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[courtneysharell-blog]

Passion!

Hello everyone! I hope you all had another great week! Okay, Let’s get to it

 Last week’s topic was about perseverance: steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. In other words, it’s your ability to keep going regardless of how hard it gets. Last week, I shared how my perseverance (along with my faith in God) allowed me to reach my quota for the sales class that I’m in. This week, I was perseverant in the weight room. I’ve been challenging myself to tone my muscles so that my body can have a bit more of a shape to it. In order to build muscle, the exercises that I do are strenuous and require endurance. I remember being so exhausted towards the end of my workout that I considered not finishing the last few exercises. But my perseverance gave me the last bit of strength I needed to endure and finally finish them all.

 This week’s topic is about passion: an intense desire or enthusiasm for something. I spoke briefly about it in my previous blog about perseverance. I said that if I’m going to persevere through something “hard”, it better be for the sake of my passion. When I think of the word passion, I think, what is the one thing that I wouldn’t mind staying up hours on end for? What would I be doing even if I didn’t get paid for it? What am I naturally excited to do? What makes my soul happy? (Whoa, got a little deep there.) Personally, my passion is to uplift and encourage people and to inspire them to become the best versions of themselves. Essentially, I’m passionate about other people’s happiness and sense of self-fulfillment. My dream is to have a talk show so that I can pursue my passion on a large platform and reach large audience. I know that hosting a talk show is no easy job. Otherwise, everyone would have one. I’d have to maintain good ratings, film multiple shows in one day, and face criticism from viewers who may not agree with my views on certain topics. But see, none of these obstacles would deter me from pursuing that career because it would be centered on my passion. I’d do it even if I didn’t get paid! (But at some point, ya girl’s gone have bills to pay). My passion makes my soul happy. I think each of our souls has a designated purpose. The way to fulfill its purpose is by pursuing our passions. So you see, pursuing my passion makes my soul happy because it means that I’m fulfilling my purpose. My Passion is my Purpose!

 So, I want you to ask yourself, what can’t you wait to get out of bed to do? What don’t mind losing sleep over? What is something you notice that you’re naturally better at than others? What makes your soul happy? Discovering your passion, isn’t the easiest task. It takes time and a lottttt of reflection. But once you’ve discovered it, you will have gained a sense of clarity and direction about your life. You’ll feel like your life actually has meaning, and like you’re just a number in the system. So I invite you to join me on the path to purpose. Let me know in the comments below how your journey is going! I’d love to hear about it.

 Till next time

[courtneysharell-blog]

Perseverance!

Hello everyone! I hope you all had another great week! Okay, Let’s do this.

Last week’s topic was about patience: the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. I noticed I had more patience this week when It came to driving in Houston traffic. I was headed back to my apartment from another part of town. There was traffic on 59 so I was so tempted to exit and take the backstreets. This time, I decided to be patient. As I kept driving, I noticed that the traffic wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. I actually was able maneuver my way around the slow cars that were causing the traffic (ugh, I hate those cars). I was home in 10 minutes. I was so proud of myself because I knew that if I took the backstreets, it would have been another 30 minutes before I even came close to my apartment. I’ve definitely gotta keep up this patience thing up haha.

The topic I’d like to discuss this week is perseverance: the steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. In other words, it’s your ability to keep going regardless of how hard it gets. I can definitely say that my level of perseverance is at an all-time high, especially this past week. (Testimony alert!) In the sales program I’m in, I was required to sell a career fair booth before a certain deadline in order to hit my quota. By the grace of God and nobody ELSE, I hit my quota this past week. It was a reminder that faith without work is dead. The only way God came through for me is because I persevered! Let me tell yall, it wasn’t easy. I reached out to a multitude of companies. Some said “no.” Some said “we’re interested.” And others just didn’t call me back and stopped answering my calls. Right when it seemed like there was no hope, I encouraged myself. I said out loud, “Court, you can do this. You go it. You got it. You got it!” I mean, I literally had to speak this blessing into existence. I made another call, and low and behold, it happened.

Mind you, I haven’t always been this perseverant. There was a time where I would have given up. But in Byron Pitts’ book, Step Out on Nothing, Byron briefly discusses a story about a man who was digging for gold. He was digging for days, and days, and days, but never found any. So, one day he gave up. The next day, he heard noise in the town, as if people were celebrating. It turns out that another man from town found the gold. He dug it out from the spot directly in front of where the first man stopped digging. Moral of the story? Don’t give up because your gold, your blessing could be way closer than you think. I will never forget this story. It’s motivated me to persevere through so many situations.

