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The Tale of Two Journeys – Going Completely NATURAL and Working Hard in Prayer & Exercise…

Published on August 31, 2017August 31, 2017 by Roshonda BLeave a comment

Whew!!! Okay, so the title is a little long; Well, really long….even for me but I have a lot going on and I want to share it with you today, maybe it’ll inspire you to do something out of the ordinary or take a leap of faith and finally do that thing that you keep putting off. So without further ado, let me tell you about the tales of my two journeys.

First, The Backstory:

Mid 2015, I had beautiful hair – noticed I said I had. I remember getting my hair done August of that year and leaving the beauty shop feeling so good about how far my hair had come and being in love with how soft, silky and shiny it felt. I, of course like anyone else who just got their hair did; took care of it, made sure I washed it once a week and gave it a deep condition when needed. All things were good, at that time. By the time October came, I noticed my hair had taken a shift – it no longer looked healthy, as a matter of fact, it began to shed extremely bad. What was I doing wrong?. By December of 2015, the beautiful hair I once had – was now washing down the drain of my shower and clumped in my hand, so much hair came out until it looked like I had a glove on my hand. What happened was STRESS! Without going into details, I had started a new job and the turmoil I went through with that, finding a place to stay and “life happened” moments, caused my hair to come completely out. I was devastated…so, when I went back to work in January of 2016, I went back wearing a wig – A wig that had become my new look, my new signature style, my new me….

Fast forward to July of 2017 – I had worn that wig and a couple of others (because they were now my new mantra) up until about almost two months ago. I no longer wanted to wear the wigs anymore but because they had become such a part of my lifestyle, I was sorely afraid to go without one. My hair up under the wig was in no better shape than it was months and months prior and no matter how much I washed it, it still shed like crazy and continued to come out. So, on July 8, 2017 I woke up that morning (without giving it a second thought) took off my scarf, picked out my hair and CUT IT!

I felt liberated, relieved but scared all at one time. Okay, so I’ve never been that great at doing my hair – I failed miserably at the task. I was the one that by the time I went to the beautician, they would have to cut all my hair off and I would have to start from scratch all over again. After multiple times of this happening, I gave up on trying to style, curl or do anything to my hair. So when I cut it off….I was thinking, okay – so now what do I do. After, I cut it – I washed it and used a couple of products that I had. I could do this, I said to myself as I looked into the mirror….I really could DO THIS!!

Roshonda12 — **After the Big Chop – 7/8/2017**

But that was short lived, I didn’t wear my hair like that to work because I was afraid of what people would say or think. (I have a story about that) so, let’s just say my first BC (BIG CHOP) didn’t go over so well with everyone as I was labeled as liking women…another story, for another time – let’s keep trucking along…

So, that was the stigma that I was facing and because of that – while I felt liberated in the bathroom behind closed doors – I felt trapped by the thoughts of others. And then, from the help of my daughter – while the front of my hair was looking good, I had totally shattered the back (see below), this was another reason for me wanting to keep the wig handy.

Roshonda10 — **Uh-Oh, YIKES!! 07/17/2017**

But, while I was feeling self-conscious – my daughter said “Mama, do you like it?” after I told her Yes, she then proceeded to say “Well, who cares what other people think” Now while I know this for myself and preach it to other people, I had to get that little lesson from my 13yr old daughter whom made me realize, It’s okay to be me. Within 3 weeks of taking the picture above, my hair had began to grow back a little. (see below).

Roshonda11 — **Okay?, I See Progress!! 8/08/17**

Let’s just say YOUTUBE, is the bomb and has helped me with my styling techniques. Some things worked and there were some that didn’t but Hey!, it’s all about experimenting, finding your own niche and making it work for you. Going Natural is hard work because you have to complete styles for your hair that are not “chemically” based. It’s sort of like taking your natural hair on a journey of discovery and finding out what works best. So far, I’ve come up with some pretty nice styles (see below)

I will post every other month “maybe” about how this hair journey is going – It’s definitely a process but this time when it grows out, it’ll be healthy as well as strong.

So, now onto my other journey of exercise and prayer…..

