CHOOSE

Ever since this summer started, I literally felt like I had a whole mentality shift.

At times, we are placed in difficult situations in which we have no control over. Things Happen. Things sometimes don't go our way or how we expected it to pan out. And the problem is, it's so easy to dwell on the negative.

"Why is this happening to me?"
"I don't know what to do now..."
"Why aren't things going the way I planned?"

It's so easy to come across these thoughts. And what these thoughts do is that they bog us down even further, they make us feel crappier, and they ultimately allow us to feel sorry for ourselves.

I realized that no matter what we do, sometimes we just simply can't change the situation. The only thing we CAN change, however, is our ATTITUDE. I quit feeling sorry for myself and wow what a great change.

I feel like I'm so much happier with whatever's in front of me. I realized that I really had two options:
A. I can look at a situation, be negative about it, and feel even worse about it by complaining :( OR
B. I can look at a situation, identify that I CAN be negative about it but I CHOOSE to be positive despite this situation happening because I know that will help me and the people around me cope with this problem even better.

Yup it's that simple WOOO! This mentality shift has definitely blessed me with a happier life so I definitely encourage you to try it! :)

What does love look like?

What does love look like?
Did you once believe that it was romance?
Did you once believe it was only for the lucky or the beautiful?
Did you once believe it was a momentary bliss?

If all of life comes down to love
Then love has to be more than sentiment
More than selfishness and selfish gain

Then He looked at me
I could not escape those beautiful eyes
And I began to weep and weep and weep...

He had his arms wide open, a heart exposed
Arms wide open; He was bleeding, bleeding
Love's definition was looking at me.

Powerful Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2ZCIp0HiRo

Not just "I Can't"

I posted this picture on my Instagram about a week ago and since then, I've been trying to think about the "I can't" situations in my life. I realized that there's not a big difference between "I can't" and "I'm scared". It is so easy to simply give into our fears and use the excuse of "I can't" to walk away from our challenges. I can label many situations where I feared failure so I automatically resorted to the "I can't" attitude. In reality, it is possible. 

Phillipians 3:14 states, "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength".

ALL THINGS - that's pretty amazing.

So let's clear our minds of "I can't",

Skim by the idea of "I can",

And land on the mentality and attitude of "I will".

WOO!

Values

Sometimes I wake up in the morning feeling discouraged - I feel so unaccomplished. I felt like I lost a sense of direction which affected my idea of happiness. I asked God. I took some time to reflect on my values which are to love God and my family, to be honest, to be generous, and to have a sense of compassion.

I think it's important to write your values down or tell yourself verbally because it's so easy to be distracted and be lead away from them. What am I doing right now to work towards these values of mine? Am I spending time with my family? Am I being generous? Am I honest with myself? Where is my compassion?

I highly encourage you to reassess and reflect on your values. I believe the successes and failures of certain tangible goals should't deem our happiness. What I mean by that is that I realized we are never satisfied with where we are at. If we face a failure, we automatically develop this fear of feeling rejected once again. Or when we face success, we just keep wanting more. When are we truly happy?

I realized that when I carry and satisfy the values that are genuinely important and significant in my life, it actually brings greater joy, comfort, and a closer proximity to my identity. Fulfilling these values most definitely brings that happiness back.

:)

Some Favourites

I just want to take some time to blog and share some inspirations I favourited on Twitter. Hopefully reading this list of some of my favourite tweets will inspire you as well!

1. Faith is having a positive attitude about what you can do and not worrying at all about what you can't do.

2. Leaders are made, and they are made by effort and hard work.

3. God will help you overcome wrong motives and intentions if you'll simply ask and receive help rather than trying to do it on your own.

4. Some people will only love you as long as you fit in their box. Don't be afraid to disappoint them.

5. Trials show us where we are and where we need to grow. Don't run from them, grow from them.

6. When you face difficult times, know that challenges are not sent to destroy you. They're sent to promote, increase and strengthen you. Put your energy towards bettering your life and starting something new.

7. Dare yourself each day to be a blessing to someone.

8. The things we think about, focus on, and surround ourselves will shape who we become

9. Showers are amazing. They make you feel nice and clean, make you sound like a professional singer, and help you make all of life's decisions.

And finally,

Open your eyes. Be aware of your surroundings. See what you're blessed with. Be grateful and appreciative. Actually don't just "be", but express it!!!

--

Happy Sunday!

I didn't get the internship.

Initially, I was disappointed. I felt like I tried my best throughout this whole recruiting process and yet, I didn't get the job. I was thinking to myself, "Now where do I go from here?". I was thinking if I had this position, the next few years of my career would be nicely laid out. 

GIVE THANKS to The Lord though, that He has something else planned for me. I'm not really sure what this plan is, but I will keep pursuing Jesus and trust that my actions will lead me to a path where I can completely be myself. I truly see this failure with peace and as a stepping stone for something great! 

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
- Philippians 4:4-7

Love it!!

I'm thankful for my family and my brothers and sisters who each encouraged me and supported me throughout. I am so grateful and it definitely made this whole experience very very positive!!!

Looking forward to see what's in store :)

Interviews

Interviews are always very nerve-racking because we don't know what's going to happen. What kind of questions will the interviewer ask me? Are they going to be friendly? Are they going to like me? I was filled with worry and every time I thought about an interview, my stomach would start churning.

I asked God to help me - and God answered. 

This is what I realized. He has already set a path for me and you. He already knows how this interview will run and what the results will be. He already knows whether or not I will get this position and the reason why he knows, is because he CREATED this opportunity to start with. That's encouraging. Life, to me, is actually very easy. As long as I work hard and try my best,  I know that I'm walking on the path that God has already set. I just need to keep walking - it's that simple!

If you are going through an interview in the near future, here are some tips my good friend Andrew shared with me for the morning of your interview:

1) Sing or play a song. I was singing "Beautiful Things" by Gungor this morning and it really helped me relax and think positively. 

2) Questionnaire. This is when a good friend or family member helps you and asks you questions that you cannot get wrong. Questions like "what's your favourite colour" or "what do you like to eat?"; this helps build confidence and adds in a couple laughs just before the interview!

3) Pray and give it all to God. He will provide. 

No matter what the results are for this interview, I trust that I'm walking on the path of God and there's nothing to be afraid of.

Happy Monday!