Another reason I’ve persevered so hard is to prove my mother wrong. Last year, when I was ready to hang up the phone because I was done arguing with her she said, “Yea, go ahead. Give up. That’s what you do. You always give up when it’s hard.” I knew she was referring to the fact that I changed my major. She thinks I changed my major from accounting to marketing because accounting was “too hard.” Granted, that major is a challenge, but there is no challenge that my God and I can’t face and conquer together. I just simply did not like the profession. I wasn’t passionate about it. I decided that if I was going to persevere through something “hard”, it would be for something that I’m passionate about and actually enjoy doing. So, anytime I consider giving up (like I did when I was having a hard time closing a sale) I remind myself not to prove my mom right. Since this sales class is a necessary course for my Marketing major (which I am passionate about), I decided that I’m not going to quit just because it’s “too hard.” I will persevere. I did persevere.

So, I hope that you all can learn from my experiences and will challenge yourselves to persevere, starting this week. Don’t give up! Your gold, your blessing is closer than you think! Let me know in the comments how you’re persevering this week

Till next time : )

[courtneysharell-blog]

Patience!

Hello everyone! I hope you all had another great week! Okay, Let’s do this.

Last week’s topic was about perspective: your attitude towards or interpretation of a situation. Last week, I challenged you all to create and maintain a perspective on negative circumstances such as a bad grade, or a missed class, or a poor relationship with a family member. Overall, I maintained a positive perspective about me and mom’s poor relationship this week. For the first time, I actually wasn’t stressed about it because I kept my mind focused on the friendships and family relationships that are currently thriving in my life.

The topic I’d like to discuss this week is patience: the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. According to author Devon Franklin, it is “the ability to delay instant gratification.” This is a concept that I’ve struggled with on a daily basis. I lack patience when it comes to waiting in line at Walmart or ordering take-out from McCalister’s. I ESPECIALLY lack patience when I’m driving throughout Houston. Anyone who’s ever driven in Houston knows that driving on 59, 45, or I-10 can often be far from a pleasant experience. I’ve noticed that when I’m impatient, I don’t think as clearly and make emotional, spontaneous decisions that usually produce negative effects in the long-term. One time, on the way home from school, I was absolutely fed up with the traffic on 59. So I decided to take the back streets all the way home. I regretted that terribly. It took me an extra hour and a half to get home! I realized that if I had a bit more patience, I could have made it home wayyy sooner. I also noticed that I sometimes am impatient in my friendships. For example, I get frustrated when I’m telling my friend a story and she misses an important detail and needs me to start all the way from the beginning. Most people don’t like to repeat themselves, but patience would definitely help alleviate frustration.

In search of inspiration, I decided to read a book titled, The Wait by Meagan Good and Devon Franklin. In this New York Times bestseller, the Hollywood power couple candidly share their courtship and marriage, and the key to their success—waiting. They emphasize how waiting through celibacy helped them develop a patience that transferred into other aspects of their lives. This spiritual dedication helped them thrive in both their spiritual/personal and professional lives. Meagan and Devon have no doubt that their decision to “wait” is the reason why their relationship with each other is so strong. It forced them to get to know each other past a physical level. They also attribute their “wait” to their success in the entertainment industry. God saw the sacrifice they made and, in return, showed them divine favor by blessing them with opportunities in Hollywood that have propelled their careers to the next level. Personally, I’ve been struggling with my “wait” if you know what I mean. It’s so difficult, especially because of the sexual mainstream culture that I live in. But I don’t plan to give up. I want to master the skill of delaying instant gratification so that I too can live my life to the fullest personal/spiritual and professional potential.

So this week, I want you to examine those areas in your life where you know you lack patience. And take some time to reflect. Are you living your life to its fullest potential? Do think there’s room for growth? Could you benefit from the “wait” too? Talk with me in the comments below. We’re on this journey together!

Until next time:)

[courtneysharell-blog]

Second Blog! - Perspective

Hi everyone! I hope you all head a great week! Okay, Let’s get to it.