Back in 2015 (seemed like the year of unfortunate events), I was diagnosed as being pre-diabetic. I had developed gestational diabetes when I was pregnant with my son, I was told by doctors that because of that; my chances of developing type 2 diabetes in the future was very likely. So when I was told that I was pre-diabetic at a check-up, it didn’t come as a surprise. However; I still continued to eat what I wanted. This year, I was still diagnosed with pre-diabetes (Short Lesson: this means you’re not diabetic yet but a cupcake or a cookie from becoming a full blown one – okay, back to the story) and while I had the goal to exercise and do great things – I completely feel off the horse….BUT! for the past month, or well almost month (he he he, wink) I have been eating good things and have decided to do what I call the “Treadmill Chronicles” – This is where I get up at 5:45am in the morning and walk on the treadmill (that I literally begged God to give me, but really never used it) along with prayer. So while I’m walking it out for 30min, I’m also talking to God and praying for others in the process. Well, that’s my other journey….to get in good health and put the right things in this almost (clearing my throat) 30-something yr old body. PRAY FOR ME PLEASE!!! LOL!

Now that’s the tale of my two journeys – What new journeys are you on? Have you tried anything new? Are you currently thinking about doing something? Well, whatever it is and wherever your journey takes you too – Just remember, it’s your journey. You can’t do it for anyone but yourself and WHO CARES what people think or say. We only have one shot at life, so why aren’t we living like it.

#TakeAChance

#BeBold

#YourLifeIsCalling

Roshonda N. Blackmon – Creator of JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager

Let’s Live Well, Laugh Loud & Love Hard!

WHAT’S ON YOUR SUMMER FUN BUCKET LIST?

Published on July 27, 2017July 27, 2017 by Roshonda B1 Comment

As a people we’re programmed sometimes to – put off things until tomorrow. We put many things on the back-burner with the intention of going back and retrieving it later only to find out that many years have passed us by and the things that we constantly put off with the intention to do – has turned to ashes.

We constantly put our busy lives, schedules and appointments before us as if that’s going to make us better, wiser or popular. So, we create bucket list – lists of the fun, awkward and adventurous things that we want to do before we die, in hopes that we really do get to achieve at least one or two before we kick the bucket and in most cases, some people never get a chance to complete one.

BUT WAIT……ARE YOU DEAD YET???, NO – YOU’RE NOT.

Sure, we’re all going to die someday, but why wait until that time is near to start taking risks and become adventurous. It’s amazing because when “LIFE” happens to us (as I like to call it) it’s only at that time that we really began to smell the flowers and acknowledge the itsy, bitsy things in life that we on any other hand would have ignored. But why does it have to take us to be in a tragedy or at deaths door, to really appreciate life – OUR LIFE!

So, if you have a bucket list of things that you would like to do before you kick the bucket, I’m telling you right now……TEAR IT UP!!!!

Now, I know this may be somewhat of a SHOCK to your system…

But, you’ll be fine. The purpose of Life is for us to live in the NOW, not in the LATER. Make the most of every inch of time we have now and appreciate them. So, let’s tear up and put a line through the ~~SHOULD~~, ~~COULD~~ & ~~WOULD~~ list and let’s replace it with DO or DID. We only get one shot at this Life and do you really want to put it on hold until later down the line?….I think Not!

This summer, let’s plan to do something fun and great. I know it’s almost over but that doesn’t mean that you still can’t get the most out of it before it says BYE-BYE! but just because the summer is ending doesn’t mean that your list of TO DO’s have too. You can create a list for Fall & Winter as well. The goal of having a list is to make sure that we continue to move and stay active daily. If your list is filled with things to do – you’ll not only be exploring and having fun but you’ll be creating memories and living out your best life NOW! as life is meant to be lived with having NO REGRETS!

So, to help you out with your summer and your fall and winter lists – Below I have come up with a couple of suggestions that you can do, to crush those list and Live your Life!

You may have already done some of these, but just in case you haven’t here is something else to add to your list.

