On Keeping Hope Up…

How do you ‘soldier on’ in the midst of adverse conditions, situations or circumstances?

How do you overlook issues and remain ‘sane’?

How do you shut the noise out and find some form of balance?

There is no one formula to life and responding to life’s challenges and situations, however the danger is to stay in the “I’m so stuck” lane as it may then be difficult to see things and life in a different way.

Indeed, change is uncomfortable, scary, unpredictable. As humans we generally love our comforts and the danger of that is being attached to your comfort zone as this deters your growth in more than one way. Change means that we must deviate from the norm as we are thrust into the zone of discomfort and uncertainty. In this zone our emotions can ring louder than reason, where our mind becomes a battlefield and we’re potentially thrown out of balance.

As difficult as it may sound, we must not lose hope but rather, let’s keep the hope up by learning and embracing new habits, putting the new information we get to practice, staying connected with others in as many ways as possible, writing down our dreams and plans, and having a positive mindset. Read more books that will draw you more towards hope, growth and moving forward. Be part of various online communities that speak to your value as an individual. And, remember, #balanceispossible!!

I have come to appreciate that hope is my anchor and without hope I am nothing. Hope energizes, hope gives life. Having hope means having an expectation of positive outcomes. What are you hoping for?

We’ve Been Here Before

As we ponder on the many things we’re currently faced with and the many things we’d like to achieve in this great year of 2021, let us remember this: we’ve been here before! How many times did you set new year’s resolutions only for them to wilt and wither, long forgotten deep in the forest of your subconscious mind?

“It is only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth – and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up – that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.”**– Elizabeth Kubler-Ross**

We’ve been here before: in various lockdowns as the Covid19 pandemic spiked and went down but didn’t go away. We feared, we worried, we hoarded, we avoided, we calmed down, we survived, we cried as we buried loved ones, neighbours and friends.

We’ve been here before: fresh produce perished, some goods were lost in transit, businesses closed while some new ventures sprouted, we experienced delays. We complained, we adjusted, we adapted, did online trainings, got encouraged and enthused, re-focused and re-energized.

For those of us in Zimbabwe, so much hope and excitement was in the year as we ended 2020, little did we know that the Covid19 wave would hit us harder as we entered the new year. Lockdown was effected once again, and we found ourselves back in that cycle again. We’ve been here before and we learnt a lot of lessons like a few below:

Prepare for the unpredictable by being ready to embrace a new, positive mindset that chooses to ignore the noise and soldier on
Death has no prior notice and doesn’t announce itself or give you time to prepare, adjust or adapt
Maintaining good relationships matters as these will put you over, support and sustain you when the chips are down
Never say never
We are stronger than we give ourselves credit
#balanceispossible

What will you do differently this year? Let me know in ‘comments’ below. Thanks and great day to you!

Finding Balance 003

“Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t.”
― Steve Maraboli

Hello and welcome back! I hope you are well and still on your quest of #findingbalance. Life is amazing indeed and try as we may, we cannot totally fathom it or label it as one thing. The best we can do is try to understand who we are, where we are, whose we are, what we are doing/pursuing/hoping to achieve and where we are going.

Life is a series of change, the kind of series that ends when we die and yet another series then begins for those who remain after we’re gone. Change is a complex experience that often leads to transformation.

Change means: an act or process through which something becomes different; the substitution of one thing for another; an alteration or modification. (https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=change+meaning)

Whether we are ready for it or not, change happens to us and one of the ways to handle change is to do what Steve Maraboli says, “..decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t.” This means taking stock of your life and identifying what are the things you have power to control and the things that are beyond your control. Another saying goes like this: “You cannot keep birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair”. You and I always have a choice to make, taking control is one of them.

One of the terms used to describe balance is “self-control”. Self-control is the ability to control oneself, in particular one’s emotions and desires, especially in difficult situations. As we continue in our pursuit of #findingbalance, let us be mindful of our ability to exercise self-control in a bid to embrace the changes we face.

For today I’ll end here with this question: what do you have the power to control? Till next time, do take care of and be kind to yourself and those around you bearing in mind that they are also trying to find balance.

Finding Balance 002

The ‘this and that’ of life

So many things throw us off-balance and most of them are very subtle, like relationships, the death of a loved one, illness, having to relocate, and our emotions. At times we are the most rational human beings to ever grace this earth, while at other times we are the most irrational beings when our emotions get the better of us. Can you remember those moments when your emotions got the better of you? Finding balance is a continuous journey of constantly being aware, acceptance, asking questions, soul-searching, seeking counsel, embracing and rejecting, forgiving yourself and others too.

Make time to literally take a walk in your mind and heart and identify areas you need to work on, improve and change, what you need to start or stop doing. For example, your attitude towards a certain individual or life in general.

Over the past few weeks I have had to wade through a lot of emotional baggage and get to the heart of things, and what a process that has been! I am grateful to God for the privilege to do this. Although its still an on-going process, I feel lighter after having identified some pain-points and coming up with winning ways. You can do the same too if you are willing to embrace who you are, where you are, examine how you got there and work out how you will tackle the issues at hand. If I could do it, so can you!

I hope you learnt something and found something of value that you can use in your quest of finding balance. Until next time, take care, be present and love on you!

Finding Balance_001

Ever been to that point in life where it feels like you’ve gone full circle but your life doesn’t have much significance in comparison to your friends, colleagues, former school-mates, etc? You begin to question your very existence:

Why am I here?

Why is my life literally stuck in a place I don’t want to be?

How did I get here?

How did life deteriorate to this point?

What could I have done better or avoided?

As I write I feel like my life is out of balance in many regards and I intend to sift through the muck, wade through the emotional turmoil until I get to that place of balance where my perception of life, myself and others is refreshed and totally transformed. There’s gotta be more to life and I’m gonna pursue it with everything in me!!

I realize that I am responsible for where I am right now and as much as I may want to shift some blame on ‘other things/people’ it all comes down to yours truly. No matter how out-of-balance you may feel, that can change, as do all facts, if you diligently apply the right tools, knowledge and resources to bring about the change you desire. Will it be easy? NO! Is it absolutely worth it? YES! YES! YES! Thank you for your time, until next time do take care!!

My First Blog Post

Balance = stability, calmness, appropriate proportions,

self-control,

an even distribution,

a counteracting weight or force

Life is about balance. Be kind, but don’t let people abuse you. Trust, but don’t be deceived. Be content, but never stop improving yourself.
— Zig Ziglar.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

Why Finding Balance?

Sometimes life throws curve-balls at us at the most unexpected times through events that shake us to the very core or our being, leaving us wondering whether we’re coming or going and feeling like we’ve been turned inside out and thrown out of balance. Join me, Nozibelo Mpofu, as I walk you through what Finding Balance means to me and hopefully you’ll find meaning, help, inspiration, encouragement and the courage to either start or continue in your quest of Finding Balance.