Last week’s topic was about acceptance: the ability to accept those circumstances that you can’t change and to release any control you keep trying to exert over those circumstances. I challenged you all and myself to practice this skill. I must say, I had a tough time. I was challenged with continuing to accept the status of my relationship with my mother: it doesn’t exist, and hasn’t for a while. In order to tend to a family matter, I had to be in the same room with her for about an hour. Y’all. It was torture. Through her actions, she reminded me that she still doesn’t approve of who I am, and quite frankly, never will…all because I changed my major from Accounting to Marketing. Nonetheless, I’ve reminded myself that I can’t control her opinions, feelings, or emotions. This means I can’t dwell on them. I have to accept them. I haven’t completely accepted our relationship yet, but since I’ve changed my perspective of it, I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

This week’s inspirational topic is perspective: your attitude towards or interpretation of a situation. What’s your perspective of life? Do you view your glass as half empty or half full? Are you optimistic or pessimistic? Do you search for the good in every situation? Or the bad? Some situations are harder to gain a positive perspective on than others. If you’re having a hard time (like me) with accepting certain situations, you really ought to consider changing your perspective of it.

There’s a saying that’s gotten really popular these days: “If you take an L, it’s a Lesson not a Loss.” I reminded myself of this saying when I didn’t score as well on a paper as I anticipated. Rather than focusing on the bad grade, I focused my energy on what I could have done differently to write a better paper. What resources could I use (classmates, websites, etc.) this time, that I didn’t use last time? I promise, once I changed my perspective, I’ve stressed a lot less, and scored a lot better on papers. I learned my lesson.

I think…no…I know that one of Satan’s goals is for us to dwell on the things that we don’t have, and to be ungrateful for the things we do have. As a strong believer in God, I refuse to allow Satan to continue to achieve this goal in my life.  So when it comes to the relationship between me and my mother, my perspective is more positive than it used to be. I’ve realized that while I don’t have the love of my biological mother, God has blessed me with so many other mother figures in my life who shower me the maternal love that I crave. Not only that, God has blessed me with the best father that I could ever ask for and an amazing support system of friends and family. It’s like, the more I type this out, the more grateful I become of all the positivity that God has blessed me with, and the less sad I am about the negativity.

You too can experience this joy when you change your perspective. So this week, I challenge you and myself to think positively about every circumstance, no matter how bad it seems. Look for the lesson. Focus on what you do have, not what you don’t.

Let me know in the comments how it goes!

Till next time:)

[courtneysharell-blog]

First Blog! - Acceptance

Hi there! My name is Courtney Davis and I am a senior Marketing major at the University of Houston. I’m new to the blogging world, but I won’t be for long! My plan for this blog is for it become a go-to source of inspiration for young adults, such as myself, who are trying to figure this experience called “life” out. Though I’m only 21, I’ve been told many times that I am wise beyond my years. I’ve certainly had some tough experiences growing up and made mistakes that affect me even today, but I haven’t let that stop my quest for happiness, for joy, for peace. So, every Sunday, I will blog about a specific inspirational topic. I hope that at least one person will feel like they can tackle the same life challenges I go through, like getting through a tough break up or feeling like you don’t have a mother because the one you have is ashamed of you. It’s not easy, but we have to persevere for the sake of our peace, happiness, and above all, life purpose.

So, the first weekly topic I’d like to blog about is acceptance. I love the quote by Reinhold Niebuhr that says, “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” This weekend, I just ended things for good with my ex. He cheated on me earlier this year. But, after we took some time apart and I forgave him, I decided to give us another try. Though we hadn’t “officially” gotten back together, we had definitely come to an understanding that we wouldn’t see other people. So, I thought that this time our relationship could prosper, especially since we live in the same apartment complex and down the hall from each other. But Friday night, I saw him walk out of his room with another girl. I was hurt, devastated, embarrassed, but most importantly, done.

So, the break up has helped me realize the importance of acceptance: the ability to accept those circumstances that you can’t change and to let go of any control you keep trying to exert over such circumstances. Why worry or stress about things you can’t even change? It’s a waste of time. Believe me, I know. You’re much better off spending time planning the next move. So don’t mope about what you and your ex could have been if he or she had just acted right or treated you better. The fact is, he or she had the chance (or the second chance, in my case) to get their act together. Accept the fact that he or she chose not to be faithful. Move on and let someone find you who already has their act together, who already knows how to treat you like the king or queen that you are. Meanwhile, do some self-reflection. Do you have any room for improvement? What are the things about yourself that you can change or improve? Do you have the courage to change them? If not, what’s stopping you? Have you accepted those things about yourself that you can’t change (like your height or ethnicity)? These are the same questions I ask myself now that I’m truly single again.

So this week, I challenge you to practice the art of acceptance along with me. Whether it means accepting a break up, a bad grade, or a rejected job application. How will YOU accept your circumstance? Let me know in the comments how you’re holding up. Remember, we’re on this journey together!

Talk to you next week! :)