Have a Bonfire
Make Homemade Popsicle’s – we used to do this with Kool-Aid.
Have Breakfast in Bed
Have a Movie Series Marathon
Blow Bubbles – You can get these at the dollar store. Go to a park and blow bubbles with the kids, your family or friends. See who can blow the biggest one.
Play Frisbee
Go Fishing
Have a Game Night with your Family or Friends or Both.
Roast Marshmallows and tell stories of when you were young or ghost stories.
Watch the Clouds go By
Barbecue – I love a good ole backyard Bar-b-cue.
Go to the Beach and Find Shells
Make Root Beer Floats – Yummy!
Go on a Picnic at the Park
Have or Host a Water Balloon Fight
Get a Pedicure/Manicure
Send a message in a bottle and put it in the river or pond, you might be surprised where it ends up
Play on Monkey Bars – Okay, so I did this and let me tell you. This girl is not what she used to be, but it was seriously fun to be a kid again..
Read a chapter book and set a time to finish it before summer’s end.
Eat Ice-Cream every single day of the summer – and try some different ones. My new favorite is Pistachio Almond by Blue Bunny. So Delicious….
Take a picture of a lighthouse – I’ve always loved lighthouses, it would be nice to see one up front.
Write Letters – This world has gotten so TECH savvy until we forget about the pen and paper. Take out time to write a letter to someone special and mail it to them – they will not only be surprised but your words on paper would be more meaningful than an email or text.
Take a family walk through a trail.
Go Swimming or Snorkeling.

This is just a short list of things that I came up with but if you need more ideas, you can visit REAL SIMPLE here and check out their summer fun activities checklist. So with all of these new ideas or maybe old ones, there’s no reason for you to leave the summer feeling like you haven’t accomplished anything. You can now let the Summer go and get to creating your lists for Fall & Winter. Being the person that I am, I couldn’t just leave you hanging out there like that, so I created the list below for you to print off and have a healthy start to living out that bucket list all through the rest of the season.

FALL & WINTER BUCKET LIST IDEAS

So what are you waiting for – You have some LIVING TO DO!

Roshonda N. Blackmon – Creator of JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager

Let’s Live Well, Laugh Loud & Love Hard!

** ** **

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Vacation or Not – Ideas for the Small Budget

Published on July 13, 2017July 13, 2017 by Roshonda B1 Comment

So, it’s officially summer and while the kids are out of school and you are off of work (or maybe not, if you’re like me) the question is “What are we Going to Do Now?”

At least that was my thoughts when my two children got out of school a month ago. Being a single mother of two children and one income, it’s hard to try and find outlets for not only yourself but for the kids to do during the summer on limited funds. Every camp sounded great, but was highly expensive; some were asking for more than $150.00 a week for only one child….YIKES!!!

And might I add, I started late this year in looking for summer camps for them to attend this summer (should’ve started in February), but there I was in May trying to get my kids in the local clubs around town along with a non-profit organizational camp, only to find out that they were already full and had a waiting list, that was as long as my grocery list (With having two kids, sometimes I feel as if I have to do two grocery list, one for them and one for me) everyone knows that kids eat extremely more over the summer, especially if their just sitting at home with nothing else to do.

While my goal of getting them “active” this summer failed miserably, I had to come up with some common sense things that were fun and didn’t cost a lot of money for us to do together this summer. I don’t know about you, but I always want my kids to go back to school to talk about this “great” summer experience they had with their friends, I don’t want them to say “Well, I didn’t do anything this summer” because it’s the first thing people ask you, when you return either to school or to work whether from being off during the summer or taking a vacation – Everyone wants to know “How it Was” So, I set out to come up with economical ideas (a.k.a FREE) of things to do with the kids, so they’ll have a good story to tell their friends, it may not be the “I went to Disneyland or Six Flags themed story line” and that’s okay, because summer stories are all about having fun, no matter what your budget is or what you decide to do.

If your piggy bank is broken like mine, don’t fret – mend it up, because those pennies can and will come in handy or not. Listed below are the current things that I and my children are doing this summer – to make memories and maybe you’ll find either some humor or ideas for you and your little one’s or yourself in the mix. Let’s Go!!

INSIDE IDEAS

LET’S GET COOKING

Okay, so when I was younger my uncles, sisters and my aunt used to all get in the kitchen and make what we called “doughy cakes” we just took any ingredient that we could find in the cabinets and all tried to create the best tasting, I guess you could call them pancakes or flapjacks. We were in competition with each other to see who’s tasted the best. As I was growing up we didn’t have a lot of money and with Food Stamps only coming once a month – we didn’t have much food either to work with. So we became creative with what we had…needless to say, I never won those competitions but it was nice to just hang out with the family and create something special, even if it didn’t’ taste good. Maybe you can do this with your kids or yourself, find things to cook with minimal ingredients and cook it, I just made this wonderful drink with the help of my kids last week , I got the recipe from here – I just added mango in with the pineapple with the ice and Viola! We were instantly taken to the beach, it was also very delicious. This week we’re going to do the pineapple with blueberry and another with kiwi.

BOARD GAMES, ANYONE?

I can’t tell you how many board games we had growing up, from Chutes and Ladders, to Life, Monopoly, Jenga and the list goes on and on. Make time to have a game night one night with your family. I loved it when we would all gather around the table for a good game of Bingo and to sweeten the pot, my mom would go to the dollar store and pick up candy, in which she would reward to the winner if they won that round. She would put the prize in the middle of the table and if you won, you won that prize. It was fun and something I still cherish and remember today. So, dust off those games and get to playing.

NEED A HOME MAKEOVER?

While being inside can be a drab, it doesn’t have too – If you’re like me, I love changing my house around every season. I don’t go out and buy new things because I don’t have it like that, but moving a picture from one wall to the next and moving that couch around and re-arranging where everything is, can be exciting and refreshing. If you have kids, you can challenge them to change their room around and offer a prize to the best look or let them in on giving their opinion as to where and how the living room should look, you might be surprised at what they have to say or how creative they may be.

CHECK OUT THE COMMUNITY

While at home, you can hop on the internet or your phone and check out your community’s calendar and see what’s going on. Since it’s the summer time, you’ll be surprised at what things are happening just around the corner from you. And most of those things are “FREE” of charge (which is my type of language). I’m taking the kids to a free event in Raleigh, NC this weekend.

OUTSIDE IDEAS

GETTING WET

So, when I was a tween; we had the slip and slide. This was a long, yellow banana looking runner that when wet, you could run and just jump on it and slide down all the way to the end. We loved that thing, until we left it outside one summer and the neighbor told us he seen some kids running down the street with it. But that didn’t stop us, we would put on our bathing suits and just go outside and get wet, chasing each other down with the water hose. This was fun and exciting and may pose to be for you too. Give it a try…

LET’S TAKE A WALK – A TRAIL WALK

It wasn’t until this year that I got a chance to walk a walking trail and I loved it. It’s great to do by yourself or with the kids, walking through the woods or the veered path just made you feel one with nature. The kids loved it as they discovered funny looking rocks and turtles. It was also nice to sit on a log and look at the pond together. If they had their skates and/or bikes…you could make it a family event and walk or ride the trail together. It’s a great form of exercise as well as socialization, “no electronic devices allowed.” Try out a trail in your local community, you can even pack a lunch and sit and eat together.

A TRIP TO THE LIBRARY

I didn’t realize how many people actually go to the library. This is something that I love doing with my kids, in which is a good thing for them to do with being out of school to keep their reading going even during the summer, but the library has a lot to offer doing the summer such as book readings and other special projects and it’s all “FREE” of charge. Of course, my kids also like to go to use the Wi-Fi but it’s a great outing and while you’re there, you could find a book on something that you always wanted to do such as improving your business or making your life more simplified or your next great read – while the kids are doing their thing, you could be doing something for you too. Check out your local library and see what they have in store.

SAMPLE SHOPPING

Okay, so I hate to admit this but a lot of times me and the kids go to the store and look for samples to eat. (Don’t Judge Me). They love doing it and so do I, just recently we visited our local Publix Store in which just opened up and while I did want to look around the store, I was also checking out the samples. It’s just a little fun event that we do – we search for stores that have the best ones and off we go. No money required and you get a little treat. Can’t beat that…

There are also museum, aquariums and theme parks in which you can visit as well – Most are free to get in; there’s absolutely nothing wrong with looking and browsing. A little gas in the car and you can go anywhere you want, sometimes for FREE.

Whatever you decide to do, make the most of your family time. Enjoy the small things and don’t fret about the big ones. So, get out that phone and start taking pictures of the small events that you do with your family and make a scrap book labeled “Summer of 2017” – Looking back on those pictures will bring a smile to your face a year from now and create family bonds that will last a lifetime. Remember, it’s all about making memories and that doesn’t matter where you go, as long as you’re having fun with the ones you love the most. Now that’s #PRICELESS

For even more deals and Ideas, Check out the links below:

Free Eats for the Kids! – If you put where you live in, it will populate local eateries where the kiddies can eat for free. I found out that both my kids can eat free at Captain D’s everyday as long as I purchase an adult meal.

Still Bored? Check out this list for even more ideas to plan your summer story…

For Even more deals – Check out Groupon, it’s the BOMB DIGGITY BOMB! (Don’t know if people still say that, but it sounded good)

Roshonda N. Blackmon – Creator of JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager

Let’s Live Well, Laugh Loud & Love Hard!

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Feel free to comment or email us @ justsuminspiration@gmail.com

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OH SNAP! Look Who’s The Leader…

Published on May 18, 2017 by Roshonda BLeave a comment

I’ve been working since I was 15 years old. I knew from the beginning that I didn’t want to work in the fast food establishment for these very important reasons:

1) I’m not a great cook.

2) I’m not that fast or efficient.

3) I would have been terrible at the cashier station. #FreeMealsForEveryone = )

My first job actually was at a nursing home, I was a Nursing Assistant. I helped take care of ailing and/or sick veterans, Cool Right?? Yes, I thought so too. While that was a pretty heavy task for a 15yr old whom really never gotten exposed to such things; I really loved it. I was the type of person whom put everything into my work, I learned a lot and while there were many ups and downs in my long working career, the most challenging job for me was when I was asked to take the lead on certain projects within my job history.

You can say that I’ve always had a great opinion about things in which probably lead to an individual’s reasoning’s for wanting to place me in “Leadership” Roles. While the term “Leader” is quite an exhilarating word; full of empowerment and boldness, I have to admit – I didn’t take it seriously and probably let down the many people whom felt I would be good at it. In order to be a great leader, you first have to be a successful follower and listener. In my early stages, I had the attitude of “You can’t tell me anything, because I know everything” – I wanted to be the chief and lead the pack, but I didn’t have the humility to take out the time to become an Indian first.

“If you think you’re leading and no one is following – You’re just taking a walk.”

If you can’t be a good Indian, then you’ll never become a great Chief. You see, I never took the role of leadership seriously because I didn’t understand what a leader really was. I had no prior knowledge or role model that paved the way before that was fully knowledgeable or could have given me advice, I pretty much winged it and went for what I knew. Listening and being fully committed to the leader role were my downfalls. I can’t possibly tell you how many good opportunities I’ve had that I totally bombed on, because I was using leadership in the wrong way. Now that I’m older and have supervised and had other leader roles, I’ve learned quite a bit and would like to share some of those tips with you, in hopes that you don’t make the same mistakes as I did. I’ve also included some of my favorite notable quotes from John C. Maxwell & Byrd Baggett.

Tip #1: You Gotta Have Love!

“You can love people without leading them, but you cannot lead people without loving them.”

In order to lead, you have to possess a great love for a diverse group of people. When you become a leader, you can’t focus on the people whom think, act and/or talk and walk like you. When you become a leader, you’ll be leading many people from all walks and circles of life. Having a Love for all types of people, is the first step in leading effectively.

Tip #2: Turn the Power OFF!

“Managers hold on, Leaders let GO!”

Most people love leadership because it gives them power. Power in which they feel they can use to control other people and make them do what they want. You can’t have a power trip while being a leader. Instead, choose to lead because you want to make a difference in someone’s life. When you lead out of “power” you’re actually hurting the people that are looking up to you to make good, valuable, fair and honest decisions for their life and/or career. Think of it this way, the people that you lead, will eventually become leaders themselves one day; so you want to make sure that you’re putting forth a positive effort to be a good one, because they will need to look back on your leadership abilities to help them lead others. – So, what type of leader are portraying?

Tip#3: Shut Down Second Hand News

“Leaders bring out the best in others.”

I’ve been in leadership roles before where people brought me news about my constituents – it wasn’t good news, but riddled with negativity. Being new to leadership, this made me feel terrible, I went into my job with mixed emotions about whom I would be leading all because of news that other people were bringing to me. While it’s good to listen and take notes, you do have the right as a leader to shut those conversations down before they get started. When you become a leader you want to go into your new role with a blank canvas about everything. Trust me, in due time you’ll be able to form your own opinion about others which will be due to you getting to know them and not because of what someone else has already planted in your mind. Everything is not always what it seems, sometimes it is – but most times it isn’t.

Tip#4: Keep Your Cool – Everyone’s Not on Board

“Good leaders are like baseball umpires, they go practically unnoticed when doing their jobs right.”

