ready for anything and what better way than to pray?

Do you have any tricks or tips to s.h.a.r.e with us?

#TBDaily Are you really unhappy?

I can't remember what I was doing or when it was but one afternoon I was just sad. You know that sorrow that isn't depression but isn't based on traffic or anything you can put a finger on?

Infact I had to ask myself why I was sad and try as I did, I could not find an answer.

So instead of focusing on this great big sorrow I was feeling, I smiled (physically), and began to thank God for things. I thanked Him for my life, for my family, friends, that I was healthy, that I had a job, a career, a voice, everything!

I had barely gone halfway when I honestly felt that joy bubbling again.

I think sometimes we have a default setting and we have to be careful what that is. Sorrow helps us to feel things but when we wear it around just because, then it becomes a burden we must cast out. I've learnt to ask myself why I'm sad and confess the positive over my life instead.

So next time you are sad, ask yourself If you are truly sad or it is just the devil trying to take your joy away?!