As stated in Tip#2, your employees and/or followers are looking to you to make their work life easy, not hard. If you’re constantly on a power trip and not giving them the substance they need to be better, do better and etc. then you’re failing them (now I know everyone is not a receptor of learning and growing or wanting to do better) but just because they have that attitude doesn’t mean that you have to fail at your role. While they may not be a model employee, you still have to be a model leader.

Tip#5: What are you Learning

“Leadership is an action, Not a Position.”

As a leader you may feel as though your job is to always teach, instruct, or guide and yes, that’s true but a great leader is always receptacle of learning as well. Just because you’re a leader, that doesn’t make you perfect; we all have to keep our mind and heart open to learn from our employees or followers. Leadership is a two way street; you invoke learning with the expectation of learning and gaining the necessary nuggets you need to become an even greater leader. Be willing to have an open heart to receive knowledge from everyone. From the Doorman to the Janitor to the CEO, there’s great wisdom and knowledge that we can get from everyone, no matter their status or rank. Learning is a tool, that goes round and round but is only available to those whom are willing to accept it. So, what are you learning in the process?

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Lastly & Most Importantly. Keep your focus! – Leaders listen more than they speak; they choose their words carefully and they’re not afraid to admit when they’re wrong. They don’t get caught up in gossip and they don’t choose sides, they are fair and honest. A good leader is hard to find but shouldn’t have to be as we’re all leaders in some form, shape or another. You just have to choose which leader you want to be.

Was this post helpful?, Let me know at justsuminspiration@gmail.com

Being A Friend To Have Friends

Published on April 20, 2017May 3, 2017 by Roshonda B1 Comment

You’ve heard the saying, “Life can give you Lemons” and that is very true; but what happens when you need to turn those lemons into lemonade and have no one there to help you do it. That’s where a true friend comes in at to help us navigate through life’s hits, boomerangs and punches. Finding a friend that you can relate too can be difficult and while this isn’t an easy feat, due to our different personalities, backgrounds, hurts, habits or hang-ups we all need someone to lean on when life throws us curve balls.

I never had friends growing up; I could remember maybe one or two in 5^th or 6^th grade but otherwise, I was mainly a loner. I wanted to hang with the popular kids, but wasn’t popular enough. I wanted to hang with the smart kids, but wasn’t smart enough. I wanted to hang with the pretty girls, but wasn’t pretty enough. Everywhere I looked; I wasn’t enough for anyone – not even the kids whom were just like me; thing is, they had at least one friend. I didn’t have any.

So I put up a wall which lead to resistance and anger. As I got older I began to acquire friends but noticed my attitude towards them was mean, harsh and downright rude. When they wanted to hang-out, I always found a way to bail out and when they wanted to talk; I found a way to dismiss them. What had I become? The girl who couldn’t get a friend because of how I looked and etc. was now the bully in a friendship. I treated those friends exactly how I had been treated. Past hurts and the negativity that stemmed from it was keeping me from obtaining the friendships I had once desired. So, if you truly desire to have friends or become friendlier, then listed below are four tips which will help you get over the hurdle of unfriendliness?

Tip #1: Forget the Past

Most of the times the reason why we can’t move forward in life or relationships is because we are still stuck in the Past, thinking about what happened before or who did what and why only keeps you in a ‘negative’ state of mind. If you truly want to move forward you have to forgive your past and the people in it.

Tip #2: Tell Hurt – Goodbye!

Another thing that keeps us in the past old wounds or previous HURT; that word alone keeps us from opening up to other experiences – I’ve heard people say ‘Once Hurt, Always Hurt’ and they hold on to that mantra throughout every relationship. Remember, hurt is an enemy and as long as you hold on to it, it will hold on to you.

Tip #3: Open up the Doors of your Heart

Once you decide to move forward, then you have to open up your heart again; this is not easy but it paves the way for new things to enter and old things to exit.

Tip #4: At Least Try

Before you decide that you don’t want to deal with the anxieties of opening up to something new, at least give it a try. As the saying says, ‘If at first you don’t succeed, Try and Try Again! Sometimes the third, sixth or eighth time can truly be a charm.

The Bible says “A man who has friends must himself be friendly” (Prov. 18:24 NKJV); Starting today, determine to let go of whatever hurts you’re holding onto from the past and choose to be the kind of friend that you’d always wanted or desired for yourself, for someone else. I promise you’ll be glad you did and as you begin to open up – you’ll begin to see your life shape into something beautiful, something great and something positive. But only if you open up and allow it to seek new possibilities and